Jack Crawford (tennis)


John Herbert Crawford, was an Australian tennis player during the 1930s. He was the World No. 1 player for 1933, during which year he won the Australian Open, the French Open, and Wimbledon, and was runner-up at the U.S. Open in five sets, thus missing the Grand Slam by one set that year. He also won the Australian Open in 1931, 1932, and 1935. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1979.

Early life

Crawford was born on 22 March 1908 in Urangeline, near Albury, New South Wales, the second youngest child of Jack Sr. and Lottie Crawford. He had no tennis training as a child and practiced mainly by hitting against the house and school and playing his older brother. Crawford played his first competition match at age 12 in a mixed doubles match at the Haberfield club. He won the Australian junior championships four consecutive times from 1926 to 1929 which entitled him to the permanent possession of the trophy.

Career

Although he won a number of major championship titles he is perhaps best known for something he did not do – complete the tennis Grand Slam in 1933, five years before Don Budge accomplished the feat for the first time in 1938.
In 1933, Crawford won the Australian Championships, French Championships, and Wimbledon Championships, leaving him needing to win the U.S. Championships to complete the Grand Slam. An asthmatic who suffered in the muggy summer heat of Forest Hills, Crawford was leading the Englishman Fred Perry in the final of the US Championships by two sets to one when his strength began to fade. Crawford ended up losing the match by the final score of 3–6, 13–11, 6–4, 0–6, 1–6.
In his 1979 autobiography Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, included Crawford in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time.
He was also known for taking a shot of whiskey between sets if the game was tense.
Crawford was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in 1979 and into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in 1997. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1976 for his services to sport.

Playing style

Crawford was a right-handed baseline player with a game that was based more on technical skills and accuracy than on power. He was not particularly fast but had excellent anticipation and his game was described as fluent and effortless. His style was compared with Henri Cochet. Crawford played with an old-fashioned flat-topped racket and always wore long, white flannels and a long-sleeved shirt.

Grand Slam tournament finals

Singles: 12 (6 titles, 6 runners-up)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1931Australian ChampionshipsGrass Harry Hopman6–4, 6–2, 2–6, 6–1
Win1932Australian ChampionshipsGrass Harry Hopman4–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 6–1
Win1933Australian ChampionshipsGrass Keith Gledhill2–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–2
Win1933French ChampionshipsClay Henri Cochet8–6, 6–1, 6–3
Win1933Wimbledon ChampionshipsGrass Ellsworth Vines4–6, 11–9, 6–2, 2–6, 6–4
Loss1933U.S. ChampionshipsGrass Fred Perry3–6, 13–11, 6–4, 0–6, 1–6
Loss1934Australian ChampionshipsGrass Fred Perry3–6, 5–7, 1–6
Loss1934French ChampionshipsClay Gottfried von Cramm4–6, 9–7, 6–3, 5–7, 3–6
Loss1934Wimbledon ChampionshipsGrass Fred Perry3–6, 0–6, 5–7
Win1935Australian ChampionshipsGrass Fred Perry2–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4
Loss1936Australian ChampionshipsGrass Adrian Quist2–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–9
Loss1940Australian ChampionshipsGrass Adrian Quist3–6, 1–6, 2–6

Doubles: 12 (6 titles, 6 runners-up)

Mixed doubles: 8 (5 titles, 3 runners-up)

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Tournament19261927192819291930193119321933193419351936193719381939194019411942194319441945194619471948194919501951SRWin %
Australia1RQFSFQFSFWWWFWFSF3RSFFNHNHNHNHNH3R1R3R3R2R1R4 / 2152–1775.4
FranceAAQFA2RAAWFSFAAAANHNHNHNHNHNHA3RAAAA1 / 620–580.0
WimbledonAA4RA3RASFWFSFQFQFAANHNHNHNHNHNHA1RAAAA1 / 936–881.8
AAQFAAAAFAAAAA3RAAAAAAA3RAAAA0 / 410–471.4
Win–Loss0–12–112–42–16–35–010–123–115–314–28–27–21–15–24–10–00–00–00–00–01–11–41–11–10–10–177.6