Gordon Forbes
Country (sports) | South Africa |
---|---|
Born | (1934-02-21)21 February 1934 Burgersdorp, Cape Province, South Africa |
Died | 9 December 2020(2020-12-09) (aged 86) Plettenberg Bay, Cape Province, South Africa |
Plays | Right-handed |
Singles | |
Career record | 342-217 (72%) |
Career titles | 16 |
Grand Slam singles results | |
Australian Open | 1R (1971) |
French Open | 3R (1955, 1956, 1957, 1959) |
Wimbledon | 4R (1956) |
US Open | QF (1962) |
Doubles | |
Grand Slam doubles results | |
Australian Open | 2R (1962) |
French Open | F (1963) |
Wimbledon | SF (1963) |
Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
French Open | W (1955) |
Wimbledon | QF (1962) |
Team competitions | |
Davis Cup | SFEu (1962, 1963) |
Gordon Forbes (21 February 1934 – 9 December 2020) was a South African professional tennis player and author. Forbes won the singles title of the South African Championships in 1959 and 1961 and was runner-up in 1955, 1962, 1963 and 1964. He won the Tuscaloosa Grass Court Invitational in 1962, defeating Rod Laver in the final. During the 1950s and 1960s, he was the doubles partner of countryman Abe Segal. They were considered one of the best doubles teams in the world.[1]
Career
Forbes learnt to play tennis in his childhood on the family farm. At age 12, he played and won his first junior tournament in East London.[2]
Forbes won the singles title of the South African Championships in 1959 and 1961 and was runner-up in 1955, 1962, 1963 and 1964. He won the Tuscaloosa Grass Court Invitational in 1962, defeating reigning U.S. No. 1 Whitney Reed in a marathon semifinal, and World No. 1 Rod Laver in a close four set final. He played for the South African Davis Cup team in 14 ties in the period 1955 to 1963 and compiled a record of 20 wins and 11 losses.
Later life
After retiring from tennis, Forbes wrote three books about his experiences as a player, his contemporaries in the sport and other tennis topics.[3][4][5] He died from COVID-19 on 9 December 2020, at age 86, during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa.[6]
Grand Slam finals
Doubles (1 runner-up)
Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 1963 | French Championships | Clay | Abe Segal | Roy Emerson Manuel Santana | 2–6, 4–6, 4–6 |
Mixed doubles (1 title)
Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 1955 | French Championships | Clay | Darlene Hard | Jenny Staley Luis Ayala | 5–7, 6–1, 6–2 |
Bibliography
- Forbes, Gordon (1979). A Handful of Summers. Mayflower Books. ISBN 978-0-8317-4362-8.
- Forbes, Gordon (1995). Too Soon To Panic. Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-86329-7.
- Forbes, Gordon (2017). I'll Take the Sunny Side: A Memoir. Bookstorm. ISBN 978-1928257448.
References
- ^ Plimpton, George (1992). The Norton Book of Sports. W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 205. ISBN 978-0-393-03040-2.
Abe Segal.
- ^ Forbes, Gordon (1997). A Handful of Summers (1st American ed.). London: HarperCollins. p. 22. ISBN 9780007291304.
- ^ Allen, Brook (8 June 1997). "Sports Books in Brief". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
- ^ Brent Shearer (6 September 2011). "New York Tennis Magazine's Literary Corner: A Handful of Summers by Gordon Forbes". New York Tennis Magazine.
- ^ David Southey (7 November 2017). "SA's raconteur racquet man aces another memoir". Business Day. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
- ^ "Tennis legend and author Gordon Forbes passes away aged 86". Archived from the original on 11 December 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
External links
- Gordon Forbes at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Gordon Forbes at the International Tennis Federation
- Gordon Forbes at the Davis Cup
- v
- t
- e
(national)
- 1902: Hélène Prévost / Réginald Forbes
- 1903: Hélène Prévost / Réginald Forbes
- 1904: Kate Gillou / Max Decugis
- 1905: Yvonne de Pfeffel / Max Decugis
- 1906: Yvonne de Pfeffel / Max Decugis
- 1907: A. Péan / Robert Wallet
- 1908: Kate Gillou / Max Decugis
- 1909: Jeanne Matthey / Max Decugis
- 1910: Marguerite Mény / Édouard Mény de Marangue
- 1911: Marguerite Broquedis / André Gobert
- 1912: Daisy Speranza / William Laurentz
- 1913: Daisy Speranza / William Laurentz
- 1914: Suzanne Lenglen / Max Decugis
- 1915–1919: No competition (World War I)
- 1920: Suzanne Lenglen / Max Decugis
- 1921: Suzanne Lenglen / Jacques Brugnon
- 1922: Suzanne Lenglen / Jacques Brugnon
- 1923: Suzanne Lenglen / Jacques Brugnon
- 1924: Marguerite Broquedis / Jean Borotra
(international)
- 1925: Suzanne Lenglen / Jacques Brugnon
- 1926: Suzanne Lenglen / Jacques Brugnon
- 1927: Marguerite Broquedis Bordes / Jean Borotra
- 1928: Eileen Bennett / Henri Cochet
- 1929: Eileen Bennett / Henri Cochet
- 1930: Cilly Aussem / Bill Tilden
- 1931: Betty Nuthall / Pat Spence
- 1932: Betty Nuthall / Fred Perry
- 1933: Margaret Scriven / Jack Crawford
- 1934: Colette Rosambert / Jean Borotra
- 1935: Lolette Payot / Marcel Bernard
- 1936: Billie Yorke / Marcel Bernard
- 1937: Simonne Mathieu / Yvon Petra
- 1938: Simonne Mathieu / Dragutin Mitić
- 1939: Sarah Palfrey Fabyan / Elwood Cooke
- 1940–1945: No competition (World War II)
- 1946: Pauline Betz / Budge Patty
- 1947: Sheila Piercey / Eric Sturgess
- 1948: Patricia Canning Todd / Jaroslav Drobný
- 1949: Sheila Piercey / Eric Sturgess
- 1950: Barbara Scofield / Enrique Morea
- 1951: Doris Hart / Frank Sedgman
- 1952: Doris Hart / Frank Sedgman
- 1953: Doris Hart / Vic Seixas
- 1954: Maureen Connolly / Lew Hoad
- 1955: Darlene Hard / Gordon Forbes
- 1956: Thelma Coyne Long / Luis Ayala
- 1957: Věra Pužejová / Jiří Javorský
- 1958: Shirley Bloomer / Nicola Pietrangeli
- 1959: Yola Ramírez Ochoa / William Knight
- 1960: Maria Bueno / Robert Howe
- 1961: Darlene Hard / Rod Laver
- 1962: Renée Schuurman / Robert Howe
- 1963: Margaret Smith / Ken Fletcher
- 1964: Margaret Smith / Ken Fletcher
- 1965: Margaret Smith / Ken Fletcher
- 1966: Annette Van Zyl / Frew McMillan
- 1967: Billie Jean King / Owen Davidson
- 1968: Françoise Dürr / Jean-Claude Barclay
- 1969: Margaret Court / Marty Riessen
- 1970: Billie Jean King / Bob Hewitt
- 1971: Françoise Dürr / Jean-Claude Barclay
- 1972: Evonne Goolagong Cawley / Kim Warwick
- 1973: Françoise Dürr / Jean-Claude Barclay
- 1974: Martina Navrátilová / Iván Molina
- 1975: Fiorella Bonicelli / Thomas Koch
- 1976: Ilana Kloss / Kim Warwick
- 1977: Mary Carillo / John McEnroe
- 1978: Renáta Tomanová / Pavel Složil
- 1979: Wendy Turnbull / Bob Hewitt
- 1980: Anne Smith / Billy Martin
- 1981: Andrea Jaeger / Jimmy Arias
- 1982: Wendy Turnbull / John Lloyd
- 1983: Barbara Jordan / Eliot Teltscher
- 1984: Anne Smith / Dick Stockton
- 1985: Martina Navrátilová / Heinz Günthardt
- 1986: Kathy Jordan / Ken Flach
- 1987: Pam Shriver / Emilio Sánchez Vicario
- 1988: Lori McNeil / Jorge Lozano
- 1989: Manon Bollegraf / Tom Nijssen
- 1990: Arantxa Sánchez Vicario / Jorge Lozano
- 1991: Helena Suková / Cyril Suk
- 1992: Arantxa Sánchez Vicario / Mark Woodforde
- 1993: Eugenia Maniokova / Andrei Olhovskiy
- 1994: Kristie Boogert / Menno Oosting
- 1995: Larisa Neiland / Todd Woodbridge
- 1996: Patricia Tarabini / Javier Frana
- 1997: Rika Hiraki / Mahesh Bhupathi
- 1998: Venus Williams / Justin Gimelstob
- 1999: Katarina Srebotnik / Piet Norval
- 2000: Mariaan de Swardt / David Adams
- 2001: Virginia Ruano Pascual / Tomas Carbonell
- 2002: Cara Black / Wayne Black
- 2003: Lisa Raymond / Mike Bryan
- 2004: Tatiana Golovin / Richard Gasquet
- 2005: Daniela Hantuchová / Fabrice Santoro
- 2006: Katarina Srebotnik / Nenad Zimonjić
- 2007: Nathalie Dechy / Andy Ram
- 2008: Victoria Azarenka / Bob Bryan
- 2009: Liezel Huber / Bob Bryan
- 2010: Katarina Srebotnik / Nenad Zimonjić
- 2011: Casey Dellacqua / Scott Lipsky
- 2012: Sania Mirza / Mahesh Bhupathi
- 2013: Lucie Hradecká / František Čermák
- 2014: Anna-Lena Grönefeld / Jean-Julien Rojer
- 2015: Bethanie Mattek-Sands / Mike Bryan
- 2016: Martina Hingis / Leander Paes
- 2017: Gabriela Dabrowski / Rohan Bopanna
- 2018: Latisha Chan / Ivan Dodig
- 2019: Latisha Chan / Ivan Dodig
- 2020: No competition (COVID-19 pandemic)
- 2021: Desirae Krawczyk / Joe Salisbury
- 2022: Ena Shibahara / Wesley Koolhof
- 2023: Miyu Kato / Tim Pütz