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John Edward Bromwich (14 November 1918 in Sydney,
NSW – 21 October 1999 in Geelong, Victoria) was a male tennis player from Australia who, along with
his countryman Vivian McGrath, was one of the first
great players to use a two-handed forehand.
Although a fine singles player, Bromwich was primarily known as
being a particularly good doubles player. Tennis great (and near
contemporary) Jack
Kramer writes in his 1979 autobiography that if "Earth were
playing in the all-time Universe Davis Cup, I'd play Budge and Vines in my singles, and Budge and
Bromwich in the doubles. That's what I think of Johnny as a doubles
player."
In 1948 Bromwich played the American Bob Falkenburg for the Wimbledon Championship and had match point
at 5–3 in the fifth set. He came to the net for a volley but
decided that Falkenburg's ball would go long and let it go by. It
fell inside the baseline and Falkenburg fought his way back into
the match. Bromwich later had a second match point but was unable
to win that either and Falkenburg won the championship by winning
the last four games of the set for a 7–5 victory. Kramer later
wrote that "...it never seemed to me that he was the same player
after that. He doubted himself. He was a precision player to start
with -- he used a terribly light racket weighing less than twelve
ounces, and it was strung loosely. He could put a ball on a dime,
and I suppose after he misjudged that one shot, the most important
in his life, he never possessed the confidence he needed."
Bromwich as a junior in the 1930s
Bromwich gained a measure of revenge against Falkenberg the
following year at Wimbledon by defeating him, once again in a
five-set match, in the quarter-finals.
Writing about Bromwich, Kramer says, "Bromwich was like McMillan today
because as a kid John hit from both sides two-handed, and while he
eventually had given up the two-handed forehand, he still hit
backhand two-handed and could anything back from the baseline. He
had strokes very much like Connors."
Bromwich was inducted into the International Tennis Hall
of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in
1984.
Grand Slam
record
- Australian
Championships
- Singles champion (2): 1939, 1946
- Singles runner-up (5): 1937, 1938, 1947, 1948, 1949
- Men's Doubles champion (8): 1938, 1939, 1940,
1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950
- Men's Doubles runner-up (2): 1937, 1951
- Mixed Doubles champion (1): 1938
- Mixed Doubles runner-up (5): 1939, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1954
- Wimbledon
- Singles runner-up (1): 1948
- Men's Doubles champion (2): 1948, 1950
- Mixed Doubles champion (2): 1947, 1948
- Mixed Doubles runner-up (1): 1949
- U.S.
Championships
- Men's Doubles champion (3): 1939, 1949,
1950
- Men's Doubles runner-up (1): 1938
- Mixed Doubles champion (1): 1947
- Mixed Doubles runner-up (1): 1938
Grand
Slam singles finals
Wins
(2)
Runner-ups
(6)
| Year |
Championship |
Opponent in Final |
Score in Final |
| 1937 |
Australian
Championships |
 Vivian McGrath |
6–3, 1–6, 6–0, 2–6, 6–1 |
| 1938 |
Australian Championships |
 Don Budge |
6–4, 6–2, 6–1 |
| 1947 |
Australian Championships |
Dinny Pails |
4–6, 6–4, 3–6, 7–5, 8–6 |
| 1948 |
Australian Championships |
Adrian Quist |
6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6, 6–3 |
| 1948 |
Wimbledon |
Bob Falkenburg |
7–5, 0–6, 6–2, 3–6, 7–5 |
| 1949 |
Australian Championships |
Frank Sedgman |
6–3, 6–2, 6–2 |
Sources
- The Game — My 40 Years in Tennis (1979) — Jack Kramer
with Frank Deford (ISBN 0-399-12336-9)
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