| Revision as of 17:01, 26 June 2005 editMayumashu (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users103,645 edits rfd← Previous edit | Revision as of 06:21, 1 July 2005 edit undoJnc (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Administrators17,591 edits Initial articleNext edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| '''Frank Kovacs''' (?? - ]) was an American ] player in the ]; he was known as the "Clown Prince of Tennis" for his on-court antics. | |||
| {{rfd}} | |||
| Probably the most eccentric major player ever, stories of his antics are still told in the tennis world. Once, serving for a ], he tossed three balls in the air - hitting the middle one for an ]! He was known to jump into the stands to applaud his opponents, and once staged a sit-down strike during a match. He often stopped play so that he could complain about the heavy nap on the balls, and would then shove the offending balls into his mouth so that he could chew on the nap! | |||
| #REDIRECT ] | |||
| Although he showed flashes of brilliance (it was said of him that on the right days, when he was briefly "in the zone", he could be unbeatable), his career results were relatively mundane. His best results were a second-place finish in the ] in ] (losing to ]), and another second-place finish in the ] in ] (coming in second to ]). | |||
| He was also responsible for something of a scandal over money in tennis, which before the ] was strictly divided into amateurs and professionals. After he was barred from amateur tennis in 1941 (leaving with a characteristic witticism - "Amateur tennis stinks - there's no money in it any more."), he talked about how money was quietly - and widely - paid to supposedly amateur players for entering tournaments. | |||
| After being evicted from the amateur ranks, he became an openly professional player; he later joined the ]. | |||
| His cousin was the famouse entertainer ]. He married the legendary San Francisco vocal coach Judy Davis in ]. | |||
| ==Web links== | |||
| * | |||
Revision as of 06:21, 1 July 2005
Frank Kovacs (?? - 1990) was an American tennis player in the 1940s; he was known as the "Clown Prince of Tennis" for his on-court antics.
Probably the most eccentric major player ever, stories of his antics are still told in the tennis world. Once, serving for a match point, he tossed three balls in the air - hitting the middle one for an ace! He was known to jump into the stands to applaud his opponents, and once staged a sit-down strike during a match. He often stopped play so that he could complain about the heavy nap on the balls, and would then shove the offending balls into his mouth so that he could chew on the nap!
Although he showed flashes of brilliance (it was said of him that on the right days, when he was briefly "in the zone", he could be unbeatable), his career results were relatively mundane. His best results were a second-place finish in the U.S. National Singles Championship in 1941 (losing to Bobby Riggs), and another second-place finish in the United States Pro Championship in 1950 (coming in second to Pancho Segura).
He was also responsible for something of a scandal over money in tennis, which before the Open era was strictly divided into amateurs and professionals. After he was barred from amateur tennis in 1941 (leaving with a characteristic witticism - "Amateur tennis stinks - there's no money in it any more."), he talked about how money was quietly - and widely - paid to supposedly amateur players for entering tournaments.
After being evicted from the amateur ranks, he became an openly professional player; he later joined the US Army.
His cousin was the famouse entertainer Ernie Kovacs. He married the legendary San Francisco vocal coach Judy Davis in 1950.