Peruvian tennis player (1936–2020)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Olmedo and the second or maternal family name is Rodríguez.

Alejandro "Alex" Olmedo Rodríguez (March 24, 1936:– December 9, 2020) was a tennis player from Peru with American citizenship. He was listed by the USTA as a "foreign" player for 1958, but as a U.S. player for 1959. He helped win the Davis Cup for the United States in 1958 and was the No. 2 ranked amateur in 1959. Olmedo won two Majors in 1959 (Australia and Wimbledon) and the U.S. Pro Championships in 1960, and was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.

Contents

• 1 Biography
• 2 Grand Slam finals
  • 2.1 Singles (2 *les, 1 runner-up)
  • 2.2 Doubles (1 *le, 1 runner-up)
  • 2.3 Mixed doubles (1 runner-up)
• 3 Grand Slam tournament performance timeline
  • 3.1 Singles
• 4 References
• 5 External links

Biography

Although born and raised in Peru, Olmedo moved to Southern California and was mentored by Perry T. Jones, president of the Southern California Tennis *ociation at the Los Angeles Tennis Club (LATC). George Toley recruited him to play for the University of Southern California (USC). Olmedo graduated with a business degree from USC. While there, he won the National Collegiate Athletic *ociation (NCAA) Singles and Doubles Championships in 1956 and 1958. (In 1957, USC was excluded from NCAA compe*ion due to a financial contribution violation involving the football program which also suspended the tennis team.)

Olmedo was ranked as the world No. 2 in 1959 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph.

Perry T. Jones was Davis Cup captain in 1958 and recruited Olmedo from Modesto Junior College to play on the team. He represented the U.S. in Davis Cup compe*ion in 1958 and 1959, winning in both singles and doubles – achieving all three of the three points required to win the Cup in 1958 (two singles and one doubles). His teammates were Ham Richardson and Barry MacKay, when they won the Cup in 1958. Although he was not a U.S. citizen, he was technically eligible to represent the U.S. in Davis Cup because he had lived in the country for at least three years (since February 1954) and because Peru, his country of citizenship, did not have a Davis Cup team in those particular years. However, his participation was very controversial. Sports columnist Arthur Dailey at The New York Times wrote "This would seem to be the saddest day in the history of American tennis. A few more such rousing victories and the prestige of this country in tennis will sink to a new low." At the time, Olmedo, who held a student visa, refused to file for U.S. citizenship, said he was content to remain a Peruvian citizen, and denied he was refusing to apply for U.S. citizenship to avoid being drafted into the military. Still, many Americans "took a dim view of the largest nation in the compe*ion stooping to borrow a little player from Peru to win the Cup". Olmedo eventually became a U.S. citizen many years later.

Olmedo won the Australian Championships and the Wimbledon singles *les in 1959 and was the runner-up at the 1959 U.S. Championships, losing to Neale Fraser, whom he defeated in the Australian Championships earlier that year. At 1959 Wimbledon, he defeated Rod Laver in 71 minutes 6–4, 6–3, 6–4. Olmedo turned professional in 1960, and that year, won the US Pro *le by beating Tony Trabert in the final.

Olmedo was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987. He spent over 40 years teaching tennis at the Beverly Hills Hotel in California. His clients included Katharine Hepburn, Robert Duvall, and Jon Lovitz.

Olmedo's marriage to Ann Olmedo ended in divorce. He had a son Alejandro Jr., two daughters Amy and Angela, and four grand children. Olmedo died on December 9, 2020 at the age of 84 from cancer in Los Angeles.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (2 *les, 1 runner-up)

Doubles (1 *le, 1 runner-up)

Mixed doubles (1 runner-up)

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

References

External links

• Alex Olmedo at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Alex Olmedo at the *ociation of Tennis Professionals
• Alex Olmedo at the International Tennis Federation
• Alex Olmedo at the Davis Cup

AC=Australasian/Australian Championships, AO=Australian Open, FC=French Championships, FO=French Open, WI=Wimbledon, US=U.S. National Championships/US OpenWomenContributors

• Russ Adams
• George Adee
• Lawrence Baker
• John Barrett
• Nick Bollettieri
• Vic Braden
• Jane Brown Grimes
• Butch Buchholz
• Philippe Chatrier
• Gianni Clerici
• Bud Collins
• Joseph Cullman
• Allison Danzig
• Mike Davies
• Herman David
• Donald Dell
• Cliff Drysdale
• Steve Flink
• David Gray
• Clarence Griffin
• Gustaf V
• Derek Hardwick
• Gladys Heldman
• William Hester
• Lamar Hunt
• Nancy Jeffett
• Robert Walter Johnson
• Perry T. Jones
• Robert J. Kelleher
• Peachy Kellmeyer
• Al Laney
• Alastair Martin
• Dan Maskell
• William McChesney Martin
• Mark McCormack
• Julian Myrick
• Arthur Nielsen
• Mary Ewing Outerbridge
• Brad Parks
• Charlie Pasarell
• Gene Scott
• Lance Tingay
• Ted Tinling
• Ion Țiriac
• Brian Tobin
• Jimmy Van Alen
• Walter Clopton Wingfield

Global amb*adors

• Martina Hingis
• Gustavo Kuerten