Vic Seixas

Vic Seixas

Seixas in 1954
Full name	Elias Victor Seixas, Jr.
Country (sports)	United States
Born	August 30, 1923 Philadelphia, United States
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro	1940
Retired	1970
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF	1971 (member page)
Singles
Career record	127–45
Highest ranking	No. 1 (1953, Reading Eagle)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	SF (1953)
French Open	F (1953)
Wimbledon	W (1953)
US Open	W (1954)
Doubles
Career record	4–9
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	W (1955)
French Open	W (1954, 1955)
Wimbledon	F (1952, 1954)
US Open	W (1952, 1954)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open	W (1953)
Wimbledon	W (1953, 1954, 1955, 1956)
US Open	W (1953, 1954, 1955)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	W (1954)

Elias Victor Seixas, Jr. (IPA: [ˈseɪʃəs]; born August 30, 1923) is an American former tennis player.

Early Life

Seixas was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Anna Victoria (Moon), who was of Irish descent, and Elias Victor Seixas, who was born in Brazil, of Portuguese Sephardi Jewish ancestry.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} He attended and graduated from the William Penn Charter School, where he was a tennis star.^{[7][8][9][10]}

After serving in World War II, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), where he was a member of Alpha Sigma of the Chi Psi fraternity. He graduated in 1949, the same year that UNC awarded him the Patterson Medal in athletics.

Thirteen times he was ranked in the Top Ten in the U.S. between 1942 and 1966. In 1951 Seixas was ranked No. 4 in the world, two spots below Dick Savitt, while he was No. 1 in the U.S. ranking, one spot ahead of Savitt. In 1953, Seixas was ranked No. 3 in the world by Lance Tingay, and was also cited as being the World No. 1 in the Reading Eagle newspaper the same year.^[1]

He is currently the oldest living male Grand Slam singles champion.

Tennis career

In a very long career, Seixas won scores of singles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles. His career was interrupted for three years by World War II, during which he served as a pilot in the United States Army Air Forces. He also became an All-American during his years at UNC.

His major singles wins include Wimbledon in 1953 over Kurt Nielsen and the U.S. National (U.S. Open) in 1954 over Rex Hartwig.

He was also a successful doubles and mixed doubles player. In 1952 he won the U.S. National doubles with Mervyn Rose. In the mid-fifties he formed a successful partnership with Tony Trabert, winning the 1954 French and U.S. Championships as well as the 1955 Australian and French Championships. Additionally they won the decisive third point in the 1954 Davis Cup win over Australia. Seixas won four consecutive mixed doubles crowns at Wimbledon from 1953–56, the first three with Doris Hart and the fourth with Shirley Fry; the U.S. National mixed doubles from 1953–55, all with Doris Hart; and the French Championships mixed doubles in 1953, with Doris Hart.

In 1966, Seixas was rated as the Senior Squash Champion of America.

Davis Cup

Seixas and Trabert won the Davis Cup in 1954, against Australia. Seixas is rated fifth in the category of Most Davis Cup Singles matches (24), just behind Bill Tilden (25) and Arthur Ashe (27). He served three times as Captain of the US Davis Cup team. He was 38–17 lifetime in Davis Cup matches.^[11]

Halls of Fame

Seixas was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1971.^[12]

He was inducted into the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic Hall of Fame.^[13]

After tennis retirement

Seixas was a stockbroker from the late 1950s until the early 1970s. Afterwards, he worked as a tennis director for the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, and at a Hilton Hotel in New Orleans. He moved to California in 1989 where he established a tennis program at the Harbor Point Racquet and Beach Club in Mill Valley (Marin County). In 1998, unable to play tennis any longer due to his knees, he chose to become a bartender.^[14]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 5 (2 titles, 3 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1951	U.S. Championships	Grass	Frank Sedgman	6–4, 6–1, 6–1
Runner-up	1953	French Championships	Clay	Ken Rosewall	6–3, 6–4, 1–6, 6–2
Winner	1953	Wimbledon	Grass	Kurt Nielsen	9–7, 6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	1953	U.S. Championships	Grass	Tony Trabert	6–3, 6–2, 6–3
Winner	1954	U.S. Championships	Grass	Rex Hartwig	3–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–4

Men's doubles: 8 (5 titles, 3 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1952	Wimbledon	Grass	Eric Sturgess	Ken McGregor Frank Sedgman	6–3, 7–5, 6–4
Winner	1952	U.S. Championships	Grass	Mervyn Rose	Ken McGregor Frank Sedgman	3–6, 10–8, 10–8, 6–8, 8–6
Winner	1954	French Championships	Clay	Tony Trabert	Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall	6–4, 6–2, 6–1
Runner-up	1954	Wimbledon	Grass	Tony Trabert	Rex Hartwig Mervyn Rose	6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Winner	1954	U.S. Championships	Grass	Tony Trabert	Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall	3–6, 6–4, 8–6, 6–3
Winner	1955	Australian Championships	Grass	Tony Trabert	Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall	6–3, 6–2, 2–6, 3–6, 6–1
Winner	1955	French Championships	Clay	Tony Trabert	Nicola Pietrangeli Orlando Sirola	6–1, 4–6, 6–2, 6–4
Runner-up	1956	U.S. Championships	Grass	Ham Richardson	Lew Hoad Ken Rosewall	6–2, 6–2, 3–6, 6–4

Performance timeline

Tournament	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	SF	QF	QF	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
French	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	QF	A	A	F	QF	4R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A
Wimbledon	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	SF	A	QF	W	QF	2R	SF	QF	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	2R	A	1R
U.S.	3R	3R	2R	A	2R	A	3R	4R	4R	1R	3R	F	4R	F	W	SF	SF	QF	QF	4R	4R	3R	4R	3R	4R	4R	2R	2R	2R	1R

See also

• List of select Jewish tennis players

References

1. "Seixas Tests Shea in Eastern Tennis", Reading Eagle, August 6, 1953.
2. Current Biography Yearbook. H. W. Wilson Co. 1953.
3. ".". Youngstown Vindicator. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
4. Saul S. Friedman. A History of the Middle East. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
5. Bob Wechsler. Day by Day in Jewish Sports History. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
6. "Everyculture.com: Portuguese-Americans".
7. "Education's More Than Just A History Lesson At . . . The Penn Charter School". philly.com. July 9, 2007.
8. "Seixas Relishes His Memories Of Aussies' Tumble". Philadelphia Daily News. July 16, 1999. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
9. ".". The Day. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
10. ".". Reading Eagle. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
11. "Davis Cup Official Website".
12. "Elias Victor Seixas, Jr. "Vic" – International Tennis Hall of Fame". Retrieved August 20, 2010.
13. "Blue Gray National Tennis Classic Hall of Fame".
14. Steve Flink (30 June 2003). "Seixas the humble champion recalls his 'crowning jewel'". The Independent.

External links

• Vic Seixas at the International Tennis Federation
• Vic Seixas at the Davis Cup
• Vic Seixas at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Prominent members of Chi Psi