Charles P. Dixon Explained

Charles P. Dixon
Fullname:Charles Percy Dixon
Birth Date:1873 2, df=yes
Birth Place:Grantham, England
Death Place:London, England
Singlesrecord:303/99 (75.38%)
Singlestitles:34
Highestsinglesranking:No. 6 (1913, A. Wallis Myers)[1]
Australianopenresult:QF (1912)
Wimbledonresult:F (1901, 1911)
Australianopendoublesresult:W (1912)
Wimbledondoublesresult:W (1912, 1913)
Team:yes
Daviscupresult:W (1912)
Medaltemplates-Expand:yes

Charles Percy Dixon (7 February 1873 – 29 April 1939) was a male tennis player from Great Britain. He was a four-time Olympic medallist and led a successful British team to victory in the Davis Cup.[2]

Biography

Dixon was born on 7 February 1873 in Grantham, Lincolnshire. At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London he won a bronze medal in the men's doubles event. In the 1912 Summer Olympics he won three medals in the indoor tennis events: gold in the mixed doubles, silver in men's singles and bronze in men's doubles.[3]

From 1929 to 1932 he represented the International Club of Great Britain against France at Queens and at Auteuil in 1932 and 1933. After retiring from tournaments, he coached juniors and umpired at Wimbledon, becoming President of the Umpire's Association. He died on 29 April 1939.[4]

Tennis tournaments

Dixon was born in 1873, the year that Major Walter Clopton Wingfield defined the first rules for lawn tennis. Dixon reached his first all comers final at Wimbledon in 1901, beating Harold Mahony before losing to Arthur Gore.[5] A decade later, in 1911, Dixon reached the all comers final again, beating Major Ritchie and Max Decugis before losing to Herbert Roper Barrett.[5] He won the doubles with Roper Barrett in 1912 and 1913.

His career included victories in international tournaments overseas include the Ostend International tournament (1905), the Doubles at the Championship of Dieppe (Championnat de Diepper) (1908) won partnering with M.J.G. Ritchie[6] In the UK he won the Surrey Championships (1911) on grass, defeating Anthony Wilding in four sets.[7]

He also won the Dulwich Farm Hard Courts on clay at Dulwich four times from (1909–1910, 1912–1913).[8] He also won the Drive Club Tournament at the Drive Club, Fulham that was played on hard cement courts three times (1908-1910).

Dixon was better known at the time for his many successes when representing Britain in the Davis Cup: starting in the 1909 Cup in Philadelphia,he led the British team to victory in the 1912 Cup in Australia.[4] He was also a member of the English Drive Club team in South Africa in 1910–1911.

He won the 1913 Doubles title at the Russian Open Tennis Championship, partnering Albert D Prebble, and was runner up in the singles.[9]

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (3 titles, 1 runner-ups)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win 1912 Grass 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 7–5
Win Grass 6–4, 6–4, 6–2
Win 1913 Grass 6–2, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2
Loss 1914 Grass 1–6, 1–6, 7–5, 6–8

Notes and References

  1. United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 422.
  2. Web site: Charles P. Dixon . Olympedia . 12 April 2021.
  3. Web site: Charles P. Dixon Olympic Results . https://web.archive.org/web/20200417203840/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/di/charles-dixon-1.html . dead . 2020-04-17 . 2013-05-15 . sports-reference.com.
  4. News: Charles P. Dixon, 64, Former Tennis Star. Helped Win Wimbledon Doubles Title for England in 1912 . . 1 May 1939 . 17 December 2010 .
  5. Web site: Wimbledon player archive – Charles Dixon . AELTC.
  6. Championnat de Diepper, La Presse, p3, 3 August 1908
  7. News: Lawn Tennis. Evening Post. 29 May 1911. 7.
  8. Web site: 1877 to 2012 Finals Results . stevegtennis.com . Steve G Tennis . 16 October 2022.
  9. The early Russian Lawn Tennis Championships (1907–14) by Mark Ryan