Kurt Nielsen

Kurt Nielsen (19 November 1930 – 11 June 2011)[2] was a Danish tennis player. He was born in Copenhagen, and was the first Danish tennis player ever to have played in a Men's Singles final in a Grand Slam tournament.

For the Danish football (soccer) player and manager, see Kurt "Nikkelaj" Nielsen.

Kurt Nielsen
Country (sports) Denmark
Born(1930-11-19)19 November 1930
Copenhagen, Denmark
Died11 June 2011(2011-06-11) (aged 80)
Turned pro1960 (amateur tour from 1948)
Retired1966
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
CoachDon Tregonning (1955)
Singles
Career record205–103
Career titles13
Highest rankingNo. 7 (1953, Lance Tingay)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open4R (1952, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959)
WimbledonF (1953, 1955)
US OpenQF (1953)
Professional majors
Wembley Pro1R (1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966)
French Pro1R (1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Wimbledon3R (1953, 1957)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
WimbledonF (1958)
US OpenW (1957)

Nielsen reached the singles finals of Wimbledon in 1953 (beating Ken Rosewall and Jaroslav Drobný before losing to Vic Seixas)[3] and 1955 (beating Rosewall before losing to Tony Trabert). Both times he reached the final he was unseeded. Before this, he won the Boys' Singles at Wimbledon in 1947 (defeating Sven Davidson). Besides his successes at Wimbledon, he won the Boys' singles at the French Open, and reached senior quarterfinals in the US Open in 1953.

With Althea Gibson, Nielsen won the US Open mixed doubles in 1957, thereby becoming the first Dane to have ever won a Grand Slam event as a senior. During his long career he won around 30 international titles, played 96 Davis Cup matches for Denmark (with a 53–43 record), and holds the record of having won the most Danish national tennis championships (50). Nielsen turned professional in 1960, and played on the pro circuit.[4]

After ending his active career, Nielsen held numerous honourable positions in leading international tennis associations, as well as being supervisor and referee at many Grand Slam events. He was a commentator on the Danish version of the TV channel Eurosport until late 2006.[5]

Nielsen was the grandfather of Danish tennis player Frederik Løchte Nielsen.[6] He followed his grandfather and became the second Dane to win a Grand Slam tournament at the 2012 Wimbledon men's doubles.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: (2 runner-ups)
Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up1953WimbledonGrass Vic Seixas7–9, 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up1955WimbledonGrass Tony Trabert3–6, 5–7, 1–6

Mixed doubles: (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner1957US OpenGrass Althea Gibson Darlene Hard
Robert Howe		6–3, 9–7
Runner-up1958WimbledonGrass Althea Gibson Lorraine Coghlan Robinson
Robert Howe		3–6, 11–13

Singles performance timeline

The following lists main draw appearances for Grand Slam and pre-Open Era Professional Major tournaments only.

Tournament 1948194919501951195219531954195519561957195819591960196119621963196419651966W–L
Grand slam tournaments
Australian Championships AAAAAAAAAAAAA Absent;
had turned pro		 0–0
French Championships 3RAA1R4R1A2R4R14R4R1R4R1R 16–10
Wimbledon Championships 2RA1R3R3RF4RF3R3RSF2R3R 31–12
U.S. National Championships AAAA3RQFA3RA4R1RAA 11–5
Win–loss3–20–00–12–26–310–24–210–35–27–35–34–22–20–00–00–00–00–00–058–27
Professional majors
U.S. Pro Tennis Championships Absent;
had not turned pro		 AAAAAAA 0–0
French Pro Championship 1R1R1R1R1R1RA 0–6
Wembley Championships 1R1R1R1RPRA1R 0–5
Win–loss0–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–20–20–20–20–10–10–10–11

Note: 1 First round bye

References
  1. "Trabert is Seeded Top", The Sydney Morning Herald, 16 September 1953.
  2. Dansk tennislegende er død, tv2.dk 11. juni 2011 (in Danish)
  3. "Wimbledon 1953". www.tennis.co.nf.
  4. "Rosewall Downs Kurt Nielsen". The Canberra Times. 15 September 1960. p. 32 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. Femte sæt, b.dk 17. februar 2011 (in Danish)
  6. F. Løchte tættere på Wimbledon, tv2.dk 20. juni 2007 (in Danish)
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