History - 1930s - The Championships, Wimbledon 2017 - Official Site by IBM READ MORE 1931: Sidney Wood The 1931 Men’s Championship final has a sad place in Wimbledon’s distinguished history in being the only one never to have taken place. In what was to have been an all-American affair between Davis Cup team-mates and good friends Sidney Wood and Frank Shields, the 19-year-old Wood was handed the trophy without having to swing a racket when Shields was forced to withdraw from what should have been his great day after damaging a knee in his semi-final victory over Jean Borotra. Wood had made his Wimbledon debut as a 15-year-old in 1927, gathering a mere five games in losing his first-round match against Rene Lacoste and 1931 was his first Wimbledon since that miserable occasion. Seeded seventh, he dropped only two sets in reaching the semi-finals, where he saw off the challenge of a bright English 22-year-old called Fred Perry in four sets. It was to be, in effect, the match which won him the title.

1933: Jack Crawford v Ellsworth Vines Having won the 1932 Wimbledon men’s crown on debut at 21, the tall Californian Ellsworth Vines was a hot favourite to repeat that success at the 1933 Championships. With his centre-parted hair, long-sleeved shirts buttoned at the wrists and old-fashioned square-headed racket, his opponent in the final, Jack Crawford, was a throwback to the more leisurely, elegant days of tennis, but there was nothing old-fashioned about his game, or his tactics. Battered by the Vines serve, which produced 11 winning games to love, Crawford clung on grimly. The Australian edged through in the second 11-9 and won the third easily, only to drop the fourth. In the fifth set, Crawford abandoned his defensive tactics, began rushing the net and won the title 4-6, 11-9, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 by breaking the Vines serve to love. It has deservedly taken its place as one of the finest ever Wimbledon finals, and proved a popular victory for the first Australian champion since Gerald Patterson 11 years earlier.

1935: Helen Wills Moody v Jacobs The dazzling 1920s achievements of Suzanne Lenglen at Wimbledon were soon matched, and then exceeded, by Helen Wills Moody, a Californian the media nicknamed “Miss Poker Face”, whose eight Wimbledon singles titles remained a women’s record until Martina Navratilova hove into sight in the 1990s. It was the misfortune of another Californian, Helen Jacobs, to have a career which ran parallel to the world’s greatest. Jacobs was the victim in four of Wills Moody’s last five Wimbledon finals, but none could have been more disappointing than the 1935 final. Wills Moody was short of practice and seeded only fourth when she arrived in search of her seventh Wimbledon. Having dropped the second set Wills Moody was rattled and went match point down at 2-5 in the deciding set, saving it when Jacobs netted a wind-affected smash. Inevitably from there, Wills Moody surged home 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. The following year provided consolation of sorts for Jacobs. With Wills Moody absent, she won her only Wimbledon.

1936: Fred Perry’s third title Fred Perry’s achievement in winning Wimbledon in three successive years still shines beacon-bright. When he pulled off the first hat-trick of titles it marked a quarter of a century since Britain’s previous men’s winner, Arthur Gore in 1909 (the year Fred was born), and since then 75 years have passed without a British men’s champion. The fact all three of Perry’s victories were achieved in straight sets was testimony to a fitness regime, which included training with the Arsenal football team, and the first was possibly the most impressive when in the 1934 final he overcame the defending champion Jack Crawford 6-3, 6-0, 7-5. Gottfried von Cramm, the first German to reach a Wimbledon men’s final, was Perry’s 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 victim in the 1935 final, but there was concern when von Cramm defeated Perry in the 1936 French Open final. Aided by the knowledge that the German was carrying a leg injury, though, Perry swept home 6-1, 6-1, 6-0.

And after winning the US title two months later, Perry was lost to the professional game. 1937: The first television coverage It had been less than a year since the famous Movietone News commentator Leslie Mitchell presented the first ever BBC television programme to the British public with the words: “It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to the magic of television.” Those words were spoken on 26 August 1936. By the following spring the BBC broadcast their epoch-making first live sports coverage, with The Championships being honoured to introduce sport to a television audience, albeit of only a few thousand within a 40-mile radius of the BBC’s transmitters in north London. With two cameras on Centre Court, the daily transmission time limited to 30 minutes, and the Corporation’s top announcer Freddie Grisewood doing the commentating, the first round match on 21 June 1937 between the fourth seed Bunny Austin and George Rogers of Ireland was screened. The next day The Daily Telegraph reported, “You could observe every movement of the players and even the passage of the marks of the lawnmower over the grass were distinctly visible”.

1937: Dorothy Round Britain’s tennis reputation - and morale - which was given such a boost by Fred Perry’s successes was further lifted in the years preceding World War II by the achievements on the women’s side of Dorothy Round. Round, whose religious principles caused a stir in Paris when she refused to play on a Sunday at the French Open, had teamed up with Perry for a British double in 1934 by overcoming the top-seeded Helen Jacobs in a three-set final, and three years later she became champion for the second time. It was an altogether more arduous task in 1937. As seventh seed, Round had to repel Helen Jacobs in the quarter-finals and then France’s leading player, Simone Mathieu, in the semis before bravely coming through against the strong Polish fourth seed, Jadwiga Jerdrzejowska, 7-5 in the deciding set. Round’s Wimbledon triumphs, which included back-to-back mixed doubles titles with Fred Perry in 1935-36, were achieved in the era of Helen Wills Moody’s greatness, and were the last by a British woman until Angela Mortimer in 1961.

1937: Singles, Doubles and Mixed After the exhilarating hat-trick of Wimbledon wins by Fred Perry, it was the turn of the United States, spearheaded by the great Don Budge, to take over domination of the men’s singles championship - and the tall, red-headed American did it in some style by also winning the men’s doubles and mixed doubles crowns - and then repeating that astonishing achievement the following year, when he also became the first to win the Grand Slam of all four major singles titles. As top seed, Budge dropped only one set in the 1937 singles (to fellow American Frank Parker in the semi-finals), and he crushed Gottfried von Cramm for the loss of just nine games in the final. Budge’s success in the 1937 men’s doubles, with Gene Mako, was notable as the American pair were winners in four sets against the British Davis Cup combination of Pat Hughes and Charles Tuckey. The mixed doubles, where he teamed up with Alice Marble, was an easier affair, a 6-4 6-1 stroll against the French couple, Yvon Petra and Simone Mathieu.

1937: Donald Budge v Gottfried Von Cramm One of the finest men’s contests in the history of Centre Court took place not in The Championships but the Davis Cup, when Germany faced the United States in the 1937 Inter-Zone play-off for the right to challenge the defending champions, Great Britain, in the final. The tie, agonisingly poised at 2-2 on the third and final day, hung on the last singles in which the newly crowned Wimbledon champion, Don Budge, faced Gottfried von Cramm, the man he had beaten to capture the title. Before going on court Von Cramm took a phone call from Adolf Hitler urging him to win for the Fatherland. He won the first two marathon sets 8-6 and then 7-5. The next two sets went to the American but in the fifth von Cramm, playing the tennis of his life, opened up a 4-1 lead. Budge told his non-playing captain Walter Pate, “Don’t worry Cap, I’ll win this if it kills me”.

And he did, breaking serve at 6-6 to win 8-6 against an opponent who saved five match points in an unforgettable contest, which ended in semi-darkness. 1938: Bunny Austin Bunny Austin started to come to prominence in the ‘20s while an undergraduate at Cambridge but it was in the next decade that he made even more of an impact with two appearances in the men's singles final at Wimbledon in 1932 and 1938. Not since 1938, when he was beaten by the Grand Slam winner Don Budge, has a British player reached the final. Austin was overshadowed by Fred Perry who won the Wimbledon title three times but he was a considerable force in the Davis Cup team, which won the trophy four times in the ‘30s. He was far from a disappointment at Wimbledon as he first secured a place in the singles final in 1932 when he was beaten by Ellsworth Vines of California who was recorded as having won the last point with a service which nobody saw, apart from a cloud of dust.

Austin did leave his mark on Wimbledon — in 1934 he was the first player to wear shorts there — and he was a quarter-finalist or better 10 times. 1938: Donald Budge Don Budge of the USA started to make an impact when he first played at Wimbledon in 1935 and three years later became the first Grand Slam winner, including taking the Wimbledon title without losing a set. Three times Budge was taken as close as 7-5 but in no round did he concede more than eight games. His final against Bunny Austin of Great Britain was his best performance that year, winning by 6-1, 6-0, 6-3. Budge won the doubles and mixed doubles as well, just as he had in 1937, and was the undoubted No.1 player in the world, a position he maintained for five years. Budge was a genuine giant of a player and his rolled backhand was widely praised as his most defining stroke. It was a weapon that gave his game a significant foundation.

During World War II he tore a shoulder muscle that affected him later in his career, which was largely spent in the professional ranks dealing with players such as Bobby Riggs, who was the last pre-war champion at Wimbledon, and Frank Sedgman. 1938: Helen Wills Moody’s Eighth Helen Wills was beaten in the first Wimbledon final she played - against the British player Kitty Godfree in 1924--but the rest of her appearances at Wimbledon simply allowed her to demonstrate her astonishing skills on grass and the command she built and sustained over the championships. As an example, she lost a set in the first round of the 1927 championships but did not lose another until six years later, not just at Wimbledon but in any other tournament as well. Her nickname "Little Miss Poker Face," because of her intense concentration, was well earned. In 1938 she came to play at Wimbledon for the last time, winning once more at the age of 32. It was at Wimbledon where she made the greatest impact and one of her contemporaries, Don Budge, said many years later that in his view no woman hit the ball harder until Steffi Graf came along.

Wills Moody always practised with men players. It was Martina Navratilova who finally overhauled Wills Moody in 1990 when she won her ninth Wimbledon title. Fred Perry: the icon and the outcast | History Extra Directory Fred Perry: the icon and the outcast With Wimbledon upon us, Kevin Jefferys reviews the career of the man who triumphed 78 years ago, Fred Perry Monday 23rd June 2014 BBC History Magazine - 5 issues for £5 Britain dominated the world of lawn tennis in the mid-1930s thanks largely to Fred Perry. For three years he was the undisputed world number one, winning a string of major titles and making a vital contribution to Britain’s domination of the premier international competition in tennis, the Davis Cup. His legacy remains powerful today. Visitors to Wimbledon often stop to peer at the three-quarter-life-size statue of Perry, unveiled 50 years after his first victory at the Championships, showing him smartly attired and hitting his famous forehand drive. Today Perry has iconic status, but it was not always so: this champion was once Britain’s unsung tennis hero.

A hundred years on from his birth, it should not be forgotten that in his prime playing days, and for many afterwards, Perry was acclaimed across the tennis world but was not universally admired in his homeland. Top, but not ‘the best' Journalists watching him defeat the Australian Jack Crawford to lift the Wimbledon crown in 1934 commented on the “strange lack of excitement” among spectators, and one American magazine went as far as to say: “Perry is not a popular champion at home”. In an incident that rankled for the rest of his life, Perry’s elation at taking the title turned to anger when he overheard a Wimbledon committee member saying to Crawford in the dressing room after the final that this was one day “when the best man didn’t win”. A major factor in explaining this coolness towards Perry was his social background. The Perry family had northern working class roots and Fred only had the chance to take up tennis when his father, developing a career in left-wing politics, moved after the First World War to an area of London where suburban tennis clubs were expanding rapidly. Instead of being confined exclusively to the rich, tennis was becoming an option for aspiring families such as the Perrys.

But as he sought to make his way in the game, Fred Perry faced many who saw him as not ‘one of us’ – the traditional public-school educated middle classes who still dominated British tennis as players, administrators and officials. One insider summed up the attitude towards Perry when he first won a place on the Davis Cup team by saying: “as we’ve got to have the bloody upstart, we might as well knock him into shape and try and get the best out of him”. As the dressing room episode in 1934 illustrated, even winning Wimbledon did not remove all traces of social prejudice. Perry was not entirely a passive victim of the class distinctions in British society between the wars. His abrasiveness and refusal to “let people tell me what to do or order me about” made him enemies in tennis circles. Players in the 1930s were expected to behave with decorum; ‘gentleman Jack Crawford’ was known for his exemplary court manners. Fred Perry, by contrast, possessed a ruthless streak, refused to conceal his ambition and indulged in gamesmanship such as making offensive personal remarks to opponents.

Despite dominating the world scene he offended the sensibilities of well-to-do Wimbledon spectators because his court persona was so much at odds with the ethos of the day. It also mattered that tennis remained firmly wedded to amateur principles. The idea that the game should be played for pleasure not profit – and in the right spirit – had been rigorously enforced since the Victorian period by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). Lacking the pedigree and temperament of traditional gentleman amateurs such as Crawford, Perry clashed with the authorities and was increasingly tempted to cash in on his global fame. Simmering difficulties with the LTA continued until, at the end of 1936, he left Britain to join a small professional circuit living and touring mostly in the USA. This move enabled him to make large sums of money but meant he was banned from the world’s top amateur events, including Wimbledon and the Davis Cup. At the start of 1937, Perry thus found himself a sporting outcast in his homeland. He was relieved of his honorary membership of the prestigious All England Club – awarded to him as Wimbledon champion – and when his professional tour visited Britain he was barred from appearing on the courts of any LTA-affiliated club.

There was no campaign in Britain in the late 1930s to find and cultivate new champions in Perry’s wake. Instead, the most successful player the nation had produced became almost a non-person in the eyes of the tennis establishment. After the Second World War, Perry built a new life based around business enterprises (notably the famous Fred Perry sportswear label), coaching and commentating. Based mainly in the USA, which he found less hidebound than Britain about social distinctions, his frosty relationship with the All England Club and the LTA improved slowly over the years, especially when tennis finally embraced professionalism after 1968. Even so, it was only towards the end of his life that reconciliation became complete. The same bodies that once shunned him were ever more anxious to honour Perry, in part because his reputation soared as the years passed in which no British man was able to match his success. His appreciation of the unveiling of the statue in 1984 was enhanced when the All England Club chairman said he hoped that Fred agreed Wimbledon was “today the most hospitable of clubs”, in contrast to the unfriendliness of earlier times.

In the same year, a quarter of a century ago, Perry was the only tennis player listed in a survey of 2,000 Britons aimed at finding the ‘Best of the Best’ British sportsmen of the 20th century. At long last, Fred Perry was no longer Britain’s unsung tennis hero. His place as a domestic sporting legend was secure. Born: 18 May 1909, Stockport Died: 2 February 1995 in Melbourne, attending the Australian Open Claims to fame: Won Wimbledon on three successive occasions (1934, 1935 and 1936); the first man to win all four ‘grand slam’ titles – Wimbledon, Australian, French and American championships – though not in the same year Playing style: immensely quick, with all-court ability; trademark shot a deadly ‘early-ball’ running forehand Wimbledon record: reached semi final once in five attempts before 1934 and won mixed doubles twice Other achievements: won a total of eight grand slam titles, three in the USA and one each in Australia and France.

He also played a pivotal role as Britain won the Davis Cup four years running (1933–36) British players at Wimbledon Since Fred Perry’s last victory in 1936, four British women have won the singles title: Dorothy Round (1908–82) Claims to fame: one of only two British women since 1920s to win Wimbledon twice; refused as a Christian to play on Sundays Playing style: all rounder comfortable both at baseline and net Wimbledon record: reached quarter finals four times; lost in final 1933; took title in 1934 and 1937; won mixed doubles three times, twice with Perry Other achievements: won Australian championships (1935) Angela Mortimer (born 1932) Claims to fame: triumphed in first all-British Wimbledon final for nearly 50 years; built successful career despite being partially deaf Playing style: fast around court and particularly stinging forehand Wimbledon record: lost in one semi final and one final before beating Christine Truman in tight 1961 finale Other achievements: won two other grand slam titles, in France (1955) and Australia (1958

) Ann Jones (born 1938) Claims to fame: first left-hander to win women’s singles at Wimbledon; like Fred Perry, competed in world table tennis championships before concentrating on tennis Playing style: consistent, penetrating ground strokes and tough competitor Wimbledon record: lost in semi finals six times and final once before famous three-set victory over Billie Jean King (1969) Other achievements: won French championships twice (1961, 1966); runner-up in total of six grand slam finals Virginia Wade (born 1945) Claims to fame: triumphed at Wimbledon’s 1977 centenary championships in front of Queen Elizabeth, attending during her Silver Jubilee; first woman elected to committee of All England Club Playing style: athletic all-court game built on strong serve and volley Wimbledon record: 1977 win over Betty Stove was one of over 20 appearances Other achievements: remarkable 55 singles titles in 26-year career, including grand slam events in USA (1968) and Australia (1972) Before Andy Murray's victory at Wimbledon, few British men have even come close to taking the singles crown since Perry: HW ‘Bunny’ Austin

 (1906–2000) Claims to fame: last British man to reach Wimbledon singles final; among first to wear shorts on the famous grass courts Playing style: elegant baseliner, renowned for accuracy Wimbledon record: reached latter stages several times; soundly beaten in final by Americans Ellsworth Vines (1932) and Donald Budge (1938) Other achievements: superb British number two to Perry in Davis Cup; reached final of French championships (1937) Mike Sangster (1940–85) Claim to fame: first British man since Bunny Austin to reach last four at Wimbledon (1961) Playing style: built around one of the fastest serves in the modern game Wimbledon record: aside from 1961, never progressed beyond third round in ten attempts Other achievements: strong record in grand slams, reaching quarter finals in Australia twice and semi finals in United States (1961) and France (1963) Roger Taylor (born 1941) Claims to fame: reached semi finals at Wimbledon three times (1967, 1970, 1973), on last occasion beating youthful Björn Borg

 en route; good looks made him one of so-called ‘Handsome Eight’ of touring professionals in late 1960s Playing style: rugged left-hander with wide variety of shots Wimbledon record: never went beyond second round except in his three best years Other achievements: won six singles and eight doubles titles, including United States doubles twice (1971, 1972) Tim Henman (born 1974) Claims to fame: within two points of reaching Wimbledon final before losing to Goran Ivanisevic in 2001; inspired and frustrated legions of British tennis fans, including those on ‘Henman Hill’ at Wimbledon Playing style: one of the last instinctive serve-and-volleyers Wimbledon record: four-time semi-finalist (1998, 1999, 2001, 2002), on each occasion losing to eventual winner Other achievements: won 11 singles titles; reached world ranking of four Kevin Jefferys is professor of history at Plymouth University.

His publications include Finest & Darkest Hours (Atlantic, 2002) and Politics & the People (Atlantic, 2007) Best of British: Murray trumps Perry - The Championships, Wimbledon 2017 - Official Site by IBM Best of British: Murray trumps Perry New Wimbledon champion has a way to go to match legend's eight Grand Slams but his achievements are greater READ MORE Follow the latest news and scores from Wimbledon 2016 on Wimbledon.com or Apple TV , or download the official IOS or Android apps for smartphone and tablet For the first time, Andy Murray played a Wimbledon final without having to say boo to Fred Perry's ghost. All Fortnight, there had scarcely been a mention of Perry across the grounds, even if Murray's victory over Milos Raonic made him the first British man to score multiple titles at the All England Club since the son of a Labour Member of Parliament was the champion from 1934-6. Certainly, this was nothing like the summer of 2013 when Murray became the first British man for 77 years - so the first since Fred - to win the singles title.

That year, he couldn't get through a single point without someone in the crowd invoking Perry's name. It had been the same the summer before, in his first Wimbledon final, when he was the runner-up to Roger Federer . But there's good reason to bring Perry back into the conversation - for this was a day when Murray demonstrated why he is the greatest British tennis player in history, above even the man immortalised in bronze at the All England Club. A personal view is, even if Murray had lost to Raonic, that would still have been the case. But beating the Canadian reinforced Murray's status as the British GOAT (greatest of all time). It's true that Perry still has one more Wimbledon title than Murray, with three to two, and Perry also has more Grand Slams, as he leads the Scot by eight majors to three. It's also correct that Perry is part of that select group of men to have achieved the career Grand Slam by winning all four majors at least once each, while Murray is still an Australian Open title and a Roland Garros triumph short. A view of the Fred Perry statue at Wimbledon.

And Perry can't change the sepia era he played in - that gentler time of Brylcreem, white tennis balls and flannel trousers. Workaholic Murray is better than ever on grass But surely Murray's Grand Slam titles count for more than Perry's? Murray's trio, the first of which he won at the 2012 US Open, have come in the hardest era of all, with the 29-year-old having the misfortune to be competing at the same time as three men - Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic - who have won the career Grand Slam. Perry played in 10 Slam finals and lost just twice. This was Murray's 11th major final, though the first one when he wasn't looking over the net at Federer or Djokovic. So the first one as favourite. And even without Federer and Djokovic around, Murray was still having to contend with an opponent who was serving at up to 147mph. That's probably twice the speed they served in the 1930s. "I have a good feeling about this," Murray wrote in a text message to Tim Henman before The Championships, and he was right.

A measure of Murray's greatness is that this final never felt fraught. Murray: 'I'm going to make sure I enjoy this one' Compared with the 2013 final - which he also won in straight sets, but which had that enormously stressful ending - this was a match with remarkably little jeopardy. In a thinner era - in a normal era - Murray would have more than three Grand Slam titles by now. He could even be up at eight. Tennis in the 1930s and tennis in the 21st century are so removed from each other they might as well be different sports. And, anyway, there's a decent chance that Murray will equal and then surpass Perry's tally of Wimbledon titles. If he plays next summer like he did over the past fortnight, it will be hard to stop him taking a third title on the grass. Now that he has won his first Slam for three years, and gone back to being a major champion, perhaps Murray has also given himself a chance of getting close to Perry's eight titles. The career Grand Slam will be in play next season.

His run to this year's French Open final - the first time he had appeared in the Roland Garros denouement - showed that he has the game and the inclination to one day win that tournament. And, after five previous appearances in the Australian Open final, you have to imagine that he will be the champion in Melbourne at some stage in his career. With last year's run, Murray has already ticked off leading Britain to victory in the Davis Cup, which Perry also accomplished. While Murray will turn 30 next spring, his hope is that his best tennis could be in front of him. If that's true, think of him as the Serena Williams of British men's tennis. Already the GOAT. And getting better with age. Wimbledon 2009: top 50 champions - Telegraph Wimbledon Wimbledon 2009: top 50 champions The All England Club has hosted many memorable moments over the years and has had many great champions. Here Mark Hodgkinson, Tennis Correspondent, profiles the greatest 50.

Image 1 of 11 In fashion: France's Rene Lacoste won two men's singles titles in the twenties Photo: GETTY IMAGES Image 1 of 11 Heaven seventeen: five years ago Maria Sharapova burst into the public consciousness after beating Serena Williams on Centre Court to win the women's singles title at the age of 17 Photo: GETTY IMAGES Simply the best?

Rod Laver competing in the men's singles in 1971 Photo: GETTY IMAGES Winner: Steffi Graf lifted the Ladies's singles title seven times Photo: GETTY IMAGES Image 1 of 11 Trendsetter: Billy Jean King was the first wearer of glasses to win a Wimbledon title Photo: GETTY IMAGES Image 1 of 11 Different look: in 1967 John Newcombe was first champion with a moustache since 1909 Photo: GETTY IMAGES Image 1 of 11 Triple crown: Boris Becker became the youngest ever male winner, the first unseeded champion, and the first German winner of the men's title in 1985 Photo: GETTY IMAGES Image 1 of 11 Standout: Arthur Ashe is the only male black Wimbledon champion after defeating Jimmy Connors in the 1975 final Photo: PA Bounding Basque: Jean Borotra in action on centre court in 1935 Photo: GETTY IMAGES Swede success: Bjorn Borg brought his own unique style to the Championships Photo: SUNDAY TELEGRAPH Image 1 of 11 First of many: Martina Navratilova is congratulated by The

 Duchess of Kent on her 1978 title Photo: ANTHONY MARSHALL By Mark Hodgkinson 9:31PM BST 21 Jun 2009 50.

Louise Brough: The American's game was well-suited to grass courts and she scored a hat-trick of titles, from 1948 to 1950, and then added a fourth in 1955. 49. Reggie Doherty: He won four Wimbledon titles to his brother's five, but some have suggested that he was the more talented of the two. His titles were won consecutively, from 1897 to 1900. 48. Laurie Doherty: The last man from Wimbledon to win Wimbledon, Doherty dominated the tournament from 1902 to 1906, as he was the champion for five unbroken years. Doherty was born in the centre of Wimbledon, in a house just across the road from the old tournament venue at Worple Road. 47. Angela Mortimer: When Mortimer won in 1961, it ended a 24-year wait since the previous home champion in the women's tournament, Dorothy Round in 1937.

Going into the 2009 tournament, it is 32 years since the last British women's champion, Virginia Wade in 1977, and that stretch without a home winner is going to continue. 46. Pat Cash: It can sometimes feel as though the Australian's playing career is remembered more for his chequered headbands and the way that he celebrated winning Wimbledon in 1987, by climbing up through the Centre Court stands to embrace his father and his coach in the guest box, than for the tennis he played that summer. Related Articles Wimbledon: visitors guide 18 Jun 2009 45. Rene Lacoste: The 'Crocodile' lives on, but only as a logo on sportswear. These days, more people probably know Lacoste as a clothing brand rather than a past tennis player. The Frenchman, who was one of the four 'Musketeers' of tennis, won a couple of titles on the lawns of London, in 1925 and in 1928. 44.

William Renshaw: If Roger Federer had beaten Rafael Nadal in last summer's final, that would have put the Swiss level with Renshaw on six consecutive Wimbledon titles. But Federer didn't, so Renshaw is the only man to have ever won six in a row on the grass, from 1881 to 1886. Renshaw won again in 1889, finishing with seven titles. Still, the depth of competition in the nineteenth century can hardly be compared with the quality of the modern game, which is why Renshaw is not higher up the list. 43. Stan Smith: When Smith, who was universally known throughout tennis as Gentleman Stan, won the Challenge Cup in 1972, it was remarkable for the fact that it was the first men's final to be played on Sunday. The scheduling was down to the rain delays rather than any demands from television executives. 42. Maud Watson: The women's tournament was first staged in 1884, with Watson beating her sister Lilian in the final, while wearing a straw hat. After the First World War, she received an MBE for her nursing work.

41. Ann Jones: With her victory in the summer of 1969, after beating the defending champion Billie Jean King in the final, Jones became the first left-handed woman to win the Venus Rosewater Dish. Just as Fred Perry had switched from table tennis to lawn tennis, Jones had also been a ping pong player before she had her success at the All England Club. 40. Evonne Goolagong: She was the daughter of a sheep shearer, and the family lived in a tin shack in New South Wales, but that didn't stop the Australian of Aboriginal descent from following her dream of playing tennis. The Aboriginal community funded her early tennis career. "The people used to pitch in and pay for the petrol so I could play tournaments in Sydney. The town only had a population of 700 but they used to provide everything for me, including clothes, shoes and rackets," said Goolagong, who won her first Wimbledon title in 1971 by beating Margaret Court, and added a second title in 1980 by defeating Chris Evert. 39.

Amelie Mauresmo: Before the 2006 Wimbledon Championships, Mauresmo's talent had never been in doubt, just her mental fortitude. There was a time when she was known as the choker-in-chief of women's tennis, when it seemed that an hour on the psychologist's couch would have been as useful as an hour on the practice court. But she overcame the doubt, and the doubters, to beat Justin Henin and win her Wimbledon title. "I don't want people to talk about my nerves any more," the Frenchwoman said triumphantly - winning Wimbledon had sealed her career. 38. Manuel Santana: "Grass is for cows," Santana famously said, but that was before he won his Wimbledon title in the summer of 1966 by beating American Dennis Ralston. Santana was the first Spanish man to lift one of those golden Challenge Cups on Centre Courts, and he even managed to convert General Franco to lawn tennis. Previously, Franco had viewed tennis as a game for the rich. But, after Santana's triumph, suddenly Franco wanted to see him (it's not just British politicians who chase sporting bandwagons).

Santana proved that grass isn't just for cows, and also brought the sport to the attention of a fascist dictator. All with a smile on his face. 37. Maria Bueno: The lithe and elegant Brazilian brought sex appeal to the Wimbledon lawns, improved the SW19 libido. All the men in the Centre Court crowd fell in love with Bueno after she won her first Wimbledon title in 1959, after which she was given a prize of a clothes voucher and then flown back in a presidential jet to a ticker-tape parade in Sao Paolo. In future years, she titillated Wimbledon by wearing a white dress with a pink lining, and also won two more titles, in 1960 and 1964. 36. Virginia Wade: It's the cardigan that most people remember, Wade having walked out to the 1977 final wearing a natty pink cardy with a monogrammed 'VW' on the front. She peeled that pink cardigan off, and then went out and beat Holland's Betty Stove. It was quite a way to celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee year, with the monarch in attendance that day in the Royal Box.

Afterwards, the crowd sang 'For she's a jolly fellow', and it wasn't directed at Her Majesty, but at Wade. No British woman has won Wimbledon since, and Wade is as frustrated as anyone by that. British winners are as retro as Wade's pink cardigan. 35. Alice Marble: The American was raped by a stranger when she was 15, but she overcame the trauma of that violent attack to become a professional tennis player. She won her Wimbledon title in 1939, just months before the outbreak of the Second World War. She miscarried her husband's child after a car accident during the war, and a few days later he was killed in action. She attempted suicide, but then recovered and agreed to work as a spy for American intelligence, going on a difficult mission that involved contacting a former lover, a Swiss banker. Marble was shot in the back by a Nazi agent, and was pulled out by American intelligence. She died in 1990, at the age of 77. 34.

Althea Gibson: The African-American is one of the most important figures in Wimbledon's history, as she was the first black player, whether male or female, to win the title on the grass of SW19. Born in North Carolina, and raised in Harlem in North Carolina, she had it tough during her tennis education, as she was barred from whites-only clubs and competitions. But Gibson persevered with her tennis, and scored her first Wimbledon title in 1957 and then backed it up by winning again the next year. She lived in poverty for much of her old age, before dying in 2003. Venus and Serena Williams know that they owe much to Gibson. 33. Jana Novotna: The Czech was a popular loser, but she was also a popular winner. In 1993, after losing the final to Steffi Graf, she famously sobbed on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent, and she was denied for a second time in 1997 when losing to Martina Hingis.

On that occasion, there were no tears staining the royal jacket, but the duchess was moved to remark to the runner-up: "The third time will be third time lucky." A year later, Novotna beat Nathalie Tauziat and the Venus Rosewater Dish was hers. But there was another quiet word from the Duchess. "I was right," the Duchess told her. 32. Jean Borotra: The Bounding Basque was a ladies' man, and often liked to chase down a wide shot as that would allow him to run into the crowd and sit himself down on a friendly lap. The Frenchman, one of the Four Musketeers who dominated tennis in the late 1920s and early 1930s, also used to fling his trademark black beret at any mademoiselles who had caught his attention in the Wimbledon crowds. But, despite his lust for life and for women, Borotra could also play a mean game of tennis. He had an athletic style, bouncing and bounding across the turf, and he was the Wimbledon champion in 1924 and again two years later. 31.

Goran Ivanisevic: Dipsy, Laa-Laa, Po and Tinky-Winky helped him to victory. The Croat is the only Wimbledon champion to have been inspired by watching tapes of Teletubbies, the children's television programme known for its gibberish and brightly-coloured silliness (well, the only one that we know of). Ivanisevic also proudly spoke of his split personalities - Bad Goran, Good Goran and Emergency Goran. He ate the same meal at the same restaurant every night during the 2001 Championships, so, never mind his service action, how did his digestive system hold up for a fortnight? Ivanisevic, a semi-final conqueror of Britain's Tim Henman, beat Pat Rafter on a People's Monday, and on a day that highlighted all that was great about tennis. An anarchic, complicated, charismatic, brilliant champion. 30. Maria Sharapova: One sunny afternoon in the summer of 2004, the 17-year-old Siberian became an international superstar, after beating Serena Williams in the Wimbledon final.

With her good looks, this was a tennis victory made in marketing men's heaven, and she has gone to become the world's highest-earning sportswoman. Don't for a moment think that Sharapova doesn't have a sense of her own worth. She is very much a twenty-first century tennis player, a businesswoman as well as an athlete. She is ranked outside the top 50, but she has been bumped up into the seedings, giving her protection in the draw. 29. Bill Tilden: During the 1920s and 1930s, there was no bigger star in tennis than Tilden. He knew that, too. He was a triple champion at the All England Club, scoring the title in 1920, defending it a year later, and winning a third in 1930. But he is remembered as much for his colourful private life. The American was twice imprisoned after gay sex scandals, the first time for having sex with a male teenage prostitute, and the second time for groping a teenage hitchhiker.

He also ran with the outrageous Hollywood set, counting Errol Flynn, Charlie Chaplin, Katherine Hepburn and Greta Garbo among his friends, and lost most of his fortune backing ill-fated Broadway plays. When he died, having been abandoned by tennis and most of his friends after the second sex scandal, he was alone in a motel room with less than 100 dollars to his name. 28. Don Budge: The American was straight from the old school, playing in long white flannel trousers and shoes that had been meticulously, lovingly whitened. Budge also used an extremely heavy wooden racket, and opted against using leather grips as he preferred to hold on to bare wood. A polite fellow, Budge argued over line-calls about as often as he walked on to Centre Court with grass smudges on his knees - never. In the 1937 final, he heard his opponent, Germany's Gottfried Von Cramm, take a call from Hitler before they walked on court. Hitler told Cramm that he had to win for the fatherland. "All we heard was him saying, 'Ja, mein Fuhrer'," Budge said.

"Gottfried came out pale and serious and played every point as if his life depended on it." Budge beat his petrified opponent, and also defended his title the following summer by defeating Britain's Bunny Austin in the final. That 1938 win was part of his calendar sweep of the four slams that season, the first time that a man had won all the majors in one year. A term was borrowed from the bridge tables - winning all four majors became known as the grand slam. 27. Serena Williams: She may go on court with designer handbags and outrageous earrings, but don't for a minute think that the American is anything other than ferociously competitive on court. Serena has won two Wimbledon titles, in 2002 and 2003, and on both occasions she had to beat older sister Venus in the final. Those all-Williams finals have rarely lived up to the hype, and some conspiracy theorists have even gone so far as to suggest that their father Richard decided beforehand who was going to win. Last summer, she finished as the runner-up to her sister, and she is the bookmakers' favourite this summer. 26.

Chris Evert: Known as the Ice Maiden for having icicles in her veins on court, the American won her first Wimbledon title in 1974. That same year, her fiancé, Jimmy Connors, won the men's crown, and the two of them danced together at the Champions' Ball. Their romance became known as the 'Love Match'. However, they broke off the engagement later that year so there was no happy ending. But she did go on to win two more Venus Rosewater Dishes, with triumphs in 1976 and 1981, and also married and then divorced Britain's John Lloyd. 25. Arthur Ashe: Growing up in the American South, the black-skinned Ashe was subjected to years of racial abuse, and was denied entry to clubs and competitions. But Ashe countered the racists with a Gandhi-like dignity. That same quiet composure and intelligence helped him to defeat one of the loud men of tennis, Jimmy Connors, in the 1975 Wimbledon final. Never mind that Connors was staring Ashe down during the changeovers.

Ashe had devised a cute tactical plan on a napkin the night before, and took most of the pace off his shots to give Jimbo nothing to play with. Ashe, the only black male to have won the Wimbledon title, was given an infected blood transfusion after an operation in the early Eighties, and died of AIDS-related complications in 1993. One of the real good guys of men's tennis. 24. Roy Emerson: His childhood as the son of a dairy farmer in Black Butt in Queensland helped his tennis - milking all those cows as a boy had helped him to develop the muscles needed for his time on court. 'Emmo' was a popular, friendly presence on the tennis circuit, and he even shared a London flat with the fellow Australian he beat in the 1964 and 1965 Wimbledon finals - Fred Stolle. "On the day of the finals, I made sure that I cooked Fred breakfast," Emerson recalled. 23.

John Newcombe: The Australian won three Wimbledon titles, in 1967, 1970 and 1971, but he was never given the chance to possibly win three in succession as he was barred from the tournament in the summer because of a dispute over professional contracts. Newcombe's great claim to Wimbledon fame was that he was the first champion with a moustache since the 1909 tournament. 22. Lew Hoad: One of the most laid-back characters to have won Wimbledon, it often seemed as though the Australian was as happy drinking cold beers with his mates as he was winning on Centre Court. Hoad, born in Sydney, had developed great strength by training as a boxer in his younger years, and that muscularity often allowed him to squelch opponents. Hoad won his first Wimbledon trophy in 1956, and successfully defending his golden pot a year later. If he had been a bit more serious-minded, if he had swapped the smiles for snarls, how many more Wimbledon titles could he have won? 21.

Martina Hingis: The Little Swiss Miss was just 16 years old when she beat Jana Novotna in the 1997 Wimbledon final, and so became the youngest champion of the professional era. Hingis displayed an excellent tennis brain; she played tennis with an exceptionally high IQ, Mensa stuff off the strings. But, ten years on, and Hingis tested positive for cocaine after a third-round defeat, and was banned from the game. In the space of a decade, Hingis had gone from a sweet-16 prodigy to a scandal-hit veteran. 20. Andre Agassi: In his early tennis-punk years, Agassi skipped three Wimbledons, arguing that grass wasn't for him and also expressing some annoyance that the All England Club officials wouldn't allow him to wear his multi-coloured clothing. But the showman from Nevada returned to Wimbledon in 1991, and with much speculation about whether he would stick to the Wimbledon white ruling, he teased the officials. Standing on court before his first match, he peeled off the tracksuit to reveal a white shirt, white shorts, white socks and white shoes.

The white knight reached the quarter-finals, and the following year went all the way, beating Goran Ivanisevic in the final to win his first grand slam title. At the moment of victory, he flung himself back on to the grass - the surface he had once professed to loathe. And so began the metamorphosis of Agassi. 19. Rafael Nadal: The Spaniard had quite a summer last year, as he became the first man in history to win the French Open in Paris and then came to London to win both the Queen's Club and Wimbledon titles. In 2006 and 2007, Nadal had finished as the runner-up to Federer . But last year he won he was finally able to perform his signature trophy-biting celebration at Wimbledon, biting into the golden Challenge Cup. What a way to win it, by beating the greatest player of all time in what was widely regarded as the greatest match of all time. 18. Dorothea Lambert-Chambers: Only Martina Navratilova and Helen Wills-Moody have won more titles than Lambert-Chambers, a Londoner and a seven-time champion.

She also wrote a book on the game, simply called, 'Tennis for Ladies', which was published around 1910, and which probably didn't contain tips on how to grunt, shriek and scream when you hit the ball. 17. Stefan Edberg: While the Swede played an attacking serve-and-volley game that often fried the nerves of his supporters, he was an emotional flat-liner, an implacable figure on Centre Court, one cool cat. Edberg rarely ever got more heated than a winter's day in downtown Stockholm. The risky tennis and the steadfast temperament brought him two Wimbledon titles as he beat Boris Becker in 1988 and 1990. Tim Henman greatly admired his work. Edberg now makes his money through property and investments. 16. Jimmy Connors: His nickname of 'Jimbo' created the misleading impression that he was friendly on court; in fact, he famously remarked that "some people don't seem to understand that it's damn war out there". Connors was the master of changeover trash-talking, and staring down his opponents - anything that might intimidate his opponent.

He was a street-fighter of a tennis player, and wouldn't give up on a single point. He growled and grappled his way to two Wimbledon crowns, beating Ken Rosewall in 1974 and then John McEnroe in 1982. 15. Fred Perry: Perhaps it is difficult to believe, but there was once a time when Fred Perry wasn't a statue in the grounds of the All England Club and was actually flesh and blood. Perry, who was from a humble Stockport background, won three successive titles on Centre Court, from 1934-6, but he never endeared himself to some of the All England Club hierarchy. His name is still on the tip of everyone's tongue on the British tennis scene, as no British man has won Wimbledon since him, and Andy Murray has an endorsement deal with Fred Perry Clothing. Murray will be wearing some retro Perry kit this summer. This is the centenary year of Perry's birthday. 14. Maureen Connolly: Her first love was horse riding, but her mother couldn't afford the lessons, and she turned to tennis.

Little Mo snaffled a hat-trick of Wimbledon titles, from 1952-4, and was a popular figure back home in the United States. But that did not stop her from speaking of "the dark destiny" of her tennis career. "I always believed greatness on a tennis court was my destiny, a dark destiny at times, where the court became my secret jungle and I, a lonely, fear-stricken hunter. I was a strange little girl armed with hate, fear, and a golden racket," Connolly once said. 13. Suzanne Lenglen: She was French and she was fabulous. One of the first racket-twirling divas, Lenglen used to sip brandy during the change of ends. And - shock horror - Lenglen showed her ankles to the world, sported a short hairstyle, and refused to wear a corset at Wimbledon. Polite society didn't know what had hit it, as Lenglen won the Wimbledon title in 1925. The French press nicknamed her 'La Divine' (the divine one), and she did much to get the starch out of the clothes and out of tennis as whole.

She won six Wimbledon titles, with an uninterrupted stretch of five crowns from 1919-23, and the last in 1925. 12. Billie Jean King: There was much more to King than her being the first woman wearing glasses to win the Wimbledon title. She finished her career with six singles titles, and 20 Wimbledon titles in all, giving her a share of the overall record with Martina Navratilova. As well as hitting the tennis balls on court, King founded the women's tennis tour, and recently she was instrumental in persuading the All England Club that they should be paying equal prize-money to the female competitors. 11. John McEnroe: The casual tennis fan knows all about the New Yorker's "You cannot be serious" tantrums on Centre Court. And McEnroe probably did more than anyone to raise the standard of the officiating at the All England Club. But McEnroe was much more than just an excitable presence with his wild, curly hair erupting over the top of a flaming red headband; he was also a fabulous, fantastic tennis player who won three Wimbledon titles.

McEnroe lost the drama-filled 1980 final to Bjorn Borg, but the following year he came back and prevented the Ice Man from winning six trophies in a row. In 1983, he beat New Zealand's Chris Lewis for the loss of just six games, and the year after that he dropped even fewer games for a 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 victory over fellow American Jimmy Connors. But his greatest rivalry was with Borg. The hothead and the Ice Man had the greatest of respect for each other. 10. Margaret Court: Big Marge dominated the tour in the Sixties and Seventies, winning her first two Wimbledon titles in 1963 and 1965. She quit the circuit in 1966 to marry and start a family, but returned to the game and in 1970 she won all four majors to achieve the grand slam. On the Wimbledon leg of that grand slam, Court and Billie Jean King contested what was one of the greatest finals in the tournament's history, with the Australian eventually closing out a 14-12, 11-9 victory.

In addition to her three Wimbledon trophies, Court won a further 21 grand slam singles titles, taking her singles tally to 24. 9. Boris Becker: The German was an unseeded 17-year-old when he won the 1985 Championships, beating Kevin Curren in the final. He was the youngest ever male winner, the first unseeded champion, and the first German winner, and he immediately became an overnight international sporting superstar. But just to prove that his breakthrough victory had not been a fluke, Becker came back the next summer and successfully defended his golden Challenge Cup, with a win over Ivan Lendl. Still, he wasn't able to achieve a hat-trick of Wimbledon titles, as he lost in the second round of the 1987 tournament. It took a 19-year-old to put the result into proper perspective: "No one died." Still, Boris, with his 'Boom Boom' serve, won a third trophy by beating Stefan Edberg in the 1989 final. 8.

Helen Wills Moody: The American was an introverted, shy woman, to the point of being socially awkward, and on court she would show little emotion and ignore her opponent and the crowd. But that shyness was often wrongly and unfairly seen as her being aloof and arrogant, and she became known as 'Little Miss Poker Face', 'Queen Helen' and 'The Imperial Helen'. See, even back then, between the World Wars, the public wanted to see their stars emoting. But 'Little Miss Poker Face' went on to win eight Wimbledon titles, winning four in a row from 1927-30, and then the rest in 1932, 1933, 1935 and 1938. A serious woman and a serious champion. 7. Venus Williams: The Californian may have a kooky off-court air, but she is the finest grass-court player of her generation. This summer she is attempting to become the first woman to win three successive Wimbledon titles since Steffi Graf from 1991-3, and could take her tally of Venus Rosewater Dishes to six.

She won her first title in 2000, added a second a year later, picked up a third in 2005, won her fourth in 2007 when she was hitting the ball so violently that she made Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli's wrist sting, and last summer she won a fifth by beating her younger sister Serena in the final. The only two finals she lost were to Serena in 2002 and 2003. 6. Steffi Graf: Fraulein Forehand ran around her backhand to glorious effect on the way to winning seven Wimbledon titles. Graf is now 40. But when she appeared at last month's opening ceremony at the All England Club for the new roof over Centre Court she looked to be in such excellent shape, and was hitting the ball with such power and control, that if she had been given a wild card into this year's tournament it would not have been altogether that surprising if she went on to make the second week of the grass-court slam. 5.

Rod Laver: The Australian was such a gifted striker of the ball that it was said that he probably could have put down his racket, gone into the kitchen to fetch a frying pan, and still have come back and slammed aces. Laver, who had none of the pretence and bombast of some other lesser players, put himself down as a 5ft 8in "runt". But others called him either the Rockhampton Rocket, after his home town Down Under, or simply, 'The Greatest'. Laver won four Wimbledon titles, and could have had double that number. His first two trophies came in 1961 and 1962, but then, as a professional, he was barred from playing against until the tennis tour went 'open' in 1968. He won again that summer, and also in 1969. His wins in 1962 and 1969 were part of his two calendar grand slams. He was a class act, and is Roger Federer's hero. He handed Federer the Australian Open trophy one year, and the Swiss burst into tears. Everyone likes the Rocket. 4.

Bjorn Borg: The Swede was the Iceman of the courts; he famously never shaved during the tournaments and also refrained from sex. Borg was the first rock star of tennis, or lawn tennis as it was quaintly called back then, and so he could probably tell you stories that would make even Jilly Cooper blush. "When I first played at Wimbledon, in 1973, it was crazy. I was this young Swedish guy with long hair, and suddenly it went mad and there were girls everywhere. There were girls on the way to the practice court, girls by the match court, and girls waiting in the lobby of my hotel," said Borg. "The girls had found out where I was staying and so when I went into the lobby there were hundreds of them waiting for me. They were screaming and they wanted my autograph, they wanted to talk to me and they wanted to get close to me. It was like I was a pop star. Tennis had never seen anything like it before." 3. Pete Sampras: The American's game was built for the grass courts of south-west London, and it brought him seven titles in all.

Sampras won three trophies in a row from 1993-5, and then went on a streak of four trophies from 1997-2000. In beating Andre Agassi in the 1999 final, he played tennis that was pretty close to perfection. But Sampras was denied a successive fifth title, which would have allowed him to equal Bjorn Borg's record, when he was beaten in the fourth round of the 2001 tournament by a certain Roger Federer. Borg made a light-hearted phone-call to Federer after that, to thank him for keeping his record intact. The one true pity for Sampras was that he doesn't exactly have warm, gooey memories from his last appearance at the All England Club. That came in 2002 when, playing on the 'Graveyard of Champions' Court Two, he was beaten in the second round by a journeyman from Switzerland, George Bastl. Andy Murray considers him to be the best men's grass-court player of all time. 2.

Roger Federer: The golden stretch began in the summer of 2003, when the Swiss scored his first grand slam title on Centre Court by beating Australian Mark Philippoussis. Four more golden Challenge Cups followed, and so when Federer defeated Spain's Rafael Nadal over five sets in the 2007 final, that meant he had equalled Bjorn Borg's record of five titles in succession. Borg was there to see it in 2007, taking it all in from the front row of the Royal Box. There were tears from Federer. Afterwards, Federer and Borg met for what was described as "a Swedish hug". However, Federer was unable to supersede Borg's five as he was beaten by Nadal in last summer's extraordinary final. He goes into this summer's Wimbledon as the favourite, hoping to regain his golden Challenge Cup. Federer is just 27, and so has the time and the ambition to possibly equal and supersede Pete Sampras' record. 1. Martina Navratilova: The greatest Wimbledon champion of all time, just above Roger Federer, who is the greatest player of all time.

If she has a trophy room at home, she would need at least a couple of cabinets for her replica Wimbledon silverware, as she has 20 Wimbledon trophies in all, including a record nine Venus Rosewater Dishes for singles victories. Navratilova won her first title in 1978, and then scored six Dishes in a row from 1982 to 1987, with that run coming to an end when she lost in the 1988 final to Germany's Steffi Graf. Her ninth came at the 1990 women's tournament when she defeated America's Zina Garrison in the final. An extraordinary athlete. Fred Perry, father of British tennis, dies | The Independent Sport Fred Perry, father of British tennis, dies `He was a superlative ambassador for sport throughout the world. He was a great character, big-hearted, and a true champion' Friday 3 February 1995 00:02 BST Click to follow The Independent Online The great Fred Perry has died, aged 85.

Britain's last link with the Wimbledon men's singles title passed away last evening at a hospital in Melbourne, where he had been cared for since falling in a hotel bath and breaking four ribs. Perry, who always kept in close touch with the sport, had gone to Australia to watch the tennis championships, which ended last Sunday. His fourth wife, Barbara, known to all as "Bobby", was with him, and his daughter, Penny, was on her way to Melbourne when he died. In the 1930s, Perry became the first player in history to have his name inscribed on the world's four major singles trophies, those of Wimbledon, France, the United States and Australia, though he did not accomplish this in the same calendar year, a featwhich came to be known as the Grand Slam. It was at Wimbledon that Perry achieved his greatest glory. In 1936 he won a third consecutive singles title, the first Briton to win three in a row since Laurie Doherty in 1903. Afterwards, Perry went to America and turned professional, leaving British tennis with a void it has been unable to fill. He became a United States citizen in 1939.

Millions in Wimbledon profits have been spent by the Lawn Tennis Association in an attempt to create a system to produce players capable at least of making a challenge on the professional circuits, let alone of emulating Perry and Virginia Wade, the lastBriton to win the women's singles title at the All England Club, in 1977. In 1984, the 50th anniverary of Perry's first Wimbledon triumph, a statue was erected in the Wimbledon grounds, and the gates at the Somerset Road entrance were dedicated in his honour. The belated tributes were in stark contrast to the manner in which he was treated by the tennis establishment during his amateur career. This was encapsulated after his initial Wimbledon victory against "Gentleman" Jack Crawford in 1934. Perry, soaking in the bath, overheard a member of the All England Club's committee tell his Australian opponent, "This was one day when the best man did not win." Crawford was presented with a bottle of champagne and Perry's honorary member's tie was left draped over the back of his chair.

Born in Stockport, Cheshire, the son of a cotton spinner who became a Labour MP, the forthright Perry was a fiercely determined competitor who could not abide snobbishness. The qualities that made him a magnificent champion, both as an individual and also as a member of victorious Davis Cup teams, were not always appreciated by the LTA. He was regarded as a rebel, and worse after he turned professional. Perry and his fellow pros were virtual outlaws, discouraged from playing on any tennis court at any tennis club attached to any tennis federation. They had make do with improvised arenas, once playing at the Kop end of the Liverpool football ground at Anfield. Versatile as a sportsman - he won the world table tennis title before turning to tennis - Perry was popular with the Hollywood set after turning professional and later the flanelled hero made a name in the sportswear industry. John Curry, the All England Club's chairman, summarised the man well in paying tribute last night. "Fred Perry was a superlative ambassador for our sport throughout the world," Curry said. "He was a great character, big-hearted, and a true champion in every sense.

He won the affection and admiration of all those involved in tennis: the players, the fans, the media, and officials. Fred was one of those rare individuals. He was at ease with all, from the youngest fans to royalty." Christine Janes, a former Wimbledon singles finalist and co-commentator with Perry on BBC Radio, said on Five Live: "Fred was one of those indestructible people who one hoped would go on forever. He was unique. He was always optimistic and, although he was much older than many of those people he was mixing with, always seemed to stay very young at heart and be involved with people of all ages. You can't really replace him." Also speaking on Radio Five Live was "Bunny" Austin, a Davis Cup team-mate of Perry's in the 1930s. He said: "I have the recollection of a magnificent athlete who was a sort of genius. "He was the table tennis champion of London, Middlesex and the world. He went to a park one day and saw a game which he found out was called lawn tennis. He said `I like that game', got himself a racket and went on to play tennis exactly the same way he'd played table tennis.

"I think that if he had been trained they probably would have ruined him. He was a kind of genius. He did everything wrong, but he won. I think he was a first-class sportsman." Chris Bailey, the recently retired British player remembered for a stirring performance against Goran Ivanisevic on the Centre Court, said: "It's a shame no one has been able to emulate what he achieved. He was a great man and a great character. He came to a few Davis Cup matches and used to support the British players - however badly we played." David Lloyd, Britain's Davis Cup captain elect, said Perry "had an aura, something special that all great people have, and you couldn't but respect him." Your correspondent's last conversation with our Fred was by telephone last Monday, inquiring about his health at the Epworth hospital before leaving Melbourne. We discussed the previous day's Australian Open men's singles final, in which Andre Agassi haddefeated his American compatriot, Pete Sampras. Perry, who had watched the match on television, expressed concerned about Sampras's feet, which had blistered during the tournament.

"In my day," he said, "we used to put moleskin on the soles of our feet to protect them from blisters. You could bathe and shower with it on, and when the tournament was finished, the moleskin would peel away without any trouble." Was it still available? "Yes," he said, "I've got some with me." Obituary, page 16 THE PERRY CREDO `Play the game on and off the court learn to accept defeat gracefully and be ever ready to appreciate your conqueror's success. Never sacrifice your strokes for the sake of winning a match. Take the long view. Let the young player adopt athree year plan of development. Practise taking the ball early. Speed is essential in modern tennis. Remember that attack is the best form of defence. Never play for safety! The courageous policy will pay in the long run. Play to the umpire. Do not insult him by throwing away points after a doubtful decision in your favour.' l From Fred Perry's 1934 autobiography: `My Story'. FRED PERRY 1909 Born Stockport, 18 May. 1929 Won world table-tennis championship.

1931 Reached Wimbledon semi-final, losing to the eventual champion, Sidney Woods. First played for Britain in Davis Cup, and reached challenge round, in which they lost 3-2 to France. 1932 Won mixed doubles at French Championships with Betty Nuthall. Runners-up in men's doubles at Wimbledon with Pat Hughes. Won mixed doubles at US Championships with Sarah Palfrey. 1933 Won men's doubles at French Championships with Hughes and runner-up in mixed doubles with Nuthall. Won US Championship, his first major singles title. Helped Britain win Davis Cup for first time since 1912. 1934 Won singles and doubles, with Hughes, in Australian Championships. Won Wimbledon singles for first time. Won US Championship for second time. Helped Britain win Davis Cup for second successive year. 1935 Runner-up in singles and doubles, with Hughes, at Australian Championships. Won French Championship singles, and became first player in game's history to win all four major titles. Won Wimbledon singles for second time, and mixed doubles with Dorothy Round. Helped Britain win Davis Cup for third time running. 1936 Runner-up in French Championship singles.

Won Wimbledon singles for third year running, and mixed doubles for second time with Round. Won US Championship singles for third time. Helped Britain win Davis Cup for fourth successive year, having won in career 34 of 38 Cup singles and 11 of 14 doubles. Turned professional. 1939 Became US citizen. 1948 Won Slazenger Professional tournament at Eastbourne. 1950 Won Slazenger Tournament for second time. 1951 Won Slazenger Tournament for third time. 1984 Had Wimbledon statue erected in All England Club grounds, and had Somerset Road gates named after him. 1995 Died 2 February, Melbourne. More about:

Question: In which year of the 1930’s did Fred Perry first win the Wimbledon men’s singles title?
Answer: 1934