Toomas Leius

Toomas Leius (born 28 August 1941, also written Lejus) is a former tennis player from Estonia who competed for the Soviet Union.[2]

Toomas Leius
Willem Maris and Toomas Leius (r.) (1959)
Country (sports) Soviet Union
Born (1941-08-28) 28 August 1941
Tallinn, Estonia[1]
Singles
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open3R (1969)
French OpenQF (1965)
Wimbledon3R (1960, 1963)
US Open2R (1962)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian OpenQF (1969)
WimbledonQF (1963)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open1R (1969)
French OpenF (1971)
Wimbledon3R (1967)
Team competitions
Davis CupFEu (1967, 1969, 1970)

Career

Leius was the boys' singles champion at the 1959 Wimbledon Championships. He won the Soviet Championships in 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1968. Other good performances during his career include reaching the final of the 1964 Queen's Club Championships, which he lost to Roy Emerson, and taking Rod Laver to five sets at the 1969 Heineken Open. He was a gold medalist in the mixed doubles at the 1970 Summer Universiade in Turin, with Tiiu Parmas.

His best performance in the singles draw of a Grand Slam tournament came at the 1965 French Championships, where he made the quarter-finals.[3] He was due to face South African player Cliff Drysdale in the quarter-final but the Soviet delegation made him forfeit the match, in protest against apartheid. Leius and Winnie Shaw were mixed doubles runners-up at the 1971 French Open.

He was a regular fixture in the Soviet Davis Cup team during the 1960s and appeared in a total of 20 ties, from which he managed 23 wins, 17 of them in singles.[4]

Murder conviction and prison

On 13 May 1974, Toomas Leius strangled his wife Ene Leius (née Visnapuu) to death after finding her in bed with another man. He was sentenced to eight years in prison and was released after serving five years for good behavior.[5][6]

Coaching

Leius worked as a tennis coach after leaving prison and spent some time as captain of the Estonia Fed Cup team.[7]

Grand Slam finals

Mixed doubles: 1 (0–1)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1971 French Open Clay Winnie Shaw Françoise Dürr
Jean-Claude Barclay
2–6, 4–6

Awards

References

Awards
Preceded by
Hanno Selg
Estonian Sportspersonality of the Year
1961
Succeeded by
Paul Keres
Preceded by
Paul Keres
Estonian Sportspersonality of the Year
1963
Succeeded by
Ants Antson
Preceded by
Ants Antson
Estonian Sportspersonality of the Year
1965
Succeeded by
Mart Vilt
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.