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Frank Shields

tennis player
Full name: Francis Xavier Alexander Shields
Nickname: Frank
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Bio Francis Xavier Alexander ("Frank") Shields, Sr. was an amateur American tennis player of the 1920s and 1930s.

Between 1928 and 1945 he was ranked eight times in the U.S. Top Ten, reaching No. 1 in 1933, and No. 2 in 1930. He was ranked World No. 5 in 1930 by A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph.

Shields defaulted to Sidney Wood in the singles final of Wimbledon in 1931 due to an ankle injury he had sustained in winning his semi-final match against France's "Musketeer" Jean Borotra, and this was the only time in the history of a Grand-Slam event singles final that the event was won by default.

He competed for the Davis Cup in 1931, 1932, and 1934, winning 19 of 25 matches. He was left off the team for his erratic playing in 1933. Shields was the non-playing captain in 1951, when the team won four matches.

Shields had his issues both with interactions with other players, and with alcohol. In the late 1930s, Shields was known for making fun of the US tennis star Bryan Grant, the smallest American to win an international championship, saying "the little shaver" was hiding behind the net. Once a drunk Shields held Grant upside down, outside a hotel window

Shields, a self taught player with an overwhelming serve, also reached the U.S. Championships final in 1930. In a career characterized much more by triumph than failure, he was the No. 1 ranked American in 1933. He spent some time in Hollywood as an actor in relatively small roles but loomed large in the world of tennis.
Tournament AO RG W US Win-Loss
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