Tom Brown (tennis)

Thomas P. "Tom" Brown, Jr. (September 26, 1922 San Francisco, California – October 27, 2011 Castro Valley, California) was an American tennis player. He died at the age of 89.[1] In the 1940s he was one of the best amateur players in the world, losing to Jack Kramer in the finals of both the U.S. Open in 1946 and Wimbledon in 1947. In 1946 he was the Wimbledon mixed-doubles champion with Louise Brough and the men's doubles champion with Jack Kramer.

Kramer wrote in his 1979 autobiography that Brown "was known as 'The Frisco Flailer' (we had nicknames like that in those days), and he was strong off the ground with an excellent running forehand, but he was always my pigeon. I played him seven times, all best of five, and I beat him twenty-one straight sets."

He won the October 1945 version of what is now the SAP Open as Private First Class Tom Brown.

Brown also played in the Davis Cup three times and was ranked as one of the 10 best American players eight times between 1946 and 1958, his highest ranking being No. 4 in 1946. He won numerous tournaments as a senior player.

Grand Slam singles finals

Runner-ups (2)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1946 U.S. Championships Jack Kramer 9–7, 6–3, 6–0
1947 Wimbledon Championships Jack Kramer 6–1, 6–3, 6–2

1947 (French Open (tennis)) Semifinals lost to Joszef Asboth (HUN) Men's Singles Champion

1946 (French Open (tennis)) Semifinals lost to Jaroslav Drobny (CZE).[2]

References

  1. ^ Martin, John (November 2, 2011), Tom Brown, a Star for Five Decades, Dies at 89, New York Times, http://straightsets.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/tom-brown-a-star-for-four-decades-dies-at-89/, retrieved November 4, 2011 
  2. ^ Bud Collins, History of Tennis, New Chapter Press, 2008