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Franjo Kukuljević (; 7 October 1909 – 11 August 2002) was a Yugoslav
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. He played for the Yugoslavian team at the International Lawn Tennis Challenge from 1930 to 1939. He was a 13-time national champion – one in singles, six in doubles and six in the mixed doubles, usually with Vlasta Gostiša. He was a Dutch, Indian and Danish champion as well.


Tennis career

Franjo Kukuljević first came to attention when he won the National Tennis Championships in 1929. This led to him receiving an invitation to join the Kingdom of Yugoslavia Davis Cup team the following year in
Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
. He made his debut with doubles partner Ivan Radović, losing to the Spanish team. He was also defeated in his singles match by Enrique Maier due to his lack of match play. This was followed by appearances at international tournaments in places such as
Kaposvár Kaposvár (; also known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in southwestern Hungary, south of Lake Balaton. It is one of the leading cities of Transdanubia, the capital of Somogy County, and the seat of the Kaposvár District and th ...
,
Piešťany Piešťany (; , , , ) is a town in Slovakia. It is located in the western part of the country within the Trnava Region and is the seat of its Piešťany District, own district. It is the biggest and best known spa town in Slovakia and has around ...
and Semmering. In 1930 he was selected to represent Yugoslavia in the inaugural Balkan Games in
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, joined by
Franjo Šefer Franjo Šefer ( ; or ; born 1905 in Vienna) was a Yugoslav tennis player of Austrian-Jewish descent. Early life and family Franjo Šefer was born in 1905 in Vienna to a Jewish family. They moved to Karlovac in 1910, where he made his first st ...
and Vlasta Gostiša. Playing singles, doubles and mixed doubles matches, they earned a silver medal, the final scores of the top five teams being Romania with 25 points, Yugoslavia with 24, Greece with 18, Bulgaria with 4, and Turkey with 3. In 1931 Zagreb welcomed the Japan Davis Cup team consisting of the Sato brothers and Minoru Kawashima who were scheduled to face Yugoslavia in the first round of the Davis Cup in front of 1,500 spectators, which at the time was a record at the tennis courts in Yugoslavia. Kukuljević nearly defeated Hyotaro Sato whom he pushed to five sets. He competed again at the second Balkan Games. In 1932 a rivalry arose between Kukuljević and the up-and-coming talent Franjo Punčec. They met in two notable finals, first in the Yugoslavian International Championships, and then in the national championships. In both meetings Kukuljević dominated the field and left victorious. Kukuljević then returned to Semmering where he booked his first world top ten trophy over a Wimbledon champion, the Australian Jack Crawford. The 1933–1934 season saw Kukuljević's decline as Franjo Punčec stripped him of his national singles title. After travelling to Egypt he injured himself, which caused him to waste the rest of his season. In 1935 he won the All-India Lawn Tennis Doubles Championships with
Franjo Šefer Franjo Šefer ( ; or ; born 1905 in Vienna) was a Yugoslav tennis player of Austrian-Jewish descent. Early life and family Franjo Šefer was born in 1905 in Vienna to a Jewish family. They moved to Karlovac in 1910, where he made his first st ...
. He performed well in the mixed doubles as well and took the Netherlands Championships mixed trophy. By chance, in 1937 at the
Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly called Wimbledon, is a tennis tournament organised by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association annually in Wimbledon, London. It is chronologically the ...
he met Madansinhji, the Maharaja of Kutch, with whom he played doubles. They became lifelong friends. Kukuljević went on to claim the singles title in the Dutch Championships after eliminating Giorgio de Stefani in the final. He then travelled to
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, clinching the tournament there by beating Czechoslovakian Josef Siba for the title. He became the Danish champion as well in
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after facing his compatriot Josip Palada in the final match. In the doubles he won the South of Sweden Championships. He then toured India and Nepal again, then sailed to the Philippines and Japan to take part in exhibition matches. In 1938 Kukuljević reached the Davis Cup Europe final with Punčec and Palada, and only lost to Germany in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. In
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
he beat world number one
Don Budge John Donald Budge (June 13, 1915 – January 26, 2000) was an American tennis player. He is most famous as the first tennis player — male or female — to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in one year and complete the Grand Slam. Budge was ...
in two straight sets, which was a major upset. In the 1939 Wimbledon Championships he beat reigning French champion Don McNeill in the second round, a huge feat that received a massive media coverage in England. He marched into the quarterfinals where only Henner Henkel of Germany was able to stop him. Together with
Simonne Mathieu Simonne Mathieu ( Passemard;) (31 January 1908 – 7 January 1980) was a tennis player from France, born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, who was active in the 1930s. She won the French Championships singles title in 1938 and 1939. During ...
of France, he was runner-up at the French Open mixed doubles event in
1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...
. In 1943 he was still active within the seceded
Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...
. He played in
Gödöllő Gödöllő, officially the City of Gödöllő, is a city in Pest County, Budapest metropolitan area, Hungary, about northeast from the outskirts of Budapest. Its population is 34,396 according to the 2010 census and is growing rapidly. It can b ...
where he lost in the doubles, partnering Josip Sarić. In 1948 he added the North of England Championships to his accolades, which he won in
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...
from Gerald Oakley of Britain.


Later life

Kukuljević had a brother named Tomislav. After World War II, they emigrated to South Africa, where Kukuljević worked as a merchant and married Ljuba Kukuljević. He died in 2002 in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
, South Africa.


Grand Slam tournaments finals


Mixed doubles: 1 (0 titles, 1 runner-up)


Footnotes


Works cited


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Secondary

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kukuljevic, Franjo 1909 births 2002 deaths Croatian emigrants to South Africa Croatian male tennis players Tennis players from Zagreb Yugoslav male tennis players