Mervyn Rose
AM
Full nameMervyn Gordon Rose
Country (sports) Australia
Born(1930-01-23)23 January 1930
Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia
Died24 July 2017(2017-07-24) (aged 87)
Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia
Turned pro1959 (amateur tour from 1949)
Retired1972
PlaysLeft-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF2001 (member page)
Singles
Highest rankingNo. 3 (1958, Lance Tingay)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenW (1954)
French OpenW (1958)
WimbledonSF (1952, 1953, 1958)
US OpenSF (1952)
Other tournaments
Professional majors
Wembley ProQF (1959)
French ProQF (1959)
TOC1R (1959FH)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (1954)
French OpenF (1953, 1957)
WimbledonW (1954)
US OpenW (1952, 1953)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
French OpenF (1951, 1953)
WimbledonW (1957)
US OpenF (1951)

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).

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.

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.[6][7]

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.[8][9] 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
Loss1953Australian ChampionshipsGrassAustralia Ken Rosewall0–6, 3–6, 4–6
Win1954Australian ChampionshipsGrassAustralia Rex Hartwig6–2, 0–6, 6–4, 6–2
Win1958French ChampionshipsClayChile Luis Ayala6–3, 6–4, 6–4

Doubles (4 titles, 7 runners-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss1951US ChampionshipsGrassAustralia Don CandyAustralia Ken McGregor
Australia Frank Sedgman		8–10, 4–6, 6–4, 5–7
Loss1952Australian ChampionshipsGrassAustralia Don CandyAustralia Ken McGregor
Australia Frank Sedgman		4–6, 5–7, 3–6
Win1952US ChampionshipsGrassUnited States Vic SeixasAustralia Ken McGregor
Australia Frank Sedgman		3–6, 10–8, 10–8, 6–8, 8–6
Loss1953Australian ChampionshipsGrassAustralia Don CandyAustralia Lew Hoad
Australia Ken Rosewall		11–9, 4–6, 8–10, 4–6
Loss1953French ChampionshipsClayAustralia Clive WilderspinAustralia Lew Hoad
Australia Ken Rosewall		2–6, 1–6, 1–6
Loss1953Wimbledon ChampionshipsGrassAustralia Rex HartwigAustralia Lew Hoad
Australia Ken Rosewall		4–6, 5–7, 6–4, 5–7
Win1953US ChampionshipsGrassAustralia Rex HartwigUnited States Gardnar Mulloy
United States Bill Talbert		6–4, 4–6, 6–2, 6–4
Win1954Australian ChampionshipsGrassAustralia Rex HartwigAustralia Neale Fraser
Australia Clive Wilderspin		6–3, 6–4, 6–2
Win1954Wimbledon ChampionshipsGrassAustralia Rex HartwigUnited States Vic Seixas
United States Tony Trabert		6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Loss1956Australian ChampionshipsGrassAustralia Don CandyAustralia Lew Hoad
Australia Ken Rosewall		8–10, 11–13, 4–6
Loss1957French ChampionshipsClayAustralia Don CandyAustralia Malcolm Anderson
Australia Ashley Cooper		3–6, 0–6, 3–6

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

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss1951French ChampionshipsClayAustralia Thelma Coyne LongUnited States Doris Hart
Australia Frank Sedgman		5–7, 2–6
Loss1951Wimbledon ChampionshipsGrassAustralia Nancye Wynne BoltonUnited States Doris Hart
Australia Frank Sedgman		5–7, 2–6
Loss1951U.S. ChampionshipsGrassUnited States Shirley FryUnited States Doris Hart
Australia Frank Sedgman		3–6, 2–6
Loss1953French ChampionshipsClayUnited States Maureen ConnollyUnited States Doris Hart
United States Vic Seixas		6–4, 4–6, 0–6
Win1957Wimbledon ChampionshipsGrassUnited States Darlene HardUnited States Althea Gibson
Australia 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

Tournament194919501951195219531954195519561957195819591960196119621963196419651966196719681969197019711972 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

References

  1. 1 2 United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 427.
  2. ↑ "Rose beats Hartwig for Aust. singles". Daily Advertiser. New South Wales, Australia. 2 February 1954. p. 3 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ "Rose wins Australian title". The News. Vol. 62, no. 9, 509. Adelaide. 1 February 1954. p. 2 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. 1 2 James Buddell. "Mervyn Rose: 1930–2017". Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
  5. 1 2 "Australian tennis great Mervyn Rose dies aged 87". Sky Sports. 25 July 2017.
  6. ↑ McCauley, Joe (2000). The History of Professional Tennis. Windsor: The Short Run Book Company Limited. pp. 97, 99.
  7. ↑ Kramer Fall Tour Brochure, 1959
  8. ↑ "Australia Day 2006 Honours List" (PDF). gg.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  9. ↑ "It's an Honour – Honours – Search Australian Honours". Retrieved 29 January 2014.
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