Gerald Patterson

Gerald Patterson
Country (sports)	Australia
Singles
Highest ranking	1 (1919)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	W (1927)
Wimbledon	W 1919, 1922
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W 1914, 1922, 1925, 1926, 1927
Wimbledon	F (1922, 1926)
US Open	W 1919
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon	W 1920
	Last updated on: June 8, 2009.

Gerald Leighton Patterson MC^[1] (17 December 1895 – 13 June 1967) was an Australian male tennis player. He was born in Melbourne, educated at Scotch College Melbourne and died in Melbourne in 13 June 1967. He was the co-World No. 1 player for 1919 along with Bill Johnston.

History

Tall and well-built, Gerald Patterson played a strong serve-and-volley game that won him three major singles. Patterson was known as the “Human Catapult” for his powerful serve that many of the top players had trouble returning. He also enjoyed great success representing Australia in Davis Cup and amassed a 32-14 win–loss record (singles 21-10, doubles 11-4) and was part of the winning team in 1919. Gerald played Davis cup 1920, 1922, 1924, 1925, 1928 and finally as captain in 1946. He was a player ahead of his time, playing with a steel racquet strung with wire in 1925.

He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1989 and then the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in August 1997

Patterson was the nephew of Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba^[2] and father of racing driver Bill Patterson. Patterson was awarded the Military Cross for bravery as an officer in Royal Field Artillery in 1917 at Messines.

Grand Slam record

Australian championships

Singles champion: 1927
- Singles finalist: 1914, 1922, 1925
Doubles champion 1914, 1922, 1925, 1926, 1927
- Doubles finalist: 1924, 1932

Wimbledon championships

Singles champion: 1919, 1922
- Singles finalist: 1920
- Doubles finalist: 1922, 1926
Mixed champion: 1920

External links

"Gerald Leighton Patterson". International Tennis Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2009-09-24.
ADB biography

References

^ "Gerald Leighton Patterson". International Tennis Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 19, 2010. ^{[dead link]}
^ Virginia O'Farrell. "Patterson, Gerald Leighton (1895 - 1967)". Australian Dictionary of Biography Online Edition. Retrieved January 19, 2010.

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[1] "Gerald Leighton Patterson". International Tennis Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 19, 2010. ^{[dead link]}

[2] Virginia O'Farrell. "Patterson, Gerald Leighton (1895 - 1967)". Australian Dictionary of Biography Online Edition. Retrieved January 19, 2010.

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