Ellsworth Fortify

Ellsworth Vines (born the September 28th 1911 with Los Angeles - died the March 17th 1984) was an American champion of Tennis of the Années 1930, and opinion of Donald Budge and Jack Kramer, the largest player of all times when it was in form. It was probably the world number 1 or world Co-number 1 in 1932,1935,1936 and 1937.

Biography

In the rows amateurs it gained 3 tournaments of the Large Slam, the tournament of Wimbledon in 1932 as well as the championships of the United States with Forest Hills in 1931 and 1932. It reached also the final of Wimbledon in 1933.

It disputed its first professional match on January 10th, 1934 against Bill Tilden in the Madison Square Garden of New York. Consequently the traditional tests like the tournaments of the Large Slam or the Coupe Davis were prohibited to him. He became the best professional player of the world until 1938 (and the world n°1 or 2 amateurs and confused professionals):

In 1934 and 1935 it gained almost all the professional great events: the two great annual rounds of these two years (see various Records since the beginnings of tennis) as well as the great occupational tournaments like those of the London Indoor Professional Championship in Wembley in 1934 and 1935 (and perhaps in 1936 but the sources are dubious (see occupational major Tournois of tennis of the pre-open era), Paris Indoor (not to be confused with International France Professionals or French Pro) in 1934, Southport Pro in 1935 and Roland-Garros Pro in 1935.

After two years as the indisputable king of the Vines pros any more need did not have to dispute tournaments to preserve its crown: it was satisfied to dispute and gain three other great professional rounds, much remunerative at the time than the tournaments, between 1936 and 1938 to see various Records since the beginnings of tennis) in particular against the news great recruit in the professional rows, Fred Perry.

In 1939 it yielded little its crown to Don Budge: in their first round (January 3rd - March 6th, 1939), Vines gained 17 matches against Budge and 22 lost some: this round showed that when Vines it was with its best was invincible but that the regularity of Budge made it possible this last to finish victorious on the long run. October 22nd of this same Vines year gained its last great tournament, US Pro Championship in Beverly Hills Tennis Club and finalist Roland-Garros Pro.

In May 1940, at 28 years and 7 months, Vines disputed its last tennistic competition: its physical problems (wounds), its desire of family happiness, the loss of its professional world crown and especially its passion growing for the golf pushed it to take its retirement (in 1938 it had been arranged so that the stages of its professional round against Perry coincide with places where it could play golf) .

When Budge had successively faced Vines and Perry in 1939 it wrote " It was simply that after enduring Vines' S power range, I never felt any real presses against Perry." . (" After having undergone the so powerful play of Fortify I did not test any real pressure to face Perry"). Until the end of its life, Budge (death on January 26th, 2000) thought that when Vines in form it was the best player of all times and was always astonished when a person did not know Vines which was according to him the champion of the decade 1930. When Kramer published its book " The Game" in 1979 it classified Vines with the second rank in its list of the best players of all times and approved also Budge while saying in connection with Vines " … One his best days, Fortifies played the best tennis ever. Hell, when Elly was one, you' D Be lucky to get your racket one the ball ounce you served it." . : " … its apogee Vines played best tennis ever practiced. When Elly (diminutive of Ellsworth) was in form, you had chance if you touch the ball after you have servi." Large and thin, it controlled all the blows of tennis, without any real weak point (if it is not its reverse at the beginning of career) with in particular a blow very powerful right and a service devastator generally struck flat without many effects. Although it was able to play service-flight its play was based more on the attack and the gaining blows of the bottom of short. It influenced in particular the young person Jack Kramer at the time of a professional match in 1935 in Los Angeles where Vines was presented as follows: " And here Ellsworth Fortify, 6 ' 2-1/2 (approximately 1,89m), 155 pounds (approximately 70 kgs), equipped like Fred Astaire and striking his blows like Babe Ruth (large player of baseball) . Consequently Kramer concentrated primarily on tennis and known as in connection with Vines: Fortify had " the perfect slim body, " according to Kramer, " that was coordinated for anything. Elly won Forest Hills the first time when He was still only nineteen, goal At the same time He was also devoting himself to basketball At the University off Southern California. (" It had a slender body coordinated perfectly for any movement. Elly gained Forest Hills at nineteen years all while being devoted at the same time to the basketball at the University of California of the South.)

When it gave up tennis in 1940 it was devoted to its new passion and became professional golfor with a certain success in particular a professional victory with the Massachusetts Open of 1946 and one place of semi-finalist in prestigious PGA Championship of 1951 when the tournament was played in match-play (by elimination in direct confrontation). Kramer wrote " He was twice in the signal ten off golf money winnings, and He was surely the best athlete ever in the two sports." (" He was twice in Top10 of the profits in professional golf and certainly the best athlete of both sports"). Kramer compared also Vines with Lew Hoad, large player of the Fifties: " Both were very strong guys. Both succeeded At has very old Young…. Also, both were very lazy guys. Fortify lost interest in tennis (for golf) before He was thirty, and Hoad never appeared to Be very interested. Despite to their great natural ability, neither could up the outstanding records that they were off able. Unfortunately, to lath was largely true because both had physical problems." (" Both were very strapping men and made a success of very young… both were also very lazy. Fortify ignored tennis (for the golf) before being thirty years old and Hoad never seemed very interested too. In spite of their great natural aptitude neither one nor the other built the époustouflant prize list of which they were able. One of the reasons unfortunately was their problems physiques.")

Fortify was built-in the International Tennis Hall off Famed with Newport, Rhode Island, in 1962.

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