Gustavo Palafox (15 November 1923 – 21 August 2006) was a Mexican tennis player.

Life and career

Palafox won five

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

gold medals during the 1950s. He competed at the US National Championships four times and made the third round in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

, with wins over Robert Kerdasha and Don Eisenberg, before a loss to 11th seed

Gardnar Mulloy Gardnar Putnam "Gar" Mulloy (November 22, 1913 – November 14, 2016) was a U.S. No. 1 tennis player primarily known for playing in doubles matches with partner Billy Talbert. He was born in Washington, D.C. and turned 100 in November 2013. Du ...

. In

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 ...

tennis, Palafox took part in nine ties and 20 rubbers, for 10 wins.Davis Cup Profile
/ref> He beat Australian

Ken McGregor Kenneth Bruce McGregor (2 June 1929 – 1 December 2007) was an Australian tennis player from Adelaide who won the Men's Singles title at the Australian Championships in 1952. He and his longtime doubles partner, Frank Sedgman, are generally ...

in 1950 and four years later made history when he beat

Vic Seixas Elias Victor Seixas Jr. (; pronounced SAY-shus; born August 30, 1923)

, becoming the first Mexican to defeat an American in the Davis Cup. Palafox died in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

in August 2006 at the age of 82.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Palafox, Gustavo 1923 births 2006 deaths Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Mexico Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in tennis Medalists at the 1951 Pan American Games Mexican male tennis players Pan American Games bronze medalists for Mexico Pan American Games gold medalists for Mexico Pan American Games medalists in tennis Tennis players at the 1951 Pan American Games Tennis players at the 1955 Pan American Games Tennis players at the 1959 Pan American Games Sportspeople from Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexican expatriates in the United States 20th-century Mexican people