Frederick Beasley Alexander (August 14, 1880 – March 3, 1969) was an American

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 in the early 20th century. He won the singles title at the 1908 Australasian Championships and six double titles at Grand Slam events.

Career

In 1908, Alexander became the first foreigner to win the singles title at the Australasian/Australian Championships, the amateur precursor to the

Australian Open The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...

. He then teamed with Alfred Dunlop, the man he defeated in the final, to win the doubles. Alexander attended Princeton University and won the Intercollegiate doubles championship in 1900 and the singles in 1901. Between 1904 and 1918, he was a U.S. top 10 player six times. He was a finalist in doubles at the U.S. Championships, precursor to the US Open, seven straight times beginning in 1905. He and partner Harold Hackett won the U.S. doubles each year from 1907 to 1910. At age 37, Alexander won again in 1917, partnering with Harold Throckmorton. In the singles, Alexander reached the all comers final in 1908, beating William Clothier, then losing to

Beals Wright Beals Coleman Wright (December 19, 1879 – August 23, 1961) was an American tennis player who was active at the end of the 1890s and early 1900s. He won the singles title at the 1905 U.S. National Championships. Wright was a two-time Olympic g ...

in straight sets. He competed in the U.S. Davis Cup team in 1908, which lost the final against Australia at the Albert Ground. Alexander lost both his singles matches against Norman Brookes and

Anthony Wilding Anthony Frederick Wilding (31 October 1883 – 9 May 1915), also known as Tony Wilding, was a New Zealand world number 1 ranked male tennis players, world No. 1 tennis player and soldier who was killed in action during World War I. Considered ...

as well as the doubles match against these two with his partner

. In 1915, he wrote ''How to Play Lawn Tennis'', part of the ''Spalding's athletic library'' series. Alexander was inducted into the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, 13 grass tennis courts, an ...

in 1961.

U.S. Indoor Championships

*Men's Doubles champion: 1906, 1907, 1908, 1911, 1912, 1917

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title)

Doubles (6 titles, 5 runner-ups)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Fred 1880 births 1969 deaths 19th-century male tennis players 19th-century American sportsmen American male tennis players Australasian Championships (tennis) champions Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees People from Sea Bright, New Jersey Princeton Tigers men's tennis players Sportspeople from Monmouth County, New Jersey Tennis players from New Jersey United States National champions (tennis)