In the 1954 Wimbledon Championships – Gentlemen's Singles competition,

Jaroslav Drobný Jaroslav Drobný (; 12 October 1921 – 13 September 2001) was a World No. 1 amateur tennis and ice hockey champion. He left Czechoslovakia in 1949 and travelled as an Egyptian citizen before becoming a citizen of the United Kingdom in 1959, w ...

defeated

Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall (born 2 November 1934) is an Australian former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player. He won a record 23 Majors in singles, including eight Grand Slam singles titles and, before the Open Era, a record ...

in the final, 13–11, 4–6, 6–2, 9–7 to take the gentlemen's singles tennis title. It was Drobný's third singles final and second win at Wimbledon.

Vic Seixas Elias Victor Seixas Jr. (; pronounced SAY-shus; born August 30, 1923)

was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to

Budge Patty Edward John Patty (February 11, 1924 – October 4, 2021), better known as Budge Patty, was an American world no. 1 tennis player whose career spanned a period of 15 years after World War II. He won two Grand Slam singles titles in 1950. He wa ...

. It was the first of 19-year-old Rosewall's Wimbledon singles finals, all of which he lost. This resulted in Rosewall being considered by many to be the greatest player never to win Wimbledon.

Progress of the competition

Jaroslav Drobný, who was 32 at the time of the competition, was Czech-born but was said to play "like an Englishman". Drobný was extremely popular with British tennis fans, and no British player had made it to the 1954 quarterfinals, the longest-surviving home player in the men's singles being 18-year-old Mike Davies, who was knocked out in the fourth round by Budge Patty. The ''Daily Herald'' reported that nearly everyone wanted to see Drobný win the title. No unseeded players made it to the quarterfinals, the stage at which second-seeded

Lew Hoad Lewis Alan Hoad (23 November 1934 – 3 July 1994) was an Australian tennis player whose career ran from 1950 to 1973. Hoad won four Major singles tournaments as an amateur (the Australian Championships, French Championships and two Wimbledon ...

was knocked out in straight sets by Drobný. Top seed

Tony Trabert Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...

was defeated in the semifinal by Rosewall.

Seeds

''(semifinals)''

''(quarterfinals)''

''(final)''

Vic Seixas Elias Victor Seixas Jr. (; pronounced SAY-shus; born August 30, 1923)

''(quarterfinals)''

Mervyn Rose Mervyn Gordon Rose AM (23 January 1930 – 23 July 2017) was an Australian male tennis player who won seven Grand Slam titles (singles, doubles and mixed doubles). Rose was born in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, and turned professional in 19 ...

''(quarterfinals)'' Art Larsen ''(third round)''

''(semifinals)''

Rex Hartwig Rex Noel Hartwig (2 September 1929 – 30 December 2022) was an Australian tennis player. Early life Rex Hartwig was born on 2 September 1929 in Culcairn, New South Wales. Both parents played tennis, and at age 10, Hartwig won a local tournam ...

''(quarterfinals)''

Sven Davidson Sven Viktor Davidson (13 July 1928 – 28 May 2008) was a Swedish tennis player who became the first Swede to win a Grand Slam title when he won the French Championships in 1957, beating Ashley Cooper and Herbert Flam. Career Davidson also ...

''(fourth round)''

Kurt Nielsen Kurt Nielsen (19 November 1930 – 11 June 2011) was a Danish tennis player. He was born in Copenhagen, and was the first Danish tennis player ever to have played in a men's singles final in a Grand Slam tournament. Nielsen reached the singl ...

''(fourth round)''

(champion)

Gardnar Mulloy Gardnar Putnam "Gar" Mulloy (November 22, 1913 – November 14, 2016) was a U.S. No. 1 tennis player primarily known for playing in doubles matches with partner Billy Talbert. He was born in Washington, D.C. and turned 100 in November 2013. Du ...

''(fourth round)''

Draw

Finals

Top half

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Section 4

Bottom half

Section 5

Section 6

Section 7

Section 8

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:1954 Wimbledon Championships - Men's Singles Men's Singles Wimbledon Championship by year – Men's singles