THE FIRST GRAND SLAM
In
1937, American Don Budge and German Gottfried von Cramm were among the top
tennis players in the world. In that pre-World War Two era, before
television-fueled pro tennis took over the game, the Davis Cup was a sports
event that generated intense interest, and along with other important tennis
matches was even broadcast on radio, usually featuring the words-as-pictures,
silken-voiced Ted Husing.
The American and German teams met at Wimbledon and were
tied 2-2 going into the final singles match between von Cramm and Budge. There
had to be enormous pressure on von Cramm. Surely Hitler didn’t want a repeat of
1936 when the American Olympic track and field team crushed the Germans. (see
Chapter 5: “Jesse Sticks a Finger in Hitler’s Eye.”)
Von Cramm led the final set of a furious seesaw match
four games to one. But Budge, who had what was arguably the most productive
backhand ever, turned his game around and rallied to win the set 8-6 in one of
the greatest tennis matches ever played. Budge’s final shot was a diving winner
to a deep corner. As American tennis immortal Bill Tilden once said, “Never
change a winning game, and always change a losing one.”
With Budge’s defeat of Van Cramm the United States team advanced
and beat Great Britain to win the Davis Cup for the first time in 12 years. The
Associated Press named Budge Athlete of the Year, and he also became the first
tennis player to be voted the James E. Sullivan Award as America's top amateur
athlete.
In
another first, Don Budge became the first player to win the Grand Slam, including
the French, Wimbledon, U.S., and Australian titles in 1938. And during that
landmark year he won an astounding 92 consecutive matches. Budge turned pro in
late 1938 and was an immediate success on the circuit.
Despite
a shoulder injury he suffered while serving in the military during World War
Two, Budge continued his pro career for a few years after the war but rarely
showed his prewar form. Nonetheless, he is among the best players the game has
produced, and his 1937 Davis Cup comeback victory made him an American hero.
Tennis legend Bill Tilden said about Don Budge, “I consider him the finest
player 365 days a year who ever lived.”¹
For 77 more heartbreak-and-defeat stories in 12 other sports see Guts in the Clutch >
SOURCE:
THE
FIRST GRAND SLAM
1 Courtesy of ATP Tennis, http://www.atptennis.com/5/en/legends/budge.asp,
available as of 10/13/07
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