Uberto De Morpurgo

Uberto De Morpurgo (12 January 1896 – 26 February 1961) was a male tennis player from Italy.[2]

Uberto De Morpurgo
Uberto De Morpurgo playing Tennis
Full nameHubert Louis (Uberto Luigi) De Morpurgo
Country (sports)Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary (−1920)
Italy Italy (1920–)
Born(1896-01-12)12 January 1896
Trieste, Austria-Hungary
Died26 February 1961(1961-02-26) (aged 65)
Geneva, Switzerland
Turned pro1914 (amateur tour)
Retired1939
PlaysRight-handed (1-handed backhand)
Singles
Highest rankingNo. 8 (1930, A. Wallis Myers)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
French OpenSF (1930)
WimbledonQF (1928)
Other tournaments
WHCC3R (1921, 1923)
WCCCSF (1922)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
WimbledonF (1925)
Medal record
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1924 Paris Singles tennis

Uberto De Morpurgo was born in Trieste when it was part of Austria, but became an Italian citizen when the city changed hands after World War I. His world rankings were ninth in 1928, tenth in 1929, and eighth in 1930.[3] Bill Tilden ranked him 10th in the world in 1924,[4] and 6th in 1929.[5]

Tennis career

De Morpurgo was junior champion in Great Britain in 1911, and student champion in Paris in 1915. He was ranked as Italy's top tennis player in 1927, and again in 1929 through 1931. Tennis magazine called him "the Tilden of his country".[6] De Morpurgo reached the semifinals of the 1930 French championships (beating Edgar Moon before losing to Henri Cochet).[7]

He was named Italian Commissioner of Tennis by Benito Mussolini in 1929.[6]

Olympics

De Morpurgo participated in the singles event at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. He won his first four matches to reach the semifinal which he lost to eventual gold medal winner Vincent Richards in four sets. De Morpurgo won the bronze medal after a five-set victory in the play-off against Jean Borotra of France.[6]

Davis Cup

De Morpurgo played on Italy's Davis Cup team each year from its inaugural year in 1922 through 1933.[6] He won 39 singles matches and lost 14, while in doubles he was 16–10.[8]

Playing style

De Morpurgo used a very fast serve on his first ball, and an exaggerated American Twist serve on the second serve which was of extreme contortion. His baseline game consisted of flat drives. He had an excellent net attack, owing to his great reach. His overhead, like his service, was hard but erratic.[9]

Recognition

De Morpurgo, who was Jewish, was inducted as a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.[10]

Grand Slam finals

Mixed doubles (1 runners-up)
Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss1925WimbledonGrassUnited States Elizabeth RyanFrance Suzanne Lenglen
France Jean Borotra		3–6, 3–6

Career finals

Singles (1 win 2 runner-ups)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1. 1928 Genoa International, Genoa Clay Italy Emanuele Sertorio 6–2, 8–6, 6–1
Loss 2. 1929 Monte Carlo Championships, Monaco Clay France Henri Cochet 6–8, 4–6, 4–6
Loss 3. 1930 Italian Championships, Rome, Italy Clay United States Bill Tilden 1–6, 1–6, 1–6

See also

References
  1. Béla Kehrling, ed. (20 November 1930). "tennis and golf" (PDF). Tennisz és Golf (in Hungarian). Budapest, Hungary: Bethlen Gábor irod. és Nyomdai RT. II (21). Retrieved 3 December 2012.
  2. "Uberto De Morpurgo". Olympedia. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  3. "Big Bill Tilden is Second Only to Henri Cochet", The Montreal Gazette, 27 November 1930.
  4. "Sport: A World and". Time. 17 November 1924. Archived from the original on 18 March 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  5. Béla Kehrling, ed. (10 November 1929). "Tilden világranglistája" [Tilden's world rankings] (PDF). Tennisz és Golf (in Hungarian). Budapest, Hungary: Bethlen Gábor irod. és Nyomdai RT. I (13): 309. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  6. "Umberto Louis de Morpurgo". International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. 2004. Archived from the original on 11 January 2006. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  7. "French Open 1930". www.tennis.co.nf.
  8. "Player profile - Umberto DE MORPURGO (ITA)". Davis Cup. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  9. "The Art of Lawn Tennis - Chapter XV". Worldwideschool.org. Archived from the original on 22 September 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
  10. Siegman, Joseph (2000). Jewish Sports Legends: The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame - Joseph Siegman - Google Books. Brassey's. ISBN 9781574882841. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
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