Colin Long (tennis)

Colin Long (3 March 1918 – 8 November 2009) was an Australian tennis player. He had a notable mixed doubles partnership with fellow Australian Nancye Wynne Bolton. Together they won four Mixed Doubles (1940, 1946, 1947 and 1948) at the Australian Championships, which is an all-time record. In singles, he reached the quarterfinals of the Australian four times (1947, 1948, 1949 and 1950) and the fourth round of both Wimbledon and the U.S. Nationals in 1947. He was a major commentator for Channel 7 for both golf and tennis until the late 1980s.

Colin Long
Full nameColin Foster Long
Country (sports) Australia
Born3 March 1918
Melbourne, Australia
Died8 November 2009(2009-11-08) (aged 91)
Singles
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenQF (1947, 1948, 1949, 1950)
Wimbledon4R (1947)
US Open4R (1947)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian OpenF (1939, 1948)
WimbledonSF (1947)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian OpenW (1940, 1946, 1947, 1948)
WimbledonF (1947)

Life outside tennis

Long was born in Melbourne and attended Melbourne Grammar School, where he was school captain in 1937.[1] He was a lieutenant in the AIF in World War Two, serving in the Middle East.[1]

He worked for Dunlop Sport before joining Spalding, where he became deputy chief executive. He appeared as a commentator on Seven Network tennis telecasts in the 1960s and 1970s[1] and also commentated on golf up until the late 1980s alongside Peter Alliss.[2]

In 1943 he married Florence Pelling. She survived him, along with their son and daughter.[1]

Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss1939Australian ChampionshipsGrass Don Turnbull John Bromwich
Adrian Quist
4–6, 5–7, 2–6
Loss1948Australian ChampionshipsGrass Frank Sedgman John Bromwich
Adrian Quist
6–1, 8–6, 7–9, 3–6, 6–8

Mixed doubles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Scoree
Loss1938Australian ChampionshipsGrass Nancye Wynne Bolton Margaret Wilson
John Bromwich
3–6, 2–6
Win1940Australian ChampionshipsGrass Nancye Wynne Bolton Nell Hall Hopman
Harry Hopman
7–5, 2–6, 6–4
Win1946Australian ChampionshipsGrass Nancye Wynne Bolton Joyce Fitch
John Bromwich
6–0, 6–4
Loss1947Wimbledon ChampionshipsGrass Nancye Wynne Bolton Louise Brough
John Bromwich
6–1, 4–6, 2–6
Win1947Australian ChampionshipsGrass Nancye Wynne Bolton Joyce Fitch
John Bromwich
6–3, 6–3
Win1948Australian ChampionshipsGrass Nancye Wynne Bolton Thelma Coyne Long
Bill Sidwell
7–5, 4–6, 8–6

References

  1. Phillips, Stephen. "Doubles ace and media smash". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  2. "Saturday tv". The Age. 17 February 1983. p. 14 via Newspapers.com.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.