Uberto De Morpurgo

Uberto De Morpurgo
Full name Hubert 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
Died 26 February 1961(1961-02-26) (aged 65)
Geneva, Switzerland
Turned pro 1914 (amateur tour)
Retired 1939
Plays Right-handed (1-handed backhand)
Singles
Highest ranking No. 8 (1930, A. Wallis Myers)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open SF (1930)
Wimbledon QF (1928)
Other tournaments
WHCC 3R (1921, 1923)
WCCC SF (1922)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Wimbledon F (1925)
Medal record
Olympic Games – Tennis
1924 Paris Singles

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

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.[2] Bill Tilden ranked him 10th in the world in 1924,[3] and 6th in 1929.[4]

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".[5]

He was named Italian Commissioner of Tennis by Benito Mussolini in 1929.[5]

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.[5]

Davis Cup

De Morpurgo played on Italy's Davis Cup team each year from its inaugural year in 1922 through 1933.[5] He won 39 singles matches and lost 14, while in doubles he was 16–10.[6]

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.[7]

Hall of Fame

De Morpurgo, who was Jewish, was inducted as a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.[8]

Grand Slam finals

Mixed doubles (1 runners-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1925 Wimbledon Grass United States Elizabeth Ryan France Suzanne Lenglen
France Jean Borotra 		3–6, 3–6

Career finals

Singles (2 runner-ups)

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 1929 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay France Henri Cochet 6–8, 4–6, 4–6
Runner-up 2. 1930 Italian Championships, Rome, Italy Clay United States Bill Tilden 1–6, 1–6, 1–6

See also

References

  1. ↑ Béla Kehrling, ed. (November 20, 1930). "tennis and golf" (PDF). Tennisz és Golf (in Hungarian). Budapest, Hungary: Bethlen Gábor irod. és Nyomdai RT. II (21). Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Big Bill Tilden is Second Only to Henri Cochet", The Montreal Gazette, 27th November 1930.
  3. ↑ iPad iPhone Android TIME TV Populist The Page (1924-11-17). "Sport: A World and". TIME. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  4. ↑ Béla Kehrling, ed. (November 10, 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 October 18, 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Umberto Louis de Morpurgo". International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. 2004. Archived from the original on January 11, 2006. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Player profile - Umberto DE MORPURGO (ITA)". Davis Cup. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  7. ↑ "The Art of Lawn Tennis - Chapter XV". Worldwideschool.org. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  8. ↑ Jewish Sports Legends: The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame - Joseph Siegman - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2012-12-26.


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