Brian Norton

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Brian Norton 1920

Brian Ivan Cobham "Babe" Norton (born October 10, 1899 on Robben Island , Cape Colony , † July 16, 1956 in Santa Clara , USA ) was a tennis player from South Africa .

Career

Norton took part in the Wimbledon Championships from 1919 . After he had already reached the round of 16 in 1920, he won the All-Comers final against Manuel Alonso in 1921 and faced defending champion Bill Tilden in the Challenge Round . Norton was able to win the first two sets, but went off the rails after Tilden turned the audience against him with a series of stop balls at the beginning of the third set. Norton gave the following sentences 0-6 and 1-6, even though the audience was on his side. In the decisive fifth set Norton found his way back into the game and had two match points with a score of 5: 4 and 40:15. At the first match point, Tilden's punch went very long, whereupon he made his way to the net for the handshake. However, the ball still touched the line, and Norton's subsequent pass failed. Tilden fended off the second match point with an ace. Tilden finally won the set 7: 5, both match and tournament.

At the Wimbledon Championships and the US Championships in 1923 Norton failed each in the semifinals, in the latter again at Tilden. In doubles he was more successful in Forest Hills and won the title, this time alongside Tilden.

Norton also took part in the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp . While he was eliminated in the first round by Frenchman Max Décugis in singles , he reached the third round in doubles together with Louis Raymond .

Tilden described Norton as a highly talented player who had an extensive, first-class punch repertoire. His weakness, however, is his lack of seriousness, which often leads him to gamble too risky.

Norton ended his tennis career in the late 1920s. He died in 1956 at the age of 56 in Santa Clara, California, Agnew's Village .

Double title

No. year competition partner Final opponent Bottom line
1. 1923 US championships United StatesUnited States Bill Tilden United StatesUnited States Richard Williams Watson Washburn
United StatesUnited States  		3: 6, 6: 2, 6: 3, 5: 7, 6: 2

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ According to the tournament mode at that time, the winner of the All-Comers competition had to defeat the defending champion in the Challenge Round to win the title.
  2. ^ J. Barrett: Wimbledon: The Official History of the Championships. HarperCollins Publishers, London 2001, ISBN 0-00-711707-8 , p. 59.
  3. ^ B. Collins: History of Tennis. 2nd Edition. New Chapter Press, New York 2010, ISBN 978-0-942257-70-0 , p. 447.
  4. ^ B. Tilden: The Art of Lawn Tennis. George H. Doran, New York 1922, p. 211 (online)
personal data
SURNAME Norton, Brian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Norton, Brian Ivan Cobham (full name); Norton, babe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African tennis player
DATE OF BIRTH October 10, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Robben Island , Cape Colony
DATE OF DEATH July 16, 1956
Place of death Santa Clara , USA