George Rogers Lyttelton

George Lyttleton Rogers (10 July 1906 – 19 November 1962) was an Irish tennis player, promoter and coach. He won the Irish Championships title three times, (1926, 1936–1937). He was the Canadian and Argentine champion as well. He was a three times runner-up for the Monte Carlo Cup. In 1931 he was the eleventh on the French rankings.

Early life and family

Rogers was born on 10 July 1906 in Athy, County Kildare, Ireland to Anglo-Irish Protestants parents Francis William Lyttelton Rogers, an inspector in the Royal Irish Constabulary, and Hessie May Lloyd Sherrie Rogers. Both his elder brothers were killed in action in the First World War while serving in France with the Royal Field Artillery; Francis Lyttelton Lloyd Rogers (4 February 1895 – 7 January 1916) was killed in action in Neuve Chapelle and Richard Henry Lyster Rogers (18 September 1896 – 4 October 1917) was killed in Arras. His great-grandparents Daniel Upton and Marie Lloyd Upton were land-owners in Dublin. In the Irish War of Independence the family home, "Holyrood Castle" in Sandymount, was requisitioned as a machine gun nest by the British Army. His aunt Alice Upton Harvey was a famous Irish music composer. His cousin was George U. Harvey, borough president of Queens between 1929 and 1941. Rogers studied in the Imperial Service College in Windsor.

Amateur tennis career

In April 1928, he was defeated by the Austrian champion Erik Worm for the Beaulieu title. and the next year it happened again but this time he suffered defeat from Emmanuel du Plaix.
;1930
In the first days of January, Rogers was repulsed in the final of the Beausite tournament in Cannes by Paul Barrelet de Ricou in straight sets. In the follow-up tournament of Monaco he was beaten in the title match by French riviera-series debutant Bill Tilden in four sets and lost the doubles as well with partner Arne Wilhelm Grahn to Tilden and Charles Herbert Kingsley. In January–February, he entered several riviera tournaments; at New Courts de Cannes doubles contest the Tilden-Kingsley duo saw another victory in the final against Rogers and Worm. At Gallia L.T.C. Cannes, he was stopped in the semifinals of singles and doubles and in the quarterfinal of the mixed doubles. At Carlton L.T.C. Cannes, he lost the Italy's fourth ranked player Placido Gaslini.

For the Beaumont Trophy at Monte-Carlo doubles event Rogers and Tamino Abe were overcame Umberto De Morpurgo and Wilbur Coen. In Menton, he reached the semifinals in singles and doubles. In March, at the Nice Lawn Tennis Club competition the last two, Tilden and Rogers met again but Rogers was unable to overcome Tilden. In late March at the Cannes Championships, the doubles team of Rogers and René Gallepe were subdued by seasoned American duo of Tilden-Coen. At the L. T. C. Biarritz tournament, Raymond Rodel captured the title ahead of Rogers. Henri Cochet and Pierre Landry beat the Rogers Féret duo for the doubles crown. In June he clinched the third place at the Belgian International Championships.
In July, he won the Canadian Lawn Tennis National Championships against home-favourite Gilbert Nunns in four sets. During the year 1930 he swept 18 international titles.

;1931
In January, he started the season at the Beausite–L.T.C. de Cannes Championship where he captured the title against Swiss Charles Aeschlimann who took revenge in the doubles final on Rogers and Hillyard. In the Beausite tournament, he was finally victorious against Paul Féret who came back from professional tennis to amateur play. They teamed up for the doubles where they couldn't convert two match points against Hillyard and Vladimir Landau, which backfired on them and lost in five sets. In mixed doubles, Rogers and Elizabeth Ryan found their winning form against Phyllis Satterthwaite and Erik Worm and became mixed champions. In the Parc Imperial L.T.C. de Nice Rogers had an easy victory over Edmond Lotan and in the mixed doubles he and Mrs. Marjollet defeated Mikhail Sumarokov-Elston and Mrs. Franke. At Gallia L.T.C. de Cannes Rogers faced Jacques Brugnon for the championship, and Brugnon was triumphant in a five-set match although he gave Rogers two zero-sets. Also in Cannes at the Carlton Club, Brugnon and Henri Cochet fought a four-set battle against the losing team of Rogers-Aeschlimann.

In February at the Beaulieu Championships of Hotel Bristol, Rogers reclaimed the title from his opponent two years before, Emmanuel du Plaix in a close five-set encounter. He and John Olliff went for the doubles title as well, only losing to the Yugoslavian pair of Franjo Šefer and Franjo Kukuljević. In the Championships of Monaco Henri Cochet proved to be an impassable opposition for Rogers and bagged his third Monaco title. He reached his best Menton result by winning the tournament alongside Hungarian Béla von Kehrling in a rematch with Kukuljević-Šefer. In Bordighera he met his Hungarian partner in the singles final, where in the deciding fifth set the Irishman took a 5–1 lead when Kehrling came up to one game difference but eventually lost the game, set and match due to an umpire mistake. Rogers also clinched the doubles with Alberto Del Bono against Kehrling and Vladimir Landau.

In March, in the second meeting of L.T.C. de Cannes, Rogers repeated his feat against the same opponent Charles Aeschlimann but this time he and Hillyard was also victorious in doubles as well against the Swiss team of Aeschlimann and Hector Chiesa. In the third Cannes tournament of the year, Hyotaro Sato surpassed Rogers for the singles, but the American-Irish couple of Rogers-Ryan captured the mixed contest from Hillyard- Satterthwaite. In May in the 31st Campionato Partenopeo, Rogers finished first ahead of ambidextrous Italian Giorgio de Stefani, who equalized in the doubles final.

In July, although losing in the second round of the Wimbledon Championships to the aforementioned Sato, Rogers was a contestant for the All England Plate, a consolation tournament played by the losers of the first two rounds of the men's singles main draw, in which Vernon Kirby overcame him in three sets. In the Le Touquet Spa Championships he chose Lucilo del Castillo for the doubles but lost to eventual victors Cochet-Marcel Bernard. In December the Fédération Française de Tennis compiled the annual French tennis rankings, but that year they included players of all nationality provided that they played and represented a French sports club. Rogers was ranked the 11th French player.

;1932


In the first tournament of the season at Beausite, Rogers defended his last year's title against Erik Worm. He went on to win the doubles and was only repelled in the mixed finals. At New Courts L.T.C. de Cannes he fought Emmanuel du Plaix in a tough match for his first New Courts singles title and battled through another five-set struggle for the doubles. Although he had a clean victory in the mixed doubles with Miss Ryan. At the Gallia L T.C. de Cannes he tried to take revenge for his last year loss to Jacques Brugnon also this time he was forced to give the Frenchman a walkover victory in singles only after losing in the doubles to the French team of du Plaix-Brugnon. In the Carlton Club he finally came to win against Brugnon, but this time he did it three times in a row in singles and both doubles, claiming his first triple crown reward.

In his second Monte Carlo Cup final, he was topped by Roderich Menzel. In San Remo he finished second again behind Béla von Kehrling. In doubles the Hungarian team of Kehrling-Imre Zichy suffered defeat from Rogers and Aoki Miki. For the third time that year Kehrling and Rogers faced each other in the Alassio tournament final, where it was Kehrling who celebrated a flawless victory. Rogers paired with Emanuele Sertorio and grabbed the doubles title. In May, Fred Perry defeated Rogers for British Hard Court Championships crown. In August, he became the champion of North of England and a month later he attached the South of England title, too, after beating Madan Mohan in straight sets.

;Later years
In 1933, he won the doubles trophy of the Club Carlton in Cannes, partnering Edmond Lotan in a five-set battle with William Radcliffe and Willem Karsten. In March he was unsuccessful for the third time in the Monte-Carlo final, this time falling short to Bunny Austin. In August, in the Derbyshire Championships in Buxton he was the runner-up in both men's and mixed doubles. At the end of the month, he was featured in the doubles final of the North of England Championships with Vernon Kirby. In February 1934, in the mixed doubles Nice final, Rogers and Sylvia Henrotin of France were unable to stop Miss Muriel Thomas and Wilmer Hines. Later that year, he claimed the Northern tournament championships trophy for the first time against Cam Malfroy

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