|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Anthony Wilding Standing alongside Norman Brookes, Anthony "Tony" Frederick Wilding was the best tennis player for almost a decade; exuding great sportsmanship and an all-court game: idolised wherever he went until his death during World War I serving his country New Zealand. Wilding born in Christchurch, on the 31st October 1883, played a classic game, which surfaced from his time at Cambridge, England. He hit the ball with immense pace and topspin, outstanding in attack and defensive play, reaching number 3 in the world in 1914.
Long before he made an impression at the Grand Slams he teamed up with Brookes to play for the collective Australasian side, making his debut as a 21-year-old in 1905. After winning the second Australian Championship in 1906, the pair beat the British Isles for the Davis Cup at Wimbledon in 1907. The following year in Melbourne they did extremely well to beat the United States, winning 3-2, with Wilding clinching the decisive point with a 3-2 victory over Fred Alexander 6-3, 6-4, 6-1. A whitewash in 1909 against the Americans, forced the Cup to be put on hold for a year, as the competing nations couldn't afford to go Down Under yearly for the Challenge Round confrontation. In 1911 and 1912, Wilding didn't play, as Australasia lost the showdowns, but in his farewell to tennis, which coincided with the outbreak of World War I, Brookes and Wilding lead the 3-2 American defeat. This meant during the War the Davis Cup belonged on the Brookes family mantelpiece, often being used to hold flower petals. Wimbledon always seemed a difficult one for the New Zealander to crack, but on his sixth attempt in 1910, he beat Arthur Gore 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 in the Challenge Round and kept the title a further 3 years until 1913. Distinguished tennis writer A. Wallis Myers watched his 1913 8-6, 6-3, 10-8 victory over the "Californian Comet" Maurice McLoughlin stating: "He was in prime physical condition. All his best fighting instincts were aroused, his tactics were as sound as his strokes and he won a great victory, the greatest of his career." At 6-foot-2-inches and 185lbs, Wilding lost the 1914 Wimbledon final to Brookes and following their Davis Cup victory at Forest Hills, both went to war. Brookes would return, but on 9th May 1915, Tony Wilding was killed in action during the Battle of the Flanders, at Neuve Chapelle, France.
Grand Slam Record Australian Championships Singles winner 1906, 1909; Doubles winner 1906; Doubles finalist 1908-09 Wimbledon Singles winner 1910-1913, Singles finalist 1914; Doubles winner 1907-08, 1910, 1914; Doubles finalist 1911; Mixed finalist 1914 Tournament Record (inc. Davis Cup) Australasian Davis Cup team member 1905-1909;
1914; winning side 1907-09, 1914
|
