Adrian Karl Quist (23 January 191317 November 1991) was an Australian

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player.

Biography

Adrian Quist was born in Medindie,

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. His father was Karl Quist, who had been a noted interstate

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er, and owned a sporting goods store at the time of his son's birth. Quist grew up in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and once played

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 ...

, but lost, having given Hopman a head start. He was a three-time Australian Championships men's singles champion but is primarily remembered today as a great doubles player. He won 10 consecutive

Australian doubles Traditionally, tennis is played between two people in a singles match, or two pairs in a doubles match. Tennis can also be played on different courts, including grass courts, clay courts, hard courts, and artificial grass courts. Standard typ ...

titles between 1936 and 1950, the last eight together with

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 ...

and he was also one of the winners of a "Career Doubles Slam". Quist was ranked World No. 3 in singles in 1939 and World No. 4 in 1936. His most famous singles win was a crucial singles match in the 1939 Davis Cup Challenge Round at Merion Cricket Club against the U.S., defeating world No. 1 Bobby Riggs in a close five set match in the fourth rubber. Australia would win the Davis Cup that year with a singles win by

against Frank Parker in the fifth rubber. In his 1979 autobiography tennis great Jack Kramer writes that in doubles "Quist played the backhand court. He had a dink backhand that was better for doubles than singles, and a classic forehand drive with a natural sink. He was also fine at the net, volley and forehand." After retiring from playing the game, Quist became a journalist, best known for his articles in ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. Quist also worked for Dunlop, where he designed the Dunlop Volley tennis shoe which is still in production. Quist was inducted into the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, 13 grass tennis courts, an ...

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, in 1984. Adrian Quist also held the most

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and contested annually between teams from over 150 competing countries, making it the world's largest annual ...

victories by any Australian until

Lleyton Hewitt Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born 24 February 1981) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) fo ...

surpassed that record on 18 September 2010 in Cairns. He died in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

in 1991, aged 78. Adrian Quist is the uncle of fashion designer Neville Quist, founding director of Saville Row.

Personal life

Quist married Sylvia, the daughter of Erna Keighley and Albert William Keighley, a successful businessman who died in 1949 and left an estate worth nearly £300,000. Adrian and Sylvia Quist had two children but the marriage was not successful. In 1950, Sylvia obtained a court order to instruct her husband to return home to his wife and children. Adrian Quist

Grand Slam finals

Singles (3 titles, 1 runner-up)

Doubles: (14 titles, 4 runner-ups)

Mixed Doubles: (1 runner-up)

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Quist, Adrian 1913 births 1991 deaths Australian Championships (tennis) champions Australian Championships (tennis) junior champions Australian male tennis players Australian people of Danish descent French Championships (tennis) champions International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Tennis players from South Australia United States National champions (tennis) Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' doubles Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Sportsmen from South Australia 20th-century Australian sportsmen