Vivian Erzerum Bede McGrath (17 February 1916 – 9 April 1978) was a tennis champion from Australia. Along with John Bromwich, he was one of the early great players to use a two-handed

backhand The backhand is a shot used in most racket sports, such as tennis and pickleball, where the back of the hand precedes the palm when swinging the racket. Except in the phrase ''backhand volley'', the term refers to a groundstroke (where the b ...

. His name was pronounced "McGraw".

Biography

He was born in

Merrendee Yarrabin (formerly known as Merrendee) is a ghost town near the junction of the Meroo River, Meroo and Cudgegong River, Cudgegong rivers in the New South Wales Orana (New South Wales), Orana Region. The village of Merrendee was established after ...

, near

Mudgee Mudgee is a town in the Central West (New South Wales), Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It is in the broad fertile Cudgegong River valley north-west of Sydney and is the largest town in the Mid-Western Regional Council Local gover ...

, New South Wales, the fourth child of native Australian parents. His father was a hotelkeeper. He went to

Sydney Boys High School Sydney Boys High School (”SBHS”), otherwise known as The Sydney High School (“SHS”) or High, is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Single-sex school, single-sex Selective school (New South Wales), academically s ...

, graduating in 1932, where he played tennis and cricket. He began playing tennis against a brick walk at his home. Christian Boussus Vivian McGrath

He won the Australian junior singles in 1932 and the French junior singles in 1933. He was a member of the Australian

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 ...

team from 1933 to 1937. He won the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

doubles championship with his friend Jack Crawford in 1935. In 1937, he won the Australian Open singles title against

John Bromwich John Edward Bromwich (14 November 1918 – 21 October 1999) was an Australian tennis player who, along with fellow countryman Vivian McGrath, was one of the first great players to use a two-handed backhand. He was a natural left-hander, though ...

. McGrath was ranked World No. 8 in 1935 by

A. Wallis Myers Arthur Wallis Myers (24 July 1878 – 17 June 1939) was an English tennis correspondent, editor, author and player. He was one of the leading tennis journalists of the first half of the 20th century. Family life Myers was son of the Rev. John ...

of ''The Daily Telegraph''. World War II interrupted his career, and he served in the Air Force. He was granted leave to play exhibition games against American servicemen. After the war, he never regained his form and was plagued by injuries. He eventually became a coach in the southern highlands and pursued his interest in horse racing. He died in Burradoo, New South Wales of heart disease.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: (1 title)

Doubles: (1 title, 5 runners-up)

References

External links

Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) – McGrath, Vivian Erzerum Bede (1916–1978)
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Vivian 1916 births 1978 deaths Australian Championships (tennis) champions Australian Championships (tennis) junior champions Australian male tennis players Tennis people from New South Wales Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' singles People educated at Sydney Boys High School