1957 tour of South America

[krosero]

This was a month-long tour of Central and South America by Rosewall, Segura, Kramer and Pails. There are no results published anywhere but I've been able to find many of the results in various sources online. I don't yet have a complete list of the matches, but we can say definitively that Segura won the tour.

In fact, Segura had a long winning streak over Rosewall during the tour.

Rosewall was clearly struggling here. Local reporters speak of him as failing, thus far, to make a successful transition from the amateurs to the pros; at the same time they note that Segura was having greater success at age 36 than he had ever enjoyed as an amateur.

Results to follow in a separate post.

 

[krosero]

June 1
Panama City
Hotel El Panama
Rosewall d. Kramer 6-4, 6-3
Segura d. Pails 6-1, 6-1

Segura/Kramer defeated Rosewall/Pails 6-4, 6-3

June 2
Panama City
Hotel El Panama
Segura d. Rosewall 8-6, 4-6, 6-3 in the final
Pails d. Kramer 8-1 (professional set, third-place match)

Rosewall/Pails defeated Segura/Kramer 7-5, 6-3

June 3
Bogota
Unknown results
A Mexican newspaper reported (though it is unclear whether singles or doubles are referred to):

BOGOTA, 4 de junio (UP). Los tenistas autralianos Ken Rosewall y Danny Pails fueron derrotados por Pancho Segura y Jack Kramer, durante una presentación amistosa en esta capital.​

June 4
Barranquilla, Colombia
Rosewall d. Segura 0-6, 6-3, 6-3
Pails d. Kramer 7-5, 6-3

June 5
Maracaibo, Venezuela
Segura d. Rosewall 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 [best of five]
Kramer vs. Pails

Rosewall/Pails defeated Kramer/Segura 6-3, 9-7

June 7
Caracas
Rosewall d. Kramer 6-4, 6-4
Segura d. Pails 3-6, 6-1, 6-3

June 8
Caracas
Rosewall d. Pails 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Segura d. Kramer 11-9, 6-3

June 10
Caracas
Segura d. Rosewall 6-4, 6-4
Kramer d. Pails 6-4, 6-4

Kramer/Pails defeated Rosewall/Segura 6-2, 10-8

June 11 (?)
Curacao
Unknown results

June 12
Aruba
Lago Sport Park
Pails d. Kramer 6-0, 6-4
Segura d. Rosewall 6-4, 6-4

Kramer/Segura defeated Rosewall/Pails 6-4, 6-4

June 15
Montevideo
Segura d. Rosewall 6-3, 6-1
Kramer 6-3, 0-1 Pails, called off “because of lack of time”

Rosewall/Pails d. Kramer/Segura 6-4, 6-1

June 16
Montevideo
Segura d. Rosewall 6-2, 6-2

Kramer/Pails defeated Sanhueza/San Martin 6-2, 6-2
Rosewall/Pails defeated Segura/Kramer 9-7, 6-8, 6-3

June 18
Santiago
Stade Francais (“terreno reblandecido” in Spanish, or “softened ground”)
Segura d. Rosewall 6-4, 6-1
Kramer d. Carlos Ayala 7-5, 6-1

Rosewall/Pails defeated Segura/Ayala 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 [best of five]
(Ayala substituted for an ailing Kramer in the doubles)

June 21
Buenos Aires
3-day stand spread out over five days
Luna Parque (“estadio coberto” in Portuguese, or “covered stadium”)
Segura d. Pails 6-2, 6-4
Rosewall d. Kramer 6-3, 14-12

Segura/Kramer defeated Rosewall/Pails 6-3, 7-5

June 23
Buenos Aires
Luna Parque
Segura d. Rosewall on this day, I think, according to a June 28 report in Correio da Manha (perhaps those who know Portuguese can help):

... Segura Cano, que ja teve ocasiao de jogar entre nos e que volia agora disposto a recuperar o titulo de campeao mundial do profisionalismo como ficou demonstrado em Montevideu e Buenos Aires, há dias, quando derrotou Pails e Rosewall seguidamente.​

June 25
Buenos Aires
Luna Parque
Unknown results

June 27
Porto Alegre, Brazil


June 28
Rio de Janeiro
3-day stand (the particular matchups for all three days were all announced before the players arrived in Rio)
Fluminense Club
9 pm
Segura d. Pails 6-3, 6-1
Rosewall d. Kramer 6-3, 4-6, 6-4

Rosewall/Pails vs. Kramer/Segura

June 29
Rio de Janeiro
Fluminense Club
3 pm
Segura d. Kramer 6-3, 6-3
Pails d. Rosewall 6-2, 6-2

June 30
Rio de Janeiro
Fluminense Club
3 pm
Segura d. Rosewall 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
Pails d. Kramer 4-6, 6-1, 6-4

Rosewall/Kramer defeated Segura/Pails 6-3, 6-2

July 2
Sao Paulo
Ibirapuera Park (“en piso de elemento”, also “quadra de cimento”, or “cement court”)
Pails d. Segura 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
Rosewall d. Kramer 6-3, 6-3

Rosewall/Pails defeated Kramer/Segura 7-5, 3-6, 6-0

July 3
Sao Paulo
Ibirapuera Park
Kramer d. Pails 7-9, 6-4, 6-1 in first match (8 pm)
Rosewall d. Segura 6-4, 1-6, 7-5

Segura/Pails defeated Rosewall/Kramer 6-3, 6-1

Above info on the Sao stop was found at Acervo Folha (http://acervo.folha.com.br/busca_detalhada/), in July 3 edition of Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paolo. It reports a two-day stand.

July 5 (?)
Lima (?)
Unknown results

July 7
Guayaquil
Guayaquil Tennis Club
Estadio Pancho Segura Cano
Red clay
11 a.m.
Segura d. Rosewall 8-6, 6-2

Rosewall/Segura defeated Zuleta/Olivera 6-0
Segura/Zuleta vs. Rosewall/Olvera split sets 7-5, 3-6

Kramer was no longer with the troupe, having flown to New York to publicly sign Lew Hoad as a pro. Per the New York Times he had flown into New York on July 5, returning “from a twenty-three-match tour of South America.”

Harry Grayson’s Scoreboard in The Jacksonville Daily Journal of July 12 (http://www.newspapers.com/image/59448404/):

The consensus of tennis people is that the $125,000 guaranteed Lew Hoad will do little more than supply new plasma to professional tournaments and tours.

They can’t see the Wimbledon champion’s defection to the pros altering the Davis Cup situation, which means another romp for the Australians in the Challenge Round late next December. And they don’t expect him to do much winning as a pro.

“Let’s say that the better playing pros will stretch Hoad,” says Frank Sedgman, fellow Australian, speaking for the entire group. Sedgman was the big amateur for two years before joining the money ranks in January of 1953.

“Ken Rosewall beat Hoad three or four times before coming over with us last January,” he points out. “Pancho Segura beat Rosewall on the tour when Pancho Gonzales didn’t. Segura is fresh from beating Rosewall quite easily in South America.”​

 

[krosero]

The Aruba Esso News announced the Aruba matches on June 1 (http://ufdc.ufl.edu/CA03400001/00470/8j) and had a full report with photographs in its June 29 edition (http://ufdc.ufl.edu/CA03400001/00472/6j):

Pro Tennis Stars Thrill Fans

Returning to Aruba after a year’s absence, Jack Kramer and three of the tennis world’s brightest stars, put on a sizzling demonstration for an overflow crowd at the Lago Sport Park.

Of the four—Kramer, Pancho Segura, Dinny Pails and Ken Rosewall—only Kramer played here last year.

In the opener, Pails and Kramer, both veterans, met with the Australian winning 6-0, 6-4. A sore shoulder bothered Kramer throughout the match, and he was still trying to work out the soreness the next day. The best match was the Segura-Rosewall clash that pitted the little Ecuadorian’s savage two-handed drives against Australian Rosewall’s superlative backhand. In this case the two-handed grip was the more effective weapon; Segura won 6-4, 6-4.

The doubles match was an exercise in tennis as it is played by the masters. Kramer and Segura beat the two Australians 6-4, 6-4, but not before showing the fans a dazzling assortment of shots and speed.

From Aruba the troupe went on to Montevideo, Uruguay.​

 

[krosero]

Segura was interviewed for the June 28 edition of the Chilean weekly, Estadio, published in Santiago. The interviewer mentions Segura’s great performance in the Santiago stop, but it is not clear whether Segura, in the quotes below, was speaking before or after the matches.

En esta corta jira por Sudamérica, ya hemos sostenido 12 partidos en 15 días, en Venezuela, Colombia, Panamá y Uruguay. De Chile iremos a Argentina y Brasil, regresamos a EE. UU. para partir a Europa y de allí a la India y Sudáfrica....

No puede discutirse la superioridad del tenis profesional sobre el amateur....Pancho González ha vencido 56 veces a Rosewall, por 25 de éste. A mí me ha ganado dos veces, por ocho en que me he impuesto.​

Segura says that they've completed 12 stops in 15 days. He says that there can be no question about the superiority of the pros over the amateurs; he adds that Pancho Gonzalez has a 56-25 edge over Rosewall and that he himself has beaten Rosewall 8 times with two losses.

 

[krosero]

Redlands Daily Facts (Redlands, CA) had this story on June 22 (http://www.newspapers.com/image/1601175):

Kramer’s Pro Tennis Troupe “Lost” On Tour
By OSCAR FRALEY
United Press Sports Writer

NEW YORK (UP)—Jack Kramer’s pro tennis troupe is “lost” somewhere in South America today, according to Ted Schroeder, but the man who planned the Chili bean tour figures that no news is good news.

“The last thing I heard,” says husky Ted, “was that they couldn’t get from Montevideo to Buenos Aires. Finally they found a hydroplane line and I guess they made it O.K. Anyhow, I haven’t heard of any drownings down there.”

Kramer, Ken Rosewall, Pancho Segura and Dinny Pails are making a 24-match swing down the backbone of the Andes and across the Pampas to the east.

Kramer, who gave up competitive tennis because of a bad shoulder, returned to action for the tour and Schroeder bet him a dinner that he’d break down along the way. Big Jake sent him a letter from Caracas which said:

Thought He’d Die

“The first night I thought I’d die. The second night I was afraid I wouldn’t. But things are getting better now and you’re gonna blow your bet.”

Schroeder couldn’t care less. After the headaches of lining up the tour, he’s glad to wash his hands of the whole bit.

“I had five matches lined up in Colombia,” he moaned. “Then, came the revolution.

“On top of this, I couldn’t get any word from the promoter in Uruguay. Finally, a guy calls me from Wall Street and says I don’t know him, which I already know. But it seems he’s a ham radio operator and one night he’s talking to a friend in Uruguay. The guy asks him ‘Do you live near Jack Kramer?’ So the guy says yes and the guy in Uruguay says ‘tell Kramer the Uruguay Lawn Tennis Assn. says it’s a deal.’ So this has to be the first match ever booked by a ham operator.”

Brazil A Headache

Brazil gave Schroeder a headache, too.

“The guy writes me a five-page letter but it’s in Portuguese,” he grimaced. “Finally I get next to somebody in the Brazilian Embassy and they translate it for me. The first four and a-half pages are about the weather. The last line says the matches are okay.”

Finally the South American travel agency which was lining up transportation called from Rio – collect.

“This guy speaks nothing but Spanish so Segura has to translate for me,” Schroeder explained. “The gist of it is that if we fly roundabout, going to Florida, then down and over instead of straight down the West Coast, we can save $23 on the grand tour de lamour. It took a half-hour and the phone bill was $120.”

The troupe finally was booked into Panama, Bogota, Baranquilla, Maracaibo, Caracas, Curacao, Arruba, Montevideo, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and Schroeder figures “they’re in one of those spots right now, barring a revolution.”

But he has more troubles to occupy him. Ted is busy setting up the pro tournament to be held at Forest Hills July 15-21 in which Pancho Gonzales, Tony Trabert and Frank Sedgman will join the others for a round-robin event.

“All I hope,” he grins, “is that my wandering Latins are home by then.”​

The Times Record of Troy, NY, published a story on July 26 about a recent tour of South America by a Franciscan missionary, Rev. Edgar F. Holden, O.F.M., who was quoted as saying (http://www.newspapers.com/image/57784845/):

I flew from Santiago to Buenos Aires, over the Andes, with the Jack Kramer tennis group, Pancho Segura, Dinny Pails, Ken Rosewall and Jack Kramer. They proved to be delightful company.​

 

[krosero]

A UP story in the Deseret News of June 25 (http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ldYvAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fEkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7022,5139595).

Kramer Irked Over Rosewall Performances

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (UP)—Professional tennis promotor Jack Kramer said Friday [June 21] that Australia’s Ken Rosewall must start playing better on their current tour “or he will be the youngest player on the shelf in pro tennis.”

Rosewall, who is making the tour with his bride, has lost eight straight matches to Francisco (Pancho) Segura, during which he has managed to win only one set.

Rosewall trails Pancho Gonzales of Los Angeles by a wide margin in their 100-match tour.​

 

[urban]

Great research. It is the true methodicial way, to get new information, with newspaper archives going online. I am not so familiar with the internet and saw on the New York Times side, that access isn't so easy.
The sources show several things: First, all results and tours on the pro circuit should be regarded to get a full, representative picture.
Second: Segura was a mighty player in the mid to end 50s. I have read other comments by Kramer and others, that he dominated Rosewall in the fisrt pro years, but i haven't found sure evidence until now.
Third: Like other top players, Rosewall had great difficulties in the first half year on the pro tour. Although Kramer and Pails ( Pails did beat Hoad at Forest Hills 1957) were clearly well past their primes, he got clobbered a lot by Segura, even on clay, which was probably the main surface on that tour. Trabert had beaten Gonzalez i think 6-3 on a South American tour in 1956. Rosewall did better in later 1957, when he beat Segura in the Wembley final. He also finished tied third (behind Gonzalez and Sedgman together with Trabert and Hoad) at Forest Hills and second (with Sedgman and Segura) at Los Angeles. To get a pro ranking for 1957 is difficult, maybe 1 Gonzalez, 2 Sedgman, 3 Segura and Rosewall (tied third), but i am uncertain. Correction: I just saw, that Segura had won Sydney (labeled as Australian pro) over Sedgman (who had beaten Rosewall) and was finalist at Cleveland (after beating Rosewall). So the ranking could be more: 1 Gonzalez, 2 Segura, 3 Sedgman, 4 Rosewall, 5 Trabert (Hoad came in after Wim 1957). Without guarantee, i must say.

 

[BobbyOne]

Great research. It is the true methodicial way, to get new information, with newspaper archives going online. I am not so familiar with the internet and saw on the New York Times side, that access isn't so easy.
The sources show several things: First, all results and tours on the pro circuit should be regarded to get a full, representative picture.
Second: Segura was a mighty player in the mid to end 50s. I have read other comments by Kramer and others, that he dominated Rosewall in the fisrt pro years, but i haven't found sure evidence until now.
Third: Like other top players, Rosewall had great difficulties in the first half year on the pro tour. Although Kramer and Pails ( Pails did beat Hoad at Forest Hills 1957) were clearly well past their primes, he got clobbered a lot by Segura, even on clay, which was probably the main surface on that tour. Trabert had beaten Gonzalez i think 6-3 on a South American tour in 1956. Rosewall did better in later 1957, when he beat Segura in the Wembley final. He also finished tied third (behind Gonzalez and Sedgman together with Trabert and Hoad) at Forest Hills and second (with Sedgman and Segura) at Los Angeles. To get a pro ranking for 1957 is difficult, maybe 1 Gonzalez, 2 Sedgman, 3 Segura and Rosewall (tied third), but i am uncertain. Correction: I just saw, that Segura had won Sydney (labeled as Australian pro) over Sedgman (who had beaten Rosewall) and was finalist at Cleveland (after beating Rosewall). So the ranking could be more: 1 Gonzalez, 2 Segura, 3 Sedgman, 4 Rosewall, 5 Trabert (Hoad came in after Wim 1957). Without guarantee, i must say.

urban, Kramer was probably wrong that Segura dominated Rosewall in the first pro years of Rosewall. Remember that Rosewall finished ahead of Segura in the European, South African and Australian 1957 tours. McCauley's results show that Rosewall was better also in 1958.

 

[urban]

Bobby, as said, i am always sceptical about Kramer's often quite bold claims. Do you have reliable hth stats Rosewall segura and Rosewall-Sedgman, outside this South American tour, which to my knowledge are new findings by Krosero. I can myself look at Andrew Tas Rosewall stats. I think from our discussions, that Carlo Colussi, who provided stats for the World Rankings on Wikipedia, included no results from this South American tours for 1957. I remember, that Vines also ranked Segura pretty high, i think at Nr. 5 or so. His showing in 1957 with win at Sydney, 2 finals at Cleveland and Wembley, and this convincing tour win in South America, and his overwhleming win over Pails is indeed remarkable.

 

[pc1]

Bobby, as said, i am always sceptical about Kramer's often quite bold claims. Do you have reliable hth stats Rosewall segura and Rosewall-Sedgman, outside this South American tour, which to my knowledge are new findings by Krosero. I can myself look at Andrew Tas Rosewall stats. I think from our discussions, that Carlo Colussi, who provided stats for the World Rankings on Wikipedia, included no results from this South American tours for 1957. I remember, that Vines also ranked Segura pretty high, i think at Nr. 5 or so. His showing in 1957 with win at Sydney, 2 finals at Cleveland and Wembley, and this convincing tour win in South America, and his overwhleming win over Pails is indeed remarkable.

Vines ranked Segura only behind Budge, Kramer, Gonzalez and Laver for top players after World War II. Very surprisingly high but a lot of that was based on the awesome power and control of his great forehand.

 

[BobbyOne]

Bobby, as said, i am always sceptical about Kramer's often quite bold claims. Do you have reliable hth stats Rosewall segura and Rosewall-Sedgman, outside this South American tour, which to my knowledge are new findings by Krosero. I can myself look at Andrew Tas Rosewall stats. I think from our discussions, that Carlo Colussi, who provided stats for the World Rankings on Wikipedia, included no results from this South American tours for 1957. I remember, that Vines also ranked Segura pretty high, i think at Nr. 5 or so. His showing in 1957 with win at Sydney, 2 finals at Cleveland and Wembley, and this convincing tour win in South America, and his overwhleming win over Pails is indeed remarkable.

urban, Yes, Kramer's claims are sometimes rather strange, f.i. he ranked Laver and Rosewall behind Riggs. He also never realized how great Rosewall was.

I don't have other hths than the results in the McCauley book. These show that Rosewall beat Segura both in the 1957 Forest Hills and Masters tournaments and that Rosewall dominated Segura in 1958.

Rosewall did worse against Sedgman in that time.

 

[krosero]

When the troupe went to Australia at the end of the year, Rosewall made his case for being included in the upcoming world championship tour against Pancho Gonzalez. Ken told the press that he was trailing Hoad by a slim margin of 12-14 and added, "I have the edge on Pancho Segura."

If he had an edge it must have been slim. Segura won their first 3 meetings, including a pair of third-place playoffs, in the spring. Then in South America I've got Segura winning 9 of 11 meetings, in matches documented thus far. For the rest of the year, starting at Forest Hills, I've documented an 18-10 edge for Rosewall.

In some ways Rosewall-Segura was the best rivalry of the year. At the start it was all Segura, but then they started playing exceptionally tight matches. Rosewall appears to have broken the losing streak in a close win in Sao Paulo (Segura actually out-scored him in games won). Their first match back in the States went to Rosewall 13-11 in the fifth, at Forest Hills. In August, Segura pushed Rosewall to 45 games in a tour match in Paris (possibly indoors), and of course he lost in 5 sets again to Rosewall in the Wembley final.

McCauley praised the quality of the Rosewall-Segura matches; he said they were the two fastest men in tennis, and two of the most intelligent.

I'd love to see the kind of tactical, consistent baseline tennis they must have played.

 

[krosero]

His showing in 1957 with win at Sydney, 2 finals at Cleveland and Wembley, and this convincing tour win in South America, and his overwhleming win over Pails is indeed remarkable.

And he was undefeated in the 3-day stop in Manila, late in the year: 8-6 in the deciding third set over Rosewall, 6-4 in the third over Hoad, and two straight sets over Kramer.

 

[kiki]

A good match up must have been Rosewall and Sedgman, tough Rosewall had trouble at the start of his pro years against Frank.A big S&V player vs that great return.

 

[krosero]

I've found another tour of South America, in late '51, between Segura and Gonzalez. I have only these 5 results but it looks like Segura probably won the tour.


Oct. 27 in Caracas
Segura d. Gonzalez 6-1, 6-4, 6-3

Oct. 31 in Bogota
Segura d. Gonzalez 8-6, 6-4, 6-2

Nov. 5 in Bogota
Segura d. Gonzalez 6-3, 6-3, 6-1

Nov. 9 in Cali, Colombia
Segura d. Gonzalez 6-1, 6-0, 6-3

Nov. 10 in Guayaquil
Segura d. Gonzalez 9-7, 6-3

These results are not in Tennis Base or McCauley; they were actually reported in major news sources like the AP. I found them at newspapers.com.

However, these were some of the large South American cities and presumably the tour included many other stops (as in '57). I'm going to make some inter-library loans of some other newspapers and see if I can turn up anything else.

The main surface on this tour was probably clay so the results show how strong Segura must have been on that surface. However he had beaten Gonzalez in three straights sets earlier in the year at Forest Hills as well.

 

[BobbyOne]

I've found another tour of South America, in late '51, between Segura and Gonzalez. I have only these 5 results but it looks like Segura probably won the tour.


Oct. 27 in Caracas
Segura d. Gonzalez 6-1, 6-4, 6-3

Oct. 31 in Bogota
Segura d. Gonzalez 8-6, 6-4, 6-2

Nov. 5 in Bogota
Segura d. Gonzalez 6-3, 6-3, 6-1

Nov. 9 in Cali, Colombia
Segura d. Gonzalez 6-1, 6-0, 6-3

Nov. 10 in Guayaquil
Segura d. Gonzalez 9-7, 6-3

These results are not in Tennis Base or McCauley; they were actually reported in major news sources like the AP. I found them at newspapers.com.

However, these were some of the large South American cities and presumably the tour included many other stops (as in '57). I'm going to make some inter-library loans of some other newspapers and see if I can turn up anything else.

The main surface on this tour was probably clay so the results show how strong Segura must have been on that surface. However he had beaten Gonzalez in three straights sets earlier in the year at Forest Hills as well.

krosero, Great finding! I'm astonished how easily Segura beat Gonzalez. These matches support my old thesis (contradicted by one or two posters) that peak Segura must have been awesome on clay (see my speculative "French Open") in the early 1950s.

 

[krosero]

Back to the '57 tour: a few new results from Tennis Base.


June 3
Bogota
Rosewall d. Segura 6-4, 7-5
Kramer d. Pails 6-3, 0-6, 6-1
Kramer/Segura defeated Rosewall/Pails 6-4, 6-3


June 27
Porto Alegre, Brazil
Pails d. Kramer 6-2
Segura d. Rosewall 6-2
Rosewall/Pails defeated Kramer/Segura 7-5

I had supposed that Rosewall defeated Segura in five sets in Porto Alegre, because an Ecuadorian newspaper on June 29 stated that Rosewall had just recently beaten Segura in five grueling sets, for which Segura would try to get revenge in Guayaquil on July 7.

But since the 5-setter was not in Porto Alegre, I can see no other possibility except the final day in Buenos Aires, on June 25.

Now, Segura and Rosewall had already met in Buenos Aires, on the 23rd, so it's strange that they should meet again.

But Tennis Base has found a report showing that there were actually 4 days of play in Buenos Aires, not 3 as I had. We don't have all the results but TB points out that we now probably are looking at a 4-day tournament in Buenos Aires just like the one in '56, which Pancho Gonzalez won: a 3-day round-robin followed by a 5-set final between the two leaders.

These are Gonzalez's results in Buenos Aires in '56:

Argentina Pro RR in Buenos Aires
June 30-July 3
RR Gonzalez d. Sedgman 11-9, 8-6
RR Trabert d. Gonzalez 6-8, 6-2, 6-3
RR Gonzalez d. Kramer 6-2, 6-4
F Gonzalez d. Sedgman 7-9, 6-2, 6-1, 7-9, 10-8

So if Buenos Aires had the same format in '57, then the likelihood is that Segura and Rosewall finished 1 and 2 in the round-robin portion and then faced off in a 5-set final, won by Rosewall.

Now, we just have to confirm what happened in Buenos Aires, through a local newspaper, but I have found none online.

 

[krosero]

Incidentally the LA Times reported right after the South American tour that Segura had won 13 of his 17 meetings with Rosewall on that tour. Rosewall's five-set victory would be his fourth documented win overall. Segura's wins are not all documented but I think one was probably in Curacao, another perhaps in Lima.

 

[BobbyOne]

Back to the '57 tour: a few new results from Tennis Base.


June 3
Bogota
Rosewall d. Segura 6-4, 7-5
Kramer d. Pails 6-3, 0-6, 6-1
Kramer/Segura defeated Rosewall/Pails 6-4, 6-3


June 27
Porto Alegre, Brazil
Pails d. Kramer 6-2
Segura d. Rosewall 6-2
Rosewall/Pails defeated Kramer/Segura 7-5

I had supposed that Rosewall defeated Segura in five sets in Porto Alegre, because an Ecuadorian newspaper on June 29 stated that Rosewall had just recently beaten Segura in five grueling sets, for which Segura would try to get revenge in Guayaquil on July 7.

But since the 5-setter was not in Porto Alegre, I can see no other possibility except the final day in Buenos Aires, on June 25.

Now, Segura and Rosewall had already met in Buenos Aires, on the 23rd, so it's strange that they should meet again.

But Tennis Base has found a report showing that there were actually 4 days of play in Buenos Aires, not 3 as I had. We don't have all the results but TB points out that we now probably are looking at a 4-day tournament in Buenos Aires just like the one in '56, which Pancho Gonzalez won: a 3-day round-robin followed by a 5-set final between the two leaders.

These are Gonzalez's results in Buenos Aires in '56:

Argentina Pro RR in Buenos Aires
June 30-July 3
RR Gonzalez d. Sedgman 11-9, 8-6
RR Trabert d. Gonzalez 6-8, 6-2, 6-3
RR Gonzalez d. Kramer 6-2, 6-4
F Gonzalez d. Sedgman 7-9, 6-2, 6-1, 7-9, 10-8

So if Buenos Aires had the same format in '57, then the likelihood is that Segura and Rosewall finished 1 and 2 in the round-robin portion and then faced off in a 5-set final, won by Rosewall.

Now, we just have to confirm what happened in Buenos Aires, through a local newspaper, but I have found none online.

krosero, Thanks once again.

So maybe you have found Rosewall's 140th tournament win!

 

[krosero]

krosero, Thanks once again.

So maybe you have found Rosewall's 140th tournament win!

Well Tennis Base has confirmed the five-set win in Buenos Aires. TB's researcher is fluent in Spanish (as am I) and actually took the step of making a phone call to a local Buenos Aires newspaper, Clarin, whose staff very helpfully forwarded him relevant pages from the Kramer troupe's visits in both '56 and '57.

So these are the missing results from '57:


June 22 (Saturday)
Buenos Aires, day 2
Outdoors at the Buenos Aires L.T.C., on clay
Pails d. Kramer in 3 sets (first set 4-6, last set 6-4)
Segura d. Rosewall 6-2, 6-4
Doubles cancelled

June 23 (Sunday)
Buenos Aires, day 3
Outdoors at the Buenos Aires L.T.C., on clay
Pails d. Rosewall 6-2, 6-4
Kramer d. Segura 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
Rosewall/Kramer defeated Segura/Pails 6-2, 6-1

June 25 (Tuesday)
Buenos Aires, day 4
Luna Parque (“estadio coberto” in Portuguese, or “covered stadium”)
Rosewall d. Segura 1-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Rosewall/Kramer beat Segura/Pails 6-8, 6-3, 6-4

Now here's the kicker: this was not a tournament, because after three days Rosewall's record in BA was 1-2, with Pails and Segura each at 2-1 (Kramer having taken an extraordinary victory over Pancho on June 23). If it had been a tournament, there would have been a final between Pails and Segura. But Clarin gives no indication of a tournament format, no mention of a prize to the winner, etc.

This was also true in '56: in the lengthy articles we were given, there is no indication of a tournament format or prizes being made available. McCauley calls it "Argentina Pro" and describes it as a round-robin, but the local papers simply describe four individual days of exhibition matches. They do say that Gonzalez and Sedgman provided a virtual final and that their 5-set match "truly had the characteristics of the decisive match of a tournament," given not only the closeness of the match but also the fact that Gonzalez and Sedgman each had a 2-1 record over the prior 3 stands in BA.

This explains why Kramer, in his memoir, writes about the visit to Buenos Aires in '56 and uses the word "final" to describe Gonzalez-Sedgman, but puts the word in quotes.

No other singles matches were scheduled for the fourth day in BA, either in '56 or '57. In both years, there was only one singles with a doubles scheduled, making it possible for the singles to be best-of-five.

The newspapers report that Gonzalez and Sedgman each held serve through 8-all in the fifth set, before Gonzalez finally broke.

 

[BobbyOne]

Well Tennis Base has confirmed the five-set win in Buenos Aires. TB's researcher is fluent in Spanish (as am I) and actually took the step of making a phone call to a local Buenos Aires newspaper, Clarin, whose staff very helpfully forwarded him relevant pages from the Kramer troupe's visits in both '56 and '57.

So these are the missing results from '57:


June 22 (Saturday)
Buenos Aires, day 2
Outdoors at the Buenos Aires L.T.C., on clay
Pails d. Kramer in 3 sets (first set 4-6, last set 6-4)
Segura d. Rosewall 6-2, 6-4
Doubles cancelled

June 23 (Sunday)
Buenos Aires, day 3
Outdoors at the Buenos Aires L.T.C., on clay
Pails d. Rosewall 6-2, 6-4
Kramer d. Segura 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
Rosewall/Kramer defeated Segura/Pails 6-2, 6-1

June 25 (Tuesday)
Buenos Aires, day 4
Luna Parque (“estadio coberto” in Portuguese, or “covered stadium”)
Rosewall d. Segura 1-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
Rosewall/Kramer beat Segura/Pails 6-8, 6-3, 6-4

Now here's the kicker: this was not a tournament, because after three days Rosewall's record in BA was 1-2, with Pails and Segura each at 2-1 (Kramer having taken an extraordinary victory over Pancho on June 23). If it had been a tournament, there would have been a final between Pails and Segura. But Clarin gives no indication of a tournament format, no mention of a prize to the winner, etc.

This was also true in '56: in the lengthy articles we were given, there is no indication of a tournament format or prizes being made available. McCauley calls it "Argentina Pro" and describes it as a round-robin, but the local papers simply describe four individual days of exhibition matches. They do say that Gonzalez and Sedgman provided a virtual final and that their 5-set match "truly had the characteristics of the decisive match of a tournament," given not only the closeness of the match but also the fact that Gonzalez and Sedgman each had a 2-1 record over the prior 3 stands in BA.

This explains why Kramer, in his memoir, writes about the visit to Buenos Aires in '56 and uses the word "final" to describe Gonzalez-Sedgman, but puts the word in quotes.

No other singles matches were scheduled for the fourth day in BA, either in '56 or '57. In both years, there was only one singles with a doubles scheduled, making it possible for the singles to be best-of-five.

The newspapers report that Gonzalez and Sedgman each held serve through 8-all in the fifth set, before Gonzalez finally broke.

Krosero, Thanks for the new results. So we still have "only" 139 Rosewall tournament wins.