Bill Tilden - American Tennis Legend Research Paper

Bill Tilden - American Tennis Legend - Research Paper Example When he returned to the championships he quickly became the best tennis player of his era. His biggest win soon after his return came in the U.S. National Finals in 1920. It was a very important match for boosting his ego as he beat Bill Johnston, the same man who beat him in the finals in 1919. At the end of 1920 Bill became the number one player in the world. He was the first American to win Wimbledon singles in 1920 and he went on to secure victories in 1921 and 1930. Tilden dominated the sport. His wins were very impressive. In the decade of the twenties he won the U.S. singles championship seven times and the U.S. doubles championship four times. He played twenty eight Davis Cup matches and won twenty one times. He reached the finals of the U.S. Open ten times. He won fifty seven games consecutively in 1925. Between 1912 and 1930 he played in 969 matches and he won ninety four percent of those matches. These matches included singles, doubles and mixed doubles. One of the techniq ues that led to his fame and success was his powerful serve. It was referred to as ‘cannonball’ serve. He holds the record for the fastest tennis serve. This he achieved in 1931. It is recorded at 163.3 mph. Bill continued to be victorious in spite of some misfortunes. He suffered from a knee problem and he also lost one of his middle fingers due to infection but this did not deter his progress. In 1930 at age thirty seven he became the oldest man to win a Wimbledon singles title. Tilden’s Tennis Strategies Tilden had a strong backhand and he used several tactics while he played. He had a preference of playing from the backcourt. He sometimes liked to copy the tactics of his opponents while beating them.... The researcher of this essay focuses on the description of life, death and legacy of well-known American sports star and tennis player - William Tatem Tilden II, which was more popularly known as Bill Tilden or often nicknamed â€Å"Big Bill†. The researcher discusses his early years of life and his rise to stardom, that took place during the ‘Golden years of Sports†. He was born on February 10, 1893 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to a relatively wealthy family. During the first twenty years of his life he experienced many tragedies within his family. When he was fifteen years old his mother became disabled after contracting Bright’s disease. She died three years later. His father died three years after the death of his mother and shortly after, Bill’s only brother Herbert succumbed to pneumonia. Three siblings also died in infancy from diphtheria before he was born. Bill Tilden, although, he may not have gotten the recognition he deserves, has left a lasting impression on the sport of tennis. The researcher mentones that perhaps his greatest recognition to date came in 1959, when he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. It is concluded by the researcher that many great American tennis players have come after him, but none has reaped the number of successes like Tilden. His love for the sport has left an indelible mark in the American sports, one that is hard to erase by the passage of time even though full recognition has not been given to him. Fortunately, in the minds of some persons his memory still lives on.