| Ted Schroeder |
Article Index for Ted |
Website Links For Ted |
Information AboutTed Schroeder |
|
"As a player," Kramer writes, "Schroed had weaknesses with his groundstrokes. Long before the rest of us, he was rushing the net because he couldn't rely on his backhand or forehand.... he had the ideal attacking grass game: a terrific overhead and volley (especially the backhand) and that most valuable of all tools, a strong second serve. Also, Schroed was tough physically, at a time of long best-of-five deuce sets, and he was a great fighter." Schroeder was an almost exact contemporary of Kramer's, having been born only 10 days earlier in 1921, and they began to play against each other as top boy players in the mid-1930s. Schroeder's career is similiar to Kramer's in that they both became top players whose careers were then interrupted by World War II . They were also life-long friends. After the war Kramer proved himself to be slightly better than Schroeder in the amateur ranks. Kramer then turned professional, where he immediately established himself as the best player in the world by demolishing the pro champion, Bobby Riggs , by 69 victories to 20 losses in the 1948 tour. Riggs then semi-retired and became the promoter of the tour. He and Kramer decided that the only player who could oppose Kramer for a financially successful tour was Schroeder. Pancho Gonzales was the reigning American amateur champion, due to his upset win at the U.S. Open Championships in 1948, but had subsequently been beaten several times by Schroeder. Riggs and Kramer offered Schroeder $25,000 to turn pro after he won the 1949 U.S. Open. Schroeder agreed. But Gonzales upset their plan by beating the heavily favored Schroeder in the finals of the tournament in five sets in a match that lasted nearly five hours. Kramer writes that in spite of his friendship with Schroeder, he has always felt that Schroeder subconsciously "tanked" the match, in order to avoid the rigors of the professional tour. In any event, Gonzales was now the two-time American champion and Kramer and Riggs were obliged to sign him, instead of Schroeder, to a professional contract. Schroeder remained a successful amateur player for a few years and then faded from view. Schroeder was inducted into the International Tennis Hall Of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island , in 1966 , two years before his old friend Jack Kramer. NOTES GRAND SLAM RECORD Wimbledon Championships
U.S. Championships
NOTES EXTERNAL LINKS |
|
|