Role Tennis player Turned pro 1899 Name Fred Alexander Retired 1920 | College Princeton University Grand slams won (singles) 1 | |
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Full name Frederick Beasley Alexander Born August 14, 1880Sea Bright NJ, USA ( 1880-08-14 ) Plays Right-handed (1-handed backhand) Highest ranking No. 7 (1909, Karoly Mazak) Died March 3, 1969, Beverly Hills, California, United States People also search for | ||
Int. Tennis HoF 1991 (member page) | ||
Frederick Beasley Alexander (August 14, 1880 – March 3, 1969) was an American tennis player in the early 20th century. He won the singles title at the 1908 Australasian Championships and six double titles at Grand Slam events.
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Career
The right-handed Alexander in 1908 became the first foreigner to win the singles title at the Australasian/Australian Championships, the amateur precursor to the Australian Open. He then teamed with the man he defeated in the final, Alfred Dunlop, to win the doubles.
Alexander attended Princeton University and won the Intercollegiate doubles championship in 1900 and the singles in 1901. Between 1904 and 1918, he was a U.S. top ten player at year's end six times and was ranked the U.S. No. 3 in 1908 and the World No. 7 for 1909 by Karoly Mazak. He was a finalist in doubles at the U.S. Championships, precursor to the US Open, seven straight times beginning in 1905. He and partner Harold Hackett won the U.S. doubles each year from 1907 to 1910. At age 37, Alexander won again in 1917, partnering with Harold Throckmorton.
He competed in the USA Davis Cup team in 1908 which lost the final against Australia at the Albert Ground, Melbourne. Alexander lost both his singles matches against Norman Brookes and Anthony Wilding as well as the doubles match against these two together with his partner Beals Wright.
In 1915 he authored How to Play Lawn Tennis, part of the Spalding's athletic library series.
Alexander was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1961.