Gerald Patterson

Gerald Patterson
Country (sports)  Australia
Born (1895-12-17)17 December 1895
Preston, Australia
Died 13 June 1967(1967-06-13) (aged 71)
Melbourne, Australia
Turned pro 1914 (amateur tour)
Retired 1928
Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF 1989 (member page)
Singles
Highest ranking No. 1 (1919, A. Wallis Myers)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open W (1927)
French Open 4R (1928)
Wimbledon W (1919, 1922)
US Open SF (1922, 1924)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open W (1914, 1922, 1925, 1926, 1927)
Wimbledon F (1922, 1928)
US Open W (1919)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Wimbledon W (1920)

Gerald Leighton Patterson MC[2] (17 December 1895 – 13 June 1967) was an Australian tennis player.

Patterson was active in the decade following World War I. During his career he won three Grand Slam tournaments in the singles event as well as six titles in the doubles competition. He was born in Melbourne, educated at Scotch College and Trinity Grammar School and died in Melbourne on 13 June 1967.[3][4] He was the co-World No. 1 player for 1919 along with Bill Johnston.

History

Tall and well-built, Gerald Patterson played a strong serve-and-volley game that won him three major singles. Patterson was known as the "Human Catapult" for his powerful serve that many of the top players had trouble returning. He also enjoyed great success representing Australia in Davis Cup and amassed a 32–14 win–loss record (singles 21–10, doubles 11–4) and was part of the winning team in 1919. Patterson played Davis Cup in 1920, 1922, 1924, 1925, 1928 and finally as captain in 1946. He was a player ahead of his time, playing with a steel racquet strung with wire in 1925.

He was inducted into the Sport Australia Home of Fame in December 1986.[5] This was followed by induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in August 1997.[6]

Patterson was the nephew of Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba and father of racing driver Bill Patterson.[3] Patterson was awarded the Military Cross for bravery as an officer in Royal Field Artillery in 1917 at Messines.

Grand Slam finals

Gerald Patterson playing a forehand stroke

Singles: 7 (3 titles, 4 runners-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1914 Australasian Championships Grass Australia Arthur O'Hara Wood 4–6, 3–6, 7–5, 1–6 [7]
Winner 1919 Wimbledon Grass Australia Norman Brookes 6–3, 7–5, 6–2 [8]
Runner-up 1920 Wimbledon Grass United States Bill Tilden 6–2, 3–6, 2–6, 4–6 [8]
Runner-up 1922 Australasian Championships Grass Australia James Anderson 0–6, 6–3, 6–3, 3–6, 2–6 [7]
Winner 1922 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Randolph Lycett 6–3, 6–4, 6–2 [8]
Runner-up 1925 Australasian Championships Grass Australia James Anderson 9–11, 6–2, 2–6, 3–6 [7]
Winner 1927 Australian Championships Grass Australia John Hawkes 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 18–16, 6–3 [7]

Doubles: 14 (6 titles, 8 runners-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1914 Australasian Championships Grass Australia Ashley Campbell Australia Rodney Heath
Australia Arthur O'Hara Wood
7–5, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 [9]
Winner 1919 U.S. National Championships Grass Australia Norman Brookes United States Vincent Richards
United States Bill Tilden
8–6, 6–3, 4–6, 4–6, 6–2 [10]
Winner 1922 Australasian Championships Grass Australia John Hawkes Australia James Anderson
Australia Norman Peach
8–10, 6–0, 6–0, 7–5 [9]
Runner-up 1922 Wimbledon Grass Australia Pat O'Hara Wood Australia James Anderson
United Kingdom Randolph Lycett
6–3, 9–7, 4–6, 3–6, 9–11 [11]
Runner-up 1922 U.S. National Championships Grass Australia Pat O'Hara Wood United States Vincent Richards
United States Bill Tilden
6–4, 1–6, 3–6, 4–6 [10]
Runner-up 1924 Australasian Championships Grass Australia Pat O'Hara Wood Australia James Anderson
Australia Norman Brookes
2–6, 4–6, 3–6 [9]
Runner-up 1924 U.S. National Championships Grass Australia Pat O'Hara Wood United States Howard Kinsey
United States Robert Kinsey
5–7, 7–5, 9–7, 3–6, 4–6 [10]
Winner 1925 Australasian Championships Grass Australia Pat O'Hara Wood Australia James Anderson
Australia Fred Kalms
6–4, 8–6, 7–5 [9]
Runner-up 1925 U.S. National Championships Grass Australia John Hawkes United States R. Norris Williams
United States Vincent Richards
2–6, 10–8, 4–6, 9–11 [10]
Winner 1926 Australasian Championships Grass Australia John Hawkes Australia James Anderson
Australia Pat O'Hara Wood
6–1, 6–4, 6–2 [9]
Winner 1927 Australian Championships Grass Australia John Hawkes Australia Ian McInness
Australia Pat O'Hara Wood
8–6, 6–2, 6–1 [9]
Runner-up 1928 Wimbledon Grass Australia John Hawkes France Jacques Brugnon
France Henri Cochet
11–13, 4–6, 4–6 [11]
Runner-up 1928 U.S. National Championships Grass Australia John Hawkes United States John Hennessey
United States George Lott
2–6, 1–6, 2–6 [10]
Runner-up 1932 Australian Championships Grass Australia Harry Hopman Australia Jack Crawford
Australia Edgar Moon
10–12, 3–6, 6–4, 4–6 [9]

Mixed doubles: 1 (1 title)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1920 Wimbledon Grass France Suzanne Lenglen United States Elizabeth Ryan
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Randolph Lycett
7–5, 6–3 [12]

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Grand Slam 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 Titles / Played
Australian F Not Held 4R A A F A A F 1R W 1R 1 / 7
French Not Held Only for French players A A 4R 0 / 1
Wimbledon Not Held A W CR A W A A A A A 4R 2 / 4
U.S. A A A A A 4R A A SF A SF A A A A 0 / 3
0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 1 / 3 0 / 1 0 / 0 1 / 3 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 1 / 1 0 / 3 3 / 15

References

  1. United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 422.
  2. "Gerald Leighton Patterson". International Tennis Hall of Fame. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
  3. 1 2 Virginia O'Farrell. "Patterson, Gerald Leighton (1895–1967)". Australian Dictionary of Biography Online Edition.
  4. "The Unofficial Sister School" (pdf). The Trinity Grammarian. 28 (2): 4. July 2013.
  5. "Hall of Fame – Gerald Patterson – Tennis". Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
  6. "Australian Tennis Hall of Fame". Tennis Australia.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Australian Open Results Archive / Men's Singles". Australian Open official website. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 "Wimbledon Rolls of Honour / Gentlemen's Singles". Wimbledon official tournament website. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Australian Open Results Archive / Men's Doubles". Australian Open official website. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "U.S. Open Past Champions / Men's Doubles". US Open official website. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Wimbledon Rolls of Honour / Gentlemen's Doubles". Wimbledon official tournament website. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  12. "Wimbledon Rolls of Honour / Mixed Doubles". Wimbledon official tournament website. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
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