Herbert Lawford

Herbert Lawford

Lawford, standing, on the right side
Full name	Herbert Fortescue Lawford
Country (sports)	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Born	15 May 1851 Bayswater, England
Died	20 April 1925 (aged 73) Dess, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Turned pro	1878 (amateur tour)
Retired	1890
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF	2006 (member page)
Singles
Career titles	17 [1]
Highest ranking	No. 1 (1887, Karoly Mazak)[2]
Grand Slam Singles results
Wimbledon	W (1887)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Wimbledon	W (1879^Ox)

Herbert Fortescue Lawford (15 May 1851 – 20 April 1925) was a former co-World No. 1 tennis player from Scotland who won the Men's Singles championship at Wimbledon in 1887, and was runner-up five times.

Career

In the 1887 final, the native of Bayswater defeated Ernest Renshaw (also of Great Britain) in five sets: 1–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4. He reached the finals of Wimbledon in 1880, 1884–86, and 1888.

Lawford won the first major men's doubles tennis tournament, the Oxford University Men’s Doubles Championship, in 1879 partnering Lestocq Robert Erskine.^[3] This event was a precursor to the Wimbledon men's doubles championship, introduced in 1884, and it was played over the best of seven sets ending in a score of 4–6, 6–4, 6–5, 6–2, 3–6, 5–6, 7–5.^{[lower-alpha 1]} In 1885 he won the singles title at the inaugural British Covered Court Championships.

Birth of the topspin: the Lawford-stroke

Lawford is said to be the first person to introduce "topspin" to the game of tennis.His formidable forehand was called 'the Lawford stroke'. Lawford made a more substantial contribution in technically advancing the game. He unveiled the “Lawford forehand,” introducing topspin into the sport with that revolutionary shot. Aggressive and unwavering, he was equipped with power, speed and uncanny accuracy.He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006.^[4]

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title, 5 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Opponent in final	Score in final
Runner-up	1880	Wimbledon Championships	John Hartley	3–6, 2–6, 6–2, 3–6
Runner-up	1884	Wimbledon Championships	William Renshaw	0–6, 4–6, 7–9
Runner-up	1885	Wimbledon Championships	William Renshaw	5–7, 2–6, 6–4, 5–7
Runner-up	1886	Wimbledon Championships	William Renshaw	0–6, 7–5, 3–6, 4–6
Winner	1887	Wimbledon Championships	Ernest Renshaw	1–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	1888	Wimbledon Championships	Ernest Renshaw	3–6, 5–7, 0–6

Notes

1. Some sources show the result of the final set as 10–8

References

1. "Herbert Fortescue Lawford: Stats". tennisrachives.com. Tennis Archives. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
2. Mazak, Karoly (2010). The Concise History of Tennis, p. 15.
3. "Oxford University Lawn Tennis Club: 1879-1883". Norham Gardens Lawn Tennis Club.
4. http://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/herbert-lawford

External links

• Herbert Lawford at the International Tennis Hall of Fame