Charles Percy Dixon (7 February 1873 – 29 April 1939) was a male

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

player from Great Britain. He was a four-time Olympic medallist and led a successful British team to victory in the

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organi ...

Biography

Dixon was born on 7 February 1873 in

Grantham, Lincolnshire Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) s ...

. At the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were o ...

in London he won a bronze medal in the men's doubles event. In the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, b ...

he won three medals in the indoor tennis events: gold in the mixed doubles, silver in men's singles and bronze in men's doubles. From 1929 to 1932 he represented the International Club of Great Britain against France at

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

and at

Auteuil Auteuil may refer to: Places * Auteuil, Oise, a commune in France * Auteuil, Paris, a neighborhood of Paris ** Auteuil, Seine, the former commune which was on the outskirts of Paris * Auteuil, Quebec, a former city that is now a district within ...

in 1932 and 1933. After retiring from tournaments, he coached juniors and umpired at Wimbledon, becoming President of the Umpire's Association. He died on 29 April 1939.

Tennis tournaments

Dixon was born in 1873, the year that Major

Walter Clopton Wingfield Major Walter Clopton Wingfield (16 October 1833 – 18 April 1912) was a Welsh inventor and a British Army officer who was one of the pioneers of lawn tennis.Tyzack, AnnThe True Home of Tennis''Country Life'', 22 June 2005J. Perris (2000Grass ...

defined the first rules for lawn tennis. Dixon reached his first all comers final at Wimbledon in 1901, beating

Harold Mahony Harold Segerson Mahony (13 February 1867 – 27 June 1905) was a Scottish-born Irish tennis player who is best known for winning the singles title at the Wimbledon Championships in 1896. His career lasted from 1888 until his death in 1905. Maho ...

before losing to Arthur Gore. A decade later, in 1911, Dixon reached the all comers final again, beating

Major Ritchie Major Josiah George Ritchie (18 October 1870 – 28 February 1955) was a tennis player from Great Britain. Major was his first name, not a military title. He was born in Westminster, educated at Brighton College and died in Ashford. Career Ritc ...

and

Max Decugis Maxime Omer Mathieu Decugis or Décugis (; 24 September 1882 – 6 September 1978) was a tennis player from France who held the French Championships record of winning the tournament eight times (a French club members only tournament before 1925) ...

before losing to

Herbert Roper Barrett Herbert Roper Barrett, KC (24 November 1873 – 27 July 1943) was a tennis player from Great Britain. Biography Barrett was born on 24 November 1873 in Upton, Essex. At the London Olympics in 1908 Barrett won a gold medal in the men's ind ...

. He won the doubles with Roper Barrett in 1912 and 1913. His career included victories in international tournaments overseas include the Ostend International tournament (1905), the Doubles at the Championship of Dieppe (Championnat de Diepper) (1908) won partnering with M.J.G. Ritchie In the UK he won the

Surrey Championships The Surrey Championships also known as the Surrey Grass Court Championships and the Surrey County Championships is a defunct tennis tournament played in Surbiton, Surrey, England on outdoor grass courts. It ran for 73 editions from 1890 to 1981 a ...

(1911) on grass, defeating

Anthony Wilding Anthony Frederick Wilding (31 October 1883 – 9 May 1915), also known as Tony Wilding, was a New Zealand world No. 1 tennis player and soldier who was killed in action during World War I. Considered the world's first tennis superstar, Wildin ...

in four sets. He also won the

Dulwich Farm Hard Courts The Dulwich Farm Hard Courts also known as the Dulwich Farm Open was a combined clay court tennis tournament staged at Dulwich Farm Club, Dulwich, Surrey, England in 1909, that ran until 1932. History The Dulwich Farm Hard Courts was a combined ...

on clay at Dulwich four times from (1909–1910, 1912–1913). He also won the

Drive Club Tournament The Drive Club Open Tournament and informally known as the Fulham Hard Courts was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played at the Drive Club, Fulham, London, originally on hard cement courts, or sometimes clay courts and ran until 1928 ...

at the Drive Club,

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandswor ...

that was played on hard cement courts three times (1908-1910). Dixon was better known at the time for his many successes when representing Britain in the

: starting in the 1909 Cup in Philadelphia, he led the British team to victory in the 1912 Cup in Australia. He was also a member of the English Drive Club team in South Africa in 1910–1911. He won the 1913 Doubles title at the Russian Open Tennis Championship, partnering Albert D Prebble, and was runner up in the singles.The early Russian Lawn Tennis Championships (1907–14) by Mark Ryan

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (3 titles, 1 runner-ups)

Other sports

He represented Haileybury and Cambridge at racquets, winning the silver medal in 1891. He was also a keen prize-winning golfer, and represented Britain in international

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

in Paris. His brother, J A Dixon, was captain of

Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Nottinghamshire. The club's limited overs team is called the ...

. In 1897 he married Louise Robinson, and until his death they lived at Chestnut Road, West Norwood. He died on 29 April 1939 in

West Norwood West Norwood is a largely residential area of south London within the London Borough of Lambeth, located 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south south-east of Charing Cross. The centre of West Norwood sits in a bowl surrounded by hillsides on its east, ...

, London. After cremation his ashes were buried nearby at the Robinson family plot in

West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Charles 1873 births 1939 deaths Australasian Championships (tennis) champions Burials at West Norwood Cemetery English male fencers English racquets players English male tennis players English Olympic medallists Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic tennis players of Great Britain People from Grantham Tennis players at the 1908 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 1912 Summer Olympics Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Olympic medalists in tennis Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics British male tennis players Tennis people from Lincolnshire