Rex Noel Hartwig (2 September 1929 – 30 December 2022) was an Australian

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player.

Early life

Rex Hartwig was born on 2 September 1929 in

Culcairn, New South Wales Culcairn () is a town in the south-east Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Culcairn is located in the Greater Hume Shire local government area on the Olympic Highway between Albury and Wagga Wagga. The town is south-west of the s ...

. Both parents played tennis, and at age 10, Hartwig won a local tournament with his father. When he was 13, he began competing in afternoon competitions and took a job managing tennis courts in Albury. He formed a doubles team with Allan Kendall Jr., and the team won the NSW, Victorian and Australian Junior titles.

Tennis career

Hartwig was ranked World No. 5 in both 1954 and 1955 by

Lance Tingay Lance Tingay (15 July 1915 – 10 March 1990) was a British sports journalist, historian, and author of several tennis books. For many years his annual ranking of top tennis players was "the only one that counted" before ATP rankings were introduc ...

of ''The Daily Telegraph''. ;Wimbledon He won the doubles in

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 * ...

twice: in 1954 with

Mervyn Rose Mervyn Gordon Rose AM (23 January 1930 – 23 July 2017) was an Australian male tennis player who won seven Grand Slam titles (singles, doubles and mixed doubles). Rose was born in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, and turned professional in 1 ...

and in 1955 with

Lew Hoad Lewis Alan Hoad (23 November 1934 – 3 July 1994) was an Australian tennis player whose career ran from 1950 to 1973. Hoad won four Major singles tournaments as an amateur (the Australian Championships, French Championships and two Wimbledons ...

. ;Australian Championships In 1953, he won the doubles with Mervyn Rose and the mixed doubles with Julia Sampson Hayward. In 1954 he again won the mixed doubles title in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, this time partnering

Thelma Coyne Long Thelma Dorothy Coyne Long (née Coyne; 14 October 1918 – 13 April 2015) was an Australian tennis player and one of the female players who dominated Australian tennis from the mid-1930s to the 1950s. During her career she won 19 Grand Sla ...

. ;U.S. Championships In 1953, he won the doubles title at the U.S. Championships with Mervyn Rose, defeating

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 ...

and

Bill Talbert William Franklin Talbert (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 1999) was an American tennis player and administrator. Tennis career He was ranked in the U.S. top 10 13 times between 1941 and 1954, and was ranked World No. 3 in 1949 by John Olliff ...

in the final that lasted 77 minutes. Playing singles, he made the final in 1954, losing to

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

. ;Davis Cup Hartwig was member of the Australian Davis Cup team in 1953, 1954 and 1955. In

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

, he played the doubles match with

in the

challenge round Challenge may refer to: * Voter challenging or caging, a method of challenging the registration status of voters * Euphemism for disability * Peremptory challenge, a dismissal of potential jurors from jury duty Places Geography *Challenge, C ...

against the USA and lost to

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

and

Tony Trabert Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

. This was Hartwig's only

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 ...

defeat. In

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

, he defeated Seixas in the challenge round that Australia lost to the U.S. In

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

, he made a significant contribution toward Australia's Cup win, playing 11 matches in six ties and winning all of them. He compiled a 12–1 win–loss record in the Davis Cup (6–0 singles, 6–1 doubles). ;Other tournaments In November 1954, Hartwig won the singles title at the New South Wales Championships in Sydney. In the final, he defeated countryman

in three straight sets. ;Professional In November 1955, Hartwig turned professional by signing a contract with tennis promoter

Jack Kramer John Albert Kramer (August 1, 1921 – September 12, 2009) was an American tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s. He won three Grand Slam tournaments (the U.S. Championships in 1946 and 1947, Wimbledon in 1947). He led the U.S. Davis Cup tennis ...

for a fixed amount of $30,000 plus a percentage of the gate receipts of the professional tour.

Playing style

Hartwig was known for his well-timed groundstrokes and his crisp and accurate volleys. Australian tennis player and coach

Harry Hopman Henry Christian Hopman Order of the British Empire, CBE (12 August 1906 – 27 December 1985) was an Australian tennis player and coach. Early life Harry Hopman was born on 12 August 1906 in Glebe, New South Wales, Glebe, Sydney as the third c ...

characterized Hartwig as a great stylist.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (2 runners-up)

Doubles (4 titles – 1 runner-up)

Mixed doubles (2 titles, 2 runners-up)

References

External links

* * * *
British Pathé filmreel – 1953 US Championships Men's Doubles title
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartwig, Rex 1929 births 2022 deaths Australian Championships (tennis) champions Australian male tennis players People from the Riverina Tennis people from New South Wales United States National champions (tennis) Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Professional tennis players before the Open Era Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' doubles Australian Championships (tennis) junior champions 20th-century Australian people