Fred Alexander

Fred Alexander

Frederick Beasley Alexander playing a low forehand volley
Full name	Frederick Beasley Alexander
Country (sports)	United States
Born	August 14, 1880 Sea Bright NJ, USA
Died	March 3, 1969 (aged 88) Beverly Hills, CA, USA
Turned pro	1899 (amateur tour)
Retired	1920
Plays	Right-handed (1-handed backhand)
College	Princeton University
Int. Tennis HoF	1991 (member page)
Singles
Highest ranking	No. 7 (1909, Karoly Mazak)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (1908)
US Open	F (1908)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	W (1908)
US Open	W (1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1917)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
US Open	F (1918)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	F (1908^Ch)

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.

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.^[1] 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.^[2]

In 1915 he authored How to Play Lawn Tennis, part of the Spalding's athletic library series.^[3]

Alexander was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1961.^[4]

U.S. Indoor Championships

• Men's Doubles champion: 1906, 1907, 1908, 1911, 1912, 1917

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1908	Australasian Championships	Grass	Alfred Dunlop	3–6, 3–6, 6–0, 6–2, 6–3

Doubles (6 titles, 5 runner-ups)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1900	US Championships	Grass	Raymond Little	Dwight Davis Holcombe Ward	4–6, 7–9, 10–12
Runner-up	1905	US Championships	Grass	Harold Hackett	Holcombe Ward Beals Wright	4–6, 4–6, 1–6
Runner-up	1906	US Championships	Grass	Harold Hackett	Holcombe Ward Beals Wright	3–6, 6–3, 3-, 3–6
Winner	1907	US Championships	Grass	Harold Hackett	Nat Thornton Bryan M. Grant	6–2, 6–1, 6–1
Winner	1908	Australasian Championships	Grass	Alfred Dunlop	G. G. Sharp Anthony Wilding	6–3, 6–2, 6–1
Winner	1908	US Championships	Grass	Harold Hackett	Raymond Little Beals Wright	6–1, 7–5, 6–2
Winner	1909	US Championships	Grass	Harold Hackett	George Janes Maurice McLoughlin	6–4, 6–4, 6–0
Winner	1910	US Championships	Grass	Harold Hackett	Tom Bundy Trowridge Hendrick	6–1, 8–6, 6–3
Runner-up	1911	US Championships	Grass	Harold Hackett	Raymond Little Gustav Touchard	5–7, 15–13, 2–6, 4–6
Winner	1917	US Championships	Grass	Harold Throckmorton	Harry Johnson Irving Wright	11–9, 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	1918	US Championships	Grass	Beals Wright	Vincent Richards Bill Tilden	3–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 2–6

References

1. Mazak, Karoly (2010). The Concise History of Tennis, p. 37.
2. "Davis Cup – Player Profile Fred Alexander". International Tennis Federation (ITF). Retrieved 28 October 2016.
3. "How to play lawn tennis". Open Library.
4. "Hall of Famers – Fred Alexander". International Tennis Hall of Fame. Retrieved 28 October 2016.

External links

• Fred Alexander at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Fred Alexander at the Davis Cup