Frank Hadow
{{short description|British tennis player}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox tennis biography
|name = Frank Hadow
|fullname = Patrick Francis Hadow
|nickname =
|image = Harrow hadows brothers.jpg
|caption = The Harrow Hadows, P.F. Hadow in centre.
(Hadow family collection)
|country ={{GBR}}
|birth_date ={{birth date|df=yes|1855|1|2}}
|birth_place =Regent's Park, Middlesex, England
|death_date ={{death date and age|df=yes|1946|6|29|1855|1|2}}
|death_place =Bridgwater, Somerset, England
|height =
|turnedpro = 1878 (amateur tour)
|retired = 1878
|plays =
|highestsinglesranking = 1st (1878)
|AustralianOpenresult =
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|Wimbledonresult = W (1878)
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Patrick Francis "Frank" Hadow (2 January 1855{{Cite web|url=http://www.db4tennis.com/players/male/patrick-hadow|title=Patrick Hadow's GS Performance Timeline & Stats}} – 29 June 1946) was an English tennis player, who won the Wimbledon championship in 1878.{{cite news|newspaper=The Dallas Morning News|date=5 July 2004|title=Wimbledon Champions|url= http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/DM/lib00375,103AC74EEA25BEA2.html}}
Personal life
Born 2{{Cite web|url=http://www.db4tennis.com/players/male/patrick-hadow|title=Patrick Hadow's GS Performance Timeline & Stats}} January 1855 Regent's Park, his father was Patrick Douglas Hadow who was educated at Harrow School and Balliol College Oxford University and became Chairman of P&O.
Frank Hadow attended Harrow School along with six of his seven brothers who were known as the "Harrow Hadows". Hadow represented Harrow at rackets and the brothers were well known as distinguished cricketers. Hadow's oldest brother Douglas Robert Hadow died during the descent after the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865.{{cite news| url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/history/story/0,,392434,00.html | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Cliffhanger at the top of the world | date=4 November 2000 | access-date=2 May 2010 | first=Fergus | last=Fleming}}
Sporting career
He was the loftiest Wimbledon Champion. He played at Wimbledon whilst on holiday from his coffee plantation in Ceylon. He did not defend his title – and is therefore the only male champion never to have lost a set in singles there. He returned to Wimbledon nearly half a century later to collect a commemorative medal from Queen Mary for being the oldest surviving champion.[http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/news/features/championships/gore.html The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club]
When asked if he would defend his title Hadow is reported to have said "No sir. It's a sissy's game played with a soft ball."http://www.polartravel.co.uk/approach.htm{{Dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} {{better source|reason=need reference dated before 2007|date=October 2019}}
Hadow was also a distinguished big game hunter, hunting in Africa in the early years of the 20th century. He has listings in many categories of the 1928 Rowland Ward "Records of Big Game", including ranking trophies in the sable antelope, Cape buffalo, Uganda kob and eland categories.
As a cricketer, he also represented Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), Middlesex, the Orleans Club, the South and the Gentlemen of England as a right-handed batsman in seven first-class matches between 1883 and 1891. He also played cricket in Ceylon.
He died on 29 June 1946 in Bridgwater, Somerset.
Creator of the lob
Hadow introduced the tennis technique of lobbing—sending the ball high and deep into the opponent's court—and used it to defeat the volleyer Spencer Gore in the 1878 (second) Wimbledon Men's Final, 7–5, 6–1, 9–7.{{cite book|last1=Robertson|first1=Max|title=Wimbledon : Centre Court of the Game : Final Verdict|date=1987|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|location=London|isbn=9780563204541|pages=14, 16|edition=3rd}}{{cite book|last=Ohnsorg|first=Roger W.|title=Robert Lindley Murray: the Reluctant U.S. Tennis Champion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ppWA-zNJ0y8C&pg=PA13|year=2011|publisher=Trafford Publishing|isbn=978-1426945137|page=13}}
Grand Slam tournaments
=Singles: 1 (1 title)=
| class="wikitable"
!style="width:45px"|Result !style="width:50px"|Date !style="width:160px"|Tournament !style="width:50px"|Surface !style="width:170px"|Opponent !style="width:140px" class="unsortable"|Score | |||||
| style="background:#cfc;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 1878 | Wimbledon | Grass | {{flagicon|GBR}} Spencer Gore | 7–5, 6–1, 9–7 |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/england/content/player/14432.html Cricinfo]
- [https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/29/29861/29861.html Cricket Archive]
{{Wimbledon men's singles champions}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadow, Frank}}
Category:19th-century English sportsmen
Category:19th-century male tennis players
Category:English male tennis players
Category:British male tennis players
Category:Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers
Category:People educated at Harrow School
Category:People from Westminster
Category:Tennis players from the City of Westminster
Category:People from British Ceylon
Category:Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era)
Category:Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles
Category:North v South cricketers