Fred Alexander

Fred Alexander
	Alexander playing a low forehand volley
Full name	Frederick Beasley Alexander
Country (sports)	United States
Born	August 14, 1880; Sea Bright NJ, U.S.
Died	March 3, 1969 (aged 88); Beverly Hills, CA, U.S.
Turned pro	1899 (amateur tour)
Retired	1920
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
College	Princeton University
Int. Tennis HoF	1961 (member page)
Singles
Career record	29–11
Highest ranking	No. 7 (1909, ITHF)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	W (1908)
US Open	F (1908)
Doubles
Career record	0–0
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W (1908)
US Open	W (1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1917)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
US Open	F (1918)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	F (1908Ch)

Frederick Beasley Alexander (August 14, 1880 – March 3, 1969) was an American tennis player in the early 20th century. He won the singles title at the 1908 Australasian Championships and six double titles at Grand Slam events.

Career

In 1908, Alexander became the first foreigner to win the singles title at the Australasian/Australian Championships, the amateur precursor to the Australian Open. He then teamed with Alfred Dunlop, the man he defeated in the final, to win the doubles.

Alexander attended Princeton University and won the Intercollegiate doubles championship in 1900 and the singles in 1901. Between 1904 and 1918, he was a U.S. top 10 player six times. He was a finalist in doubles at the U.S. Championships, precursor to the US Open, seven straight times beginning in 1905. He and partner Harold Hackett won the U.S. doubles each year from 1907 to 1910. At age 37, Alexander won again in 1917, partnering with Harold Throckmorton. In the singles, Alexander reached the all comers final in 1908, beating William Clothier, then losing to Beals Wright in straight sets.[2]

He competed in the U.S. Davis Cup team in 1908, which lost the final against Australia at the Albert Ground. Alexander lost both his singles matches against Norman Brookes and Anthony Wilding as well as the doubles match against these two with his partner Beals Wright.[3]

In 1915, he wrote How to Play Lawn Tennis, part of the Spalding's athletic library series.[4]

Alexander was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1961.[1]

U.S. Indoor Championships

Men's Doubles champion: 1906, 1907, 1908, 1911, 1912, 1917

Grand Slam finals

Spalding's Lawn Tennis Annual 1916 edited by Fred Alexander

Singles (1 title)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1908	Australasian Championships	Grass	Alfred Dunlop	3–6, 3–6, 6–0, 6–2, 6–3

Doubles (6 titles, 5 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1900	U.S. Championships	Grass	Raymond Little	Dwight Davis Holcombe Ward	4–6, 7–9, 10–12
Loss	1905	U.S. Championships	Grass	Harold Hackett	Holcombe Ward Beals Wright	4–6, 4–6, 1–6
Loss	1906	U.S. Championships	Grass	Harold Hackett	Holcombe Ward Beals Wright	3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 3–6
Win	1907	U.S. Championships	Grass	Harold Hackett	Nat Thornton Bryan M. Grant	6–2, 6–1, 6–1
Win	1908	Australasian Championships	Grass	Alfred Dunlop	G. G. Sharp Anthony Wilding	6–3, 6–2, 6–1
Win	1908	U.S. Championships	Grass	Harold Hackett	Raymond Little Beals Wright	6–1, 7–5, 6–2
Win	1909	U.S. Championships	Grass	Harold Hackett	George Janes Maurice McLoughlin	6–4, 6–4, 6–0
Win	1910	U.S. Championships	Grass	Harold Hackett	Tom Bundy Trowridge Hendrick	6–1, 8–6, 6–3
Loss	1911	U.S. Championships	Grass	Harold Hackett	Raymond Little Gustav Touchard	5–7, 15–13, 2–6, 4–6
Win	1917	U.S. Championships	Grass	Harold Throckmorton	Harry Johnson Irving Wright	11–9, 6–4, 6–4
Loss	1918	U.S. Championships	Grass	Beals Wright	Vincent Richards Bill Tilden	3–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 2–6

References

"Hall of Famers – Fred Alexander". International Tennis Hall of Fame. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
Talbert, Bill (1967). Tennis Observed. Boston: Barre Publishers. pp. 80, 81. OCLC 172306.
"Davis Cup – Player Profile Fred Alexander". International Tennis Federation (ITF). Retrieved 28 October 2016.
"How to play lawn tennis". Open Library.

External links

Fred Alexander at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
Fred Alexander at the Association of Tennis Professionals
Fred Alexander at the International Tennis Federation
Fred Alexander at the Davis Cup

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[ITHF-1] "Hall of Famers – Fred Alexander". International Tennis Hall of Fame. Retrieved 28 October 2016.

[talbert-2] Talbert, Bill (1967). Tennis Observed. Boston: Barre Publishers. pp. 80, 81. OCLC 172306.

[3] "Davis Cup – Player Profile Fred Alexander". International Tennis Federation (ITF). Retrieved 28 October 2016.

[4] "How to play lawn tennis". Open Library.