Alan Christie Stedman (23 April 1908 – 1 July 1984) was a New Zealand tennis player.
Biography
Born in
Palmerston North
Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...
, Stedman was New Zealand's 1930 national singles champion.
Stedman, credited with a strong forehand, competed on tour through the 1930s. On his
Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* ...
debut in 1933 he came from two sets down to win his first round match over
John Olliff
John Sheldon Olliff (1 December 1908 – 29 June 1951) was an English tennis player, author and sportsjournalist.
Life
Olliff took part in the Wimbledon Championships from 1928. In singles, he advanced to the fourth round several times until ...
, later losing to
Jack Crawford in the fourth round. He made the fourth round again in 1937 and lost in five sets to
Bryan Grant
Bryan Morel "Bitsy" Grant Jr. (December 25, 1909 – June 5, 1986) was an American amateur tennis champion. At and , Grant was the smallest American man to win a championship on the international tennis circuit. A right-handed retriever, he was ...
. As a doubles player he twice reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals. His career titles included the 1935
Irish Championships Irish Open may refer to:
*Irish Open (golf), a golf tournament on the European Tour
**Irish Senior Open, a golf tournament on the European Seniors Tour
**Ladies Irish Open, a golf tournament on the Ladies European Tour
* Irish Open (darts), annual ...
, where he beat his countryman
Cam Malfroy
Camille Enright Malfroy, (21 January 1909 – 8 May 1966)[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 organis ...](_blank)
for New Zealand between 1934 and 1937.
In
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
he served as a Second Lieutenant in the army and fought in the
Western Desert campaign. He was a German prisoner of war for four years. After the war he worked as an accountant.
See also
*
List of New Zealand Davis Cup team representatives
This is a list of tennis players who have represented the New Zealand Davis Cup team in an official Davis Cup match. New Zealand have taken part in the competition since 1924. Before that, New Zealander was represented by the Australasia Davis Cu ...
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stedman, Alan
1908 births
1984 deaths
New Zealand male tennis players
Sportspeople from Palmerston North
New Zealand military personnel of World War II
World War II prisoners of war held by Germany
New Zealand prisoners of war in World War II