Sven Viktor Davidson (13 July 1928 – 28 May 2008) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

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 c ...

player who became the first Swede to win a Grand Slam title when he won the French Championships in

1957 1957 (Roman numerals, MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday, common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, t ...

, beating Ashley Cooper and Herbert Flam.

Career

Davidson also reached the French championships final in the two previous years. In 1955 he beat

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 ...

before losing to Tony Trabert. In 1956 he beat Flam and Cooper before losing to Lew Hoad. He also reached the Wimbledon semi finals in 1957 (beating Seixas before losing to Lew Hoad). At the 1957 U. S. Championships, Davidson lost in five sets in the semifinals to

Mal Anderson Malcolm James Anderson (born 3 March 1935) is a former tennis player from Australia who was active from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s. He won the singles title at the 1957 U.S. National Championships and achieved his highest amateur ranki ...

. In 1958 Davidson partnered with Ulf Schmidt to win the doubles title at the

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is pl ...

defeating the Australian pair Ashley Cooper and Neale Fraser in three straight sets. He played his last Grand Slam event at Wimbledon in 1959. Davidson reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 2. He played for the Swedish

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 orga ...

team between 1950 and 1960. Davidson 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, grass tennis courts, an ind ...

in 2007.

Personal life

Davidson lived in

Arcadia, California Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located about northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It contains a series of adjacent parks consisting of ...

since the 1970s. In 1981, at age 52, he suffered a heart attack while playing a tennis match in Los Angeles. He died in Arcadia on 28 May 2008 as a result of pneumonia.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title, 2 runners-up)

Doubles (1 title)

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

Singles

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Sven 1928 births 2008 deaths People from Borås French Championships (tennis) champions Swedish expatriates in the United States Swedish male tennis players International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Sportspeople from Västra Götaland County