, also spelt Zenzo Shimidzu, was a Japanese

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.

Zenzo Shimizu - LCCN2014713147 (cropped)

Shimizu graduated from the Tokyo Higher Commerce School (now Hitotsubashi University). In 1912 he started to work for Mitsui & Co. He married the daughter of Sohōka. He resided in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. In 1929 he was transferred to Mitsui Life Insurance Co., became the manager of

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

Branch, in 1945 the director thereof and also therefore was expelled from his official position after

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. He was running a trading company in

thereafter. In 1965 he collapsed from a stroke. In 1977 he died in

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at the age of 86. While having this educational background and career he reached the All-Comers final of the

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, All England Club in ...

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

, where he lost to

Bill Tilden William Tatem Tilden II (February 10, 1893 – June 5, 1953), nicknamed "Big Bill", was an American tennis player. Tilden was the world No. 1 amateur for six consecutive years, from 1920 to 1925, and was ranked as the world No. 1 professional b ...

4–6, 4–6, 11–13. At the

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he reached the semifinal which he lost to Manuel Alonso in five sets. He also was a member of Japan's Davis Cup team that finished second to United States in

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. In 1921 he won the singles title at the Queen's Club Championships by defeating

Mohammed Sleem Mohammed Sleem (14 January 1892 – around 1980) was a tennis player and lawyer who represented India at the Davis Cup and Olympic Games. He competed in the singles event at the 1924 Summer Olympics, reaching the third round in which he lost to ...

in the final in straight sets. He established the earliest period of Japanese tennis together with

Ichiya Kumagae was a Japanese tennis player and the first Japanese Olympic medalist. Biography Kumagae was born on 10 September 1890 in Ōmuta, Fukuoka Prefecture. He attended Keio University. In 1913, he, along with other members of the Keio University Ten ...

(accurately speaking, Kumagai). Shimizu was ranked World No. 4 by

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of ''

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'' in 1921. Zenzo Shimizu (清水善三) (the same pronunciation but different Kanji comparing with Zenzo of this article, 善造) who is an ex-actor is his grandson.

Playing style

Shimizu was mainly a baseline player. His forehand grip was described as 'faulty' but nevertheless his passing shots, which he hit low and with topspin, were judged as excellent. Shimizu's backhand was orthodox and played with force from the baseline. His service was hit at shoulder height with precision and reverse twist but without great speed. His forehand volleys were comparatively weak but his backhand volleys and his smash were first-class. In his book ''The Art of Lawn Tennis''

describes Shimuzu as a baseline player and marvelous court coverer with an uncanny accuracy in his shots. In comparing Shimuzu to his countryman Kumagae he states that Shimizu had a superior backhand and low volleying skills but lacked Kumagae's forehand drive and had a weaker service. Their high volleying skills and overheads were judged equal.

References

External links

* * *
History of 1920's Tennis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shimizu, Zenzo 1891 births 1977 deaths Hitotsubashi University alumni Japanese male tennis players People from Takasaki, Gunma Sportspeople from Gunma Prefecture