Rex Noel Hartwig (2 September 1929 – 30 December 2022) was an Australian

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player.

Early life

Rex Hartwig was born on 2 September 1929 in Culcairn, New South Wales. Both parents played tennis and at age 10 he won a local tournament with his father. At 13, Hartwig began competing in afternoon competitions and took a job managing tennis courts in Albury. He formed a doubles team with Allan Kendall Jr. and won the NSW, Victorian and Australian Junior titles.

Tennis career

Hartwig was ranked World No. 5 in both 1954 and 1955 by

Lance Tingay Lance Tingay (15 July 1915 – 10 March 1990) was a British sports journalist, historian, and author of several tennis books. For many years his annual ranking of top tennis players was "the only one that counted" before ATP rankings were introduc ...

of ''The Daily Telegraph''. ;Wimbledon He won the doubles in

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...

twice: in 1954 with Mervyn Rose and in 1955, with

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 Wimbledons ...

. ;Australian Championships In 1954, Hartwig was runner-up at the Australian championships to his Davis Cup teammate Mervyn Rose. In 1953, he won the doubles with Rose and the mixed doubles with Julia Sampson Hayward. In 1954 he again won the mixed doubles title in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, this time partnering

Thelma Coyne Long Thelma Dorothy Coyne Long (née Coyne; 14 October 1918 – 13 April 2015) was an Australian tennis player and one of the female players who dominated Australian tennis from the mid-1930s to the 1950s. During her career, she won 19 Grand S ...

. ;U.S. Championships In 1953, he won the doubles title at the U.S. Championships with Mervyn Rose, defeating

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 centenarian, turned 100 in Novem ...

and

Bill Talbert William Franklin Talbert (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 1999) was an American tennis player and administrator. Tennis career He was ranked in the U.S. top 10 from 1941 to 1954, and he was ranked World No. 3 in 1949 by John Olliff of ''The D ...

in the final that lasted 77 minutes. Playing singles, he made the final in 1954, defeating Tony Trabert and

Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall (born 2 November 1934) is an Australian former World number one male tennis player rankings, world No. 1 professional tennis player. Rosewall won 147 singles titles, including 23 majors: a record 15 Major professional te ...

but losing in the final to

Vic Seixas Elias Victor Seixas Jr. ( ;
''Los Angeles Times''. August 30, 1923 – July 5, 2024 ...

. ;Davis Cup Hartwig was member of the Australian Davis Cup team in 1953, 1954 and 1955. In

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

, he played the doubles match with

in the challenge round against the US and lost to

Vic Seixas Elias Victor Seixas Jr. ( ;
''Los Angeles Times''. August 30, 1923 – July 5, 2024 ...

and Tony Trabert. This was Hartwig's only

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...

defeat. In

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

, he defeated Seixas in the challenge round that Australia lost to the U.S. In

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

, he made a significant contribution toward Australia's Cup win, playing 11 matches in six ties and winning all of them. He compiled a 12–1 win–loss record in the Davis Cup (6–0 singles, 6–1 doubles). ;Other tournaments In March 1952, Hartwig won the South Australian Championships at Milton Courts, Adelaide defeating Ken McGregor in the semifinal and Rose in the final in a close five-set match. In November 1954, Hartwig won the singles title at the New South Wales Championships in Sydney. He defeated Rosewall in the semifinal and Rose in the final in three straight sets. ;Professional In November 1955, Hartwig turned professional by signing a contract with tennis promoter

Jack Kramer John Albert Kramer (August 1, 1921 – September 12, 2009) was an American tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s, and a pioneer promoter who helped drive the sport towards professionalism at the elite level. Kramer also ushered in the serve-an ...

for a fixed amount of $30,000 plus a percentage of the gate receipts of the professional tour.

Playing style

Hartwig was known for his well-timed groundstrokes and his crisp and accurate volleys. Australian tennis player and coach

Harry Hopman Henry Christian Hopman Order of the British Empire, CBE (12 August 1906 – 27 December 1985) was an Australian tennis player and coach. Early life Harry Hopman was born on 12 August 1906 in Glebe, New South Wales, Glebe, Sydney as the third c ...

characterized Hartwig as a great stylist.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (2 runners-up)

Doubles (4 titles – 1 runner-up)

Mixed doubles (2 titles, 2 runners-up)

References

External links

* * * *
British Pathé filmreel – 1953 US Championships Men's Doubles title
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartwig, Rex 1929 births 2022 deaths Australian Championships (tennis) champions Australian male tennis players People from the Riverina Tennis players from New South Wales United States National champions (tennis) Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Professional tennis players before the Open Era Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' doubles Australian Championships (tennis) junior champions 20th-century Australian sportsmen Sportsmen from New South Wales