Mervyn Rose

Mervyn Gordon Rose AM (23 January 1930 – 23 July 2017) was an Australian male tennis player who won seven Grand Slam titles (singles, doubles and mixed doubles).

Mervyn Rose
AM

Full name	Mervyn Gordon Rose
Country (sports)	Australia
Born	(1930-01-23)23 January 1930 Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia
Died	24 July 2017(2017-07-24) (aged 87) Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia
Turned pro	1959 (amateur tour from 1949)
Retired	1972
Plays	Left-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF	2001 (member page)
Singles
Highest ranking	No. 3 (1958, Lance Tingay)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	W (1954)
French Open	W (1958)
Wimbledon	SF (1952, 1953, 1958)
US Open	SF (1952)
Other tournaments
Professional majors
Wembley Pro	QF (1959)
French Pro	QF (1959)
TOC	1R (1959FH)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W (1954)
French Open	F (1953, 1957)
Wimbledon	W (1954)
US Open	W (1952, 1953)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
French Open	F (1951, 1953)
Wimbledon	W (1957)
US Open	F (1951)

Career

Rose was born in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, and turned professional in 1959. He was ranked inside the world's Top 10 throughout much of his tennis career and represented Australia in the Davis Cup from 1951 to 1957. He was ranked World No. 3 in 1958 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph.^[1]

Rose won the singles title at the 1954 Australian Championships in Sydney, defeating compatriot Rex Hartwig in the final in four sets.^[2][3] Four years later, in 1958, he became the French singles champion after a straight-sets victory in the final against Luis Ayala.^[4][5]

Rose won the 1953 Canadian Open singles title, defeating Hartwig in the final in three straight sets. His other career singles highlights include winning the Deauville Tennis Cup three times 1955, 1957,^[6] and 1958.^[7]

Rose became a professional in 1959 and played in tournaments with Kramer's group of contract players. He was officially ranked No. 9 in Kramer's point ranking system for 1959.^[8][9]

He coached numerous female and male players, including Billie Jean King, Margaret Court, Ernie Ewart, Michael Fancutt, Brett Prentice, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Eleni Daniilidou, Nadia Petrova, Magdalena Grzybowska and Caroline Schnieder.

Rose was awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000, inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in 2002. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2006 Australia Day Honours for service to tennis, particularly as a competitor at national and international levels and as a coach and mentor to both amateur and professional players.^[10][11] Rose died on 23 July 2017 at the age of 87.^[4][5]

Grand Slam finals

Singles (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1953	Australian Championships	Grass	Ken Rosewall	0–6, 3–6, 4–6
Win	1954	Australian Championships	Grass	Rex Hartwig	6–2, 0–6, 6–4, 6–2
Win	1958	French Championships	Clay	Luis Ayala	6–3, 6–4, 6–4

Doubles (4 titles, 7 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1951	US Championships	Grass	Don Candy	Ken McGregor Frank Sedgman	8–10, 4–6, 6–4, 5–7
Loss	1952	Australian Championships	Grass	Don Candy	Ken McGregor Frank Sedgman	4–6, 5–7, 3–6
Win	1952	US Championships	Grass	Vic Seixas	Ken McGregor Frank Sedgman	3–6, 10–8, 10–8, 6–8, 8–6
Loss	1953	Australian Championships	Grass	Don Candy	Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall	11–9, 4–6, 8–10, 4–6
Loss	1953	French Championships	Clay	Clive Wilderspin	Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall	2–6, 1–6, 1–6
Loss	1953	Wimbledon	Grass	Rex Hartwig	Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall	4–6, 5–7, 6–4, 5–7
Win	1953	US Championships	Grass	Rex Hartwig	Gardnar Mulloy Bill Talbert	6–4, 4–6, 6–2, 6–4
Win	1954	Australian Championships	Grass	Rex Hartwig	Neale Fraser Clive Wilderspin	6–3, 6–4, 6–2
Win	1954	Wimbledon	Grass	Rex Hartwig	Vic Seixas Tony Trabert	6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Loss	1956	Australian Championships	Grass	Don Candy	Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall	8–10, 11–13, 4–6
Loss	1957	French Championships	Clay	Don Candy	Malcolm Anderson Ashley Cooper	3–6, 0–6, 3–6

Mixed doubles: 5 (1 title, 4 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1951	French Championships	Clay	Thelma Coyne Long	Doris Hart Frank Sedgman	5–7, 2–6
Loss	1951	Wimbledon	Grass	Nancye Wynne Bolton	Doris Hart Frank Sedgman	5–7, 2–6
Loss	1951	U.S. Championships	Grass	Shirley Fry	Doris Hart Frank Sedgman	3–6, 2–6
Loss	1953	French Championships	Clay	Maureen Connolly	Doris Hart Vic Seixas	6–4, 4–6, 0–6
Win	1957	Wimbledon	Grass	Darlene Hard	Althea Gibson Neale Fraser	6–4, 7–5

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

DNQ

A

NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

Tournament	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	SR
Australian Open	3R	QF	QF	SF	F	W	QF	QF	A	SF	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	1R	2R	1 / 11
French Open	A	3R	QF	4R	4R	QF	QF	A	SF	W	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	1 / 8
Wimbledon	A	3R	1R	SF	SF	QF	2R	A	QF	SF	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 8
US Open	A	2R	4R	SF	4R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 4
Strike rate	0 / 1	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	1 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 1	0 / 2	1 / 3	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 1	0 / 1	2 / 31

Other tournament records

• Italian Championships
  • Singles champion: 1958
  • Mixed Doubles runner-up: 1953, 1955
• German Championships
  • Singles champion: 1957
  • Men's Doubles champion: 1957
  • Mixed Doubles champion: 1957
• Canadian Championships
  • Singles champion: 1953
  • Men's Doubles champion: 1953