(FeaturedHeadlines.com) Legendary tennis player Vic Seixas, who dominated the courts in the wooden racket era, died on July 5 at the age of 100.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame announced Seixas’s death after confirmation from his daughter and called him the “face of American tennis” from 1940 to 1968.
Seixas won the men’s singles Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 1953 and the US Open in 1954. He also won eight mixed doubles and five men’s doubles Grand Slam championships during his historic career. After winning 56 titles overall, he retired from regular tournaments in 1970 but continued showing his heroics in senior matches.
Between 1940 and 1969, Seixas participated in 28 US tennis championships at Forest Hill and only missed the tournaments when he served as a pilot in the United States Air Forces during World War II.
Seixas was a formidable opponent on the court and rose to fame for his athleticism, strong volleys, and strategic play. Sports writer Herbert Warren Wind noted in Sports Illustrated in 1958 that Seixas had a habit of winning matches even when out of form and seemingly having no chance against strong opponents, but he still used to pull things back with a series of exceptional volleys.
Seixas’s strategic plays also helped the US reach seven consecutive finals of the Davis Cup from 1951 to 1957. The US played against Australia in all those finals but only managed to reach the ultimate glory once in 1954.
Born on August 30, 1923, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Seixas was inspired by his father, who was a businessman by profession but used to play tennis at a local court where Seixas also started playing the game before making his name at a bigger stage. Despite earning a legacy, Seixas never made tennis his profession and continued competing as an amateur.
In 1971, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in recognition of his contributions to the sport.
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