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Dick Savitt, who received the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 1951 shortly earlier than strolling away from a tennis profession at age 25, has died aged 95.
Key factors:
- The American tennis champ received each the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 1951
- He retired from tennis aged 25, though it was by no means introduced why he walked away
- He labored within the oil trade earlier than changing into a stockbroker after quitting tennis
Savitt’s son, Bob, stated the 1976 inductee to the Worldwide Tennis Corridor of Fame handed away at residence in New York on Friday.
“I actually do not assume that anyone liked tennis as a lot as my dad, and the mix of enjoying, watching and training since he was 13 years previous is basically fairly exceptional,” Bob Savitt stated.
“He liked the sport and revered the sport a lot. He liked watching how the standard of tennis improved over time.”
Richard Savitt was born on March 4, 1927, in Bayonne, New Jersey, and his household later moved to Texas. Savitt performed basketball and tennis at Cornell College.
In 1951, he picked up his greatest victories on a tennis court docket, accumulating championships on the Australian Open and Wimbledon — by beating Australian Ken McGregor in each finals — and rising to quantity two within the rankings. He was featured on the duvet of Time Journal.
Savitt stays considered one of simply 4 males from the US to win these two main tournaments in a single season, together with Don Budge, Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras.
Savitt was additionally a grand slam semi-finalist on three different events. However after successful the US Nationwide Indoor Championships in 1952, he retired from the tennis tour, with out ever publicly revealing why.
He received gold medals in singles and doubles on the 1961 Maccabiah Video games.
“He actually did not talk about it. He was lucky to be a profitable businessperson. He was within the oil enterprise for a few years after which turned a stockbroker. The enterprise world was actually good to him and he by no means appeared again,” Bob Savitt stated.
“He continued to play tennis four-plus days per week for over 50 years. In his 80s, he went down to a few days, after which two.
“He went to the US Open on daily basis and each night time nearly his complete grownup life till the final two years.”
AP
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