Reginald Doherty

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Reginald Doherty
R.F.Doherty by Voigt.jpg
Full name Reginald Frank Doherty
Country (sports)  United Kingdom
Born (1872-10-14)14 October 1872
Wimbledon, London, England
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Kensington, England
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Int. Tennis HoF 1980 (member page)
Singles
Career record {{#property:P564}}
Highest ranking No. 1 (1897, Karoly Mazak)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Wimbledon W (1897, 1898, 1899, 1900)
US Open F (1902Ch)
Doubles
Career record {{#property:P555}}
Grand Slam Doubles results
Wimbledon W (1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1903, 1904, 1905)
US Open W (1902, 1903)
Team competitions
Davis Cup W (1903, 1904, 1905, 1906)

Reginald "Reggie" or "R.F." Frank Doherty (14 October 1872 – 29 December 1910) was a British tennis player.

Doherty was a World No. 1 ranked player, and the older brother of British tennis player Laurence Doherty. He was known in the tennis world as "R.F." rather than "Reggie".[2]

Early life

Doherty was born on 14 October 1872 at Beulah Villa in Wimbledon, Surrey, the oldest son of William Doherty, a printer, and his wife, Catherine Ann Davis.[3] Doherty began tennis early in life and as a boy at Westminster School showed great promise. At age 14 he won the boys' singles title at an open championship in Llandudno. Doherty was educated at the University of Cambridge (Trinity Hall), where he played for the Cambridge University Lawn Tennis Club.[4] In 1895 and 1895 he was part of the Cambridge team that beat Oxford and won the Scottish and Essex championships.

Career

Grand Slams

Doherty played in his first Wimbledon Championships in 1894 and lost in the first round to Clement Cazalet in four sets. In 1897 Doherty won his first singles Wimbledon title after beating reigning champion Harold Mahony in three straight sets (6–4, 6–4, 6–3). He successfully defended his title for the next three years (1898, 1899, 1900). In 1898 he did so by beating his brother in the Challenge Round in five sets (6–3, 6–3, 2–6, 5–7, 6–1). In 1901 he finally lost his Wimbledon crown when he was defeated in the Challenge Round by Arthur Gore in four sets (6–4, 5–7, 4–6, 4–6). He was also a runner-up at the US Championships in 1902 where he was beaten by the defending American champion William Larned in four sets (6–4, 2–6, 4–6, 6–8). Together with his brother Laurie he won eight Wimbledon Championships doubles titles and two US Championship doubles titles.

Davis Cup

Doherty represented the British Isles in the prestigious Davis Cup contest from 1902 to 1906. In 1902 he won the doubles match with his brother but lost the final and decisive singles match against American Malcolm Whitman in straight sets (1–6, 5–7, 4–6). In 1903 he contributed significantly to his team's first Davis Cup title against the United States by winning the doubles match and the decisive singles match against Robert Wrenn. Doherty won the Davis Cup trophy a further three times (1904, 1905, 1906) although in these years he only competed, and won, in the doubles matches.[5]

Olympics

Doherty won the doubles title (gold medals were not given at the 1900 Games) at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris with his brother.[6] He also competed in the singles tournament and reached the semi-final where he was scheduled to play against his brother. Reggie withdrew, since the brothers refused to play each other before the final.[7] He also won the mixed doubles title with five-time Wimbledon champion Charlotte Cooper. Doherty did not compete in the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis. In the 1908 Olympics in London Reggie again won the doubles title, this time with compatriot George Hillyard.[8]

R.F. Doherty was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1980 together with his brother.[9]

Death

Doherty died of heart failure and neurasthenia on 29 December 1910 at the age of only 38 at his home in Kensington a day after returning from a convalescence stay in a sanatorium in Davos, Switzerland.[10][3]

According to his obituary in The New York Times, Doherty had "been ill health for some time". The article further stated, he "held at various times every important championship the world of tennis has for a man to win. He was not beaten until he began to fail in health".[2] Both brothers apparently suffered from respiratory problems throughout their lives.[11]

R.F. and his brother had been urged to take up lawn tennis by their father, reportedly for health reasons.[2]

Grand Slam finals

Reginald Doherty – Beginning of a low backhand drive
Reginald Doherty (left) with his brother Laurence.

Singles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runners-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1897 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Harold Mahony 6–4, 6–4, 6–3 [12]
Winner 1898 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Laurence Doherty 6–3, 6–3, 2–6, 5–7, 6–1 [12]
Winner 1899 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Arthur Gore 1–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 6–3 [12]
Winner 1900 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Sydney Smith 6–8, 6–3, 6–1, 5–7, 11–9 [12]
Runner-up 1901 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Arthur Gore 6–4, 5–7, 4–6, 4–6 [12]
Runner-up 1902 U.S. National Championships Grass United States William Larned 6–4, 2–6, 4–6, 6–8 [13]

Doubles: 13 (10 titles, 3 runners-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1896 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Harold Nisbet United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Herbert Baddeley
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Wilfred Baddeley
6–1, 6–3, 4–6, 2–6, 1–6 [14]
Winner 1897 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Laurence Doherty United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Herbert Baddeley
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Wilfred Baddeley
6–4, 4–6, 8–6, 6–4 [14]
Winner 1898 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Laurence Doherty United States Clarence Hobart
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Harold Nisbet
6–4, 6–4, 6–2 [14]
Winner 1899 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Laurence Doherty United States Clarence Hobart
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Harold Nisbet
7–5, 6–0, 6–2 [14]
Winner 1900 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Laurence Doherty United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Herbert Roper Barrett
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Harold Nisbet
9–7, 7–5, 4–6, 3–6, 6–3 [14]
Winner 1901 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Laurence Doherty United States Dwight Davis
United States Holcombe Ward
4–6, 6–2, 6–3, 9–7 [14]
Runner-up 1902 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Laurence Doherty United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Frank Riseley
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Sydney Smith
6–4, 6–8, 3–6, 6–4, 9–11 [14]
Winner 1902 U.S. National Championships Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Laurence Doherty United States Dwight Davis
United States Holcombe Ward
11–9, 12–10, 6–4 [15]
Winner 1903 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Laurence Doherty United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Frank Riseley
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Sydney Smith
6–4, 6–4, 6–4 [14]
Winner 1903 U.S. National Championships Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Laurence Doherty United States Kreigh Collins
United States L. Harry Waidner
7–5, 6–3, 6–3 [15]
Winner 1904 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Laurence Doherty United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Frank Riseley
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Sydney Smith
6–1, 6–2, 6–4 [14]
Winner 1905 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Laurence Doherty United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Frank Riseley
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Sydney Smith
6–2, 6–4, 6–8, 6–3 [14]
Runner-up 1906 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Laurence Doherty United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Frank Riseley
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Sydney Smith
8–6, 4–6, 7–5, 3–6, 3–6 [14]

References

  1. Mazak, Karoly (2010). The Concise History of Tennis, p. 25.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Famous Tennis Player Dead: R.F. Doherty, Once American Champion, Passes Away in London", The New York Times, 30 December 1910
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  11. Hugh Laurence Doherty (UK)
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External links