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Bill Johnston (tennis)

American tennis player

Summary

American tennis player

Field	Value
name	Bill Johnston
fullname	William Marquitz Johnston
image	William Marquitz Johnston in 1916.jpg
caption	Johnston in 1916 in his match against Richard "Dick" Norris Williams II
country
birth_date
birth_place	San Francisco, California, U.S.
death_date
death_place	San Francisco, California, U.S.
height	1.73 m
turnedpro	1913 (amateur tour)
retired	1928
plays	Right-handed (1-handed backhand)
tennishofyear	1958
tennishofid	bill-johnston
singlesrecord	350–51 (87.3%)
singlestitles	42
highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (1919, A. Wallis Myers)
Wimbledonresult	W (1923)
USOpenresult	W (1915, 1919)
Othertournaments	yes
WHCCresult	W (1923)
WimbledonDoublesresult	SF (1921)
USOpenDoublesresult	W (1915, 1916, 1920)
Mixed	yes
WimbledonMixedresult	2R (1923)
USOpenMixedresult	W (1921)
Team	yes
DavisCupresult	W (1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926)

[[Maurice McLoughlin]] (1890-1957), [[Henry Ward Dawson]] (1890-1963), William Johnston (1894-1946), [[Clarence Griffin]] on (1888-1973) on August 30, 1916 at the national men's doubles championship.

William Marquitz "Little Bill" Johnston (November 2, 1894 – May 1, 1946) was an American world No. 1 tennis player.

Biography

Bill Johnston was born November 2, 1894, in San Francisco, the son of Robert Johnston, an electrical plant mechanic and Margaret Burns, of Irish origin. Johnston started to play tennis in early 1906, aged 11, on the public asphalt courts in Golden Gate Park. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the schools were closed, and he spent much of his spare time practicing on the tennis courts. He achieved his first tournament victory at the 1910 Bay Counties junior singles competition.

In 1916, Johnston won the Cincinnati Open (now Cincinnati Masters) after Clarence Griffin defaulted in the challenge round. Johnston won the Longwood Challenge Cup, played on the Longwood Courts at Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts in 1913, 1916, 1919, 1920 and 1921.

During World War I, Johnston served in the U.S. Navy.

Johnston was the co-World No. 1 player in 1919 and in 1922 respectively along with Gerald Patterson and Bill Tilden. He won the US Championships in 1915 and 1919 as well as the World Hard Court Championships (clay) and Wimbledon in 1923.

Until "Big Bill" Tilden began to defeat him regularly in 1920, Johnston had been the best American player for a number of years and was ranked No. 1 by the United States Lawn Tennis Association in 1915 and 1919. In July 1919, Johnston defeated Tilden in the final of the U.S. Clay Court Championships. A month later, Johnston beat Tilden in three straight sets in the final of the 1919 US Championships, then Tilden overtook him in 1920. Johnston remained competitive with Tilden for the next seven or eight years, but was never able to beat Tilden in an important match again. For instance, in 1922 Johnston defeated Tilden three times out of four occasions but Tilden beat Johnston in the final of the U.S. Championships in five sets. In 1923, despite Johnston winning both the World Hard Court Championships and Wimbledon, he failed to beat Tilden at the US Championships, losing in three one-sided sets. Johnston threatened to get closer to beating Tilden on the big stage in following years, but memorably lost the 1925 US Championships final in five sets to Tilden. Johnston was runner-up a record six times in the US Championships, and this is still a record today. Together Johnston and Tilden won seven consecutive Davis Cup trophies, from 1920 to 1926, a record that still stands. In September 1927, Johnston announced his retirement after the U.S. Davis Cup loss to the French team consisting of the 'Four Musketeers' and confirmed his decision in mid-1928. He turned down an offer to become professional.

Johnston was renowned for the power and deadliness of his forehand drive, which he hit shoulder-high with a Western grip.

After his tennis career, Johnston was active in the brokerage industry. He died of tuberculosis on May 1, 1946, at the age of 51.

Legacy

Bill Johnston was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1958.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 9 (3 titles, 6 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1915	U.S. Championships	Grass	USA Maurice McLoughlin	1–6, 6–0, 7–5, 10–8
Loss	1916	U.S. Championships	Grass	USA R. Norris Williams	6–4, 4–6, 6–0, 2–6, 4–6
Win	1919	U.S. Championships	Grass	USA Bill Tilden	6–4, 6–4, 6–3
Loss	1920	U.S. Championships	Grass	USA Bill Tilden	1–6, 6–1, 5–7, 7–5, 3–6
Loss	1922	U.S. Championships	Grass	USA Bill Tilden	6–4, 6–3, 2–6, 3–6, 4–6
Win	1923	Wimbledon	Grass	USA Frank Hunter	6–0, 6–3, 6–1
Loss	1923	U.S. Championships	Grass	USA Bill Tilden	4–6, 1–6, 4–6
Loss	1924	U.S. Championships	Grass	USA Bill Tilden	1–6, 7–9, 2–6
Loss	1925	U.S. Championships	Grass	USA Bill Tilden	6–4, 9–11, 3–6, 6–4, 3–6

Doubles (3 titles)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents
Win	1915	U.S. Championships	Grass	USA Clarence Griffin	USA Maurice E. McLoughlin
USA Tom Bundy	2–6, 6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3
Win	1916	U.S. Championships	Grass	USA Clarence Griffin	USA Maurice E. McLoughlin
USA Henry Ward Dawson	6–4, 6–3, 5–7, 6–3
Win	1920	U.S. Championships	Grass	USA Clarence Griffin	USA Roland Roberts
USA Willis E. Davis	6–2, 6–2, 6–3

Mixed doubles (1 title)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1921	U.S. Championships	Grass	USA Mary Browne	USA Molla Bjurstedt Mallory
USA Bill Tilden	3–6, 6–4, 6–3

World Championships finals

Singles (1 title)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1923	World Hard Court Championships	Clay	BEL Jean Washer	4–6, 6–2, 6–2, 4–6, 6–3

Performance timeline

Events with a challenge round: (WC) won; (CR) lost the challenge round; (FA) all comers' finalist

(OF) only for French players

1913	1914	1915	1916	1917	1918	1919	1920	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	SR	W–L	Win %	Grand Slam tournaments
French	OF	not held	OF	A	A	A	0 / 0	0–0	–
Wimbledon	A	A	not held	A	2R	A	A	W	A	A	A	A	1 / 2	8–1	88.9
U.S.	3R	2R	W	F	A	A	W	F	4R	F	F	F	F	QF	SF	2 / 13	59–11	84.3
Australian	A	A	A	not held	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 0	0–0	–
Win–loss	2–1	1–1	7–0	6–1	0–0	0–0	7–0	7–2	3–1	5–1	12–1	6–1	5–1	2–1	4–1

References

"Bill Johnston: Career match record". Tennis Base.
United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). ''Official Encyclopedia of Tennis'' (First Edition), p. 422.
Ohnsorg, Roger W.. (February 2011). "Robert Lindley Murray: The Reluctant U.S. Tennis Champion; includes "The First Forty Years of American Tennis"". Trafford On Demand Pub.
(1921). "1921 Wright & Ditson Official Lawn Tennis Guide". Wright & Ditson.
(December 21, 1919). "Johnston is Again Supreme in Tennis". The New York Times.
(December 11, 1915). "Johnston Officially Rated Best Tennis Star". Sporting Life, Volume 66 Number 15.
(July 21, 1919). "W.M. Johnston Wins Two Tennis Titles". [[The Mail and Empire.
Collins, Bud. (2010). "The Bud Collins History of Tennis". New Chapter Press.
"Davis Cup Player Profile – Bill Johnston". ITF.
(June 6, 1928). "Tilden and Johnston Almost Without Equal". [[The Milwaukee Journal]].
(June 5, 1928). "Little Bill Retires". [[The Milwaukee Journal]].
(2011). "Historical Dictionary of Tennis". Scarecrow Press.
(April 7, 1973). "The sports immortals: Bill Tilden". The Free Lance-Star.
"Hall of Famers – Bill Johnston". [[International Tennis Hall of Fame]].
(May 2, 1946}}{{Dead link). "Bill Johnston Dies; Long a Tennis Star". [[The Milwaukee Journal]].

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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