Sedgman's golden period of triple crowns and few comforts

Frank Sedgman arrived hot and bothered at Wimbledon for the men's final in 1952 after his courtesy Daimler was involved in a minor accident en route. He lost the first set to Jaroslav Drobny of Czechoslovakia, but sailed through the next three to claim the title, an achievement that marked the high point of a remarkable year.

Sedgman was one of Australia's greatest players, and the 50th anniversary of his grass-court victory coincides with the rise of another homegrown hero, Lleyton Hewitt. The illustrious serve and volleyer was watching from the VIP stands as Hewitt, Australia's first Wimbledon top seed since 1974, opened his Wimbledon challenge this year with victory over Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman.

It is difficult to envisage two personalities more different than the brash 21-year-old from Adelaide and the gentleman player from a bygone era. Sedgman recalls 1952 as "quite a big year"; he won the US Open as well as Wimbledon and led Australia to their third consecutive Davis Cup triumph over the United States. Oh, and he also got married.

But Wimbledon was the tournament that really mattered then, he recalled in an interview before leaving for England last month. "Ever since you started playing as a young kid, you knew that Wimbledon was the pinnacle, and it still is. Every tennis player likes to think they can win there, and when you do, you feel you've achieved what you set out to do."

Wimbledon remains the ultimate prize, but the game has changed. In Sedgman's day, players were not singles or doubles specialists; they played tennis. Soon after receiving the singles trophy and bowing politely to the crowd, he was back on Centre Court for the mixed doubles final. The following day, he reappeared in the men's doubles final. He left London with the triple crown: an achievement that has not since been repeated.

It was not the done thing then to parade around court, pump the air, show emotions. But Sedgman did not need showmanship to impress the crowd. His power, precision and athletic anticipation were dazzling; his reflexes and speed around court the stuff of legend. He was also famously fit, one of the first players to recognise the value of training in the gym. Now a feisty 75-year-old, he still keeps in shape by jogging, cycling and playing golf.

Sedgman was born in Melbourne, the son of a tennis club secretary. When he was 12, his family moved to Brunswick, an inner-city suburb, where their house fronted on to the brick wall of a factory. He spent his days volleying tennis balls against the wall; volleying became his first instinct, a style of play encouraged by Harry Hopman, long-term Davis Cup captain.

The post-war years were the heyday of Australian tennis, and Sedgman led a generation of younger players who dominated the game for two decades. His successors included Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Neale Fraser, Tony Roche and John Newcombe. Newcombe won Wimbledon in 1974.

In that era, the United States were the arch-rivals; for 28 years after the Second World War, the Davis Cup was held by either Australia or the US. An American team visited for the final in 1947; the hosts lost, but many a young player's dreams were fired by the encounter. Sedgman was the cornerstone of the team that captured the trophy in 1950 and successfully defended it twice in the subsequent years.

"Tennis was the number one sport in Australia then," he said. "Every little country town had its tennis courts, so did every suburb in the cities. The clubs were full every weekend, and everyone looked forward to the annual tournaments."

Sedgman won 25 of his 28 Davis Cup matches between 1948 and 1952, and he also had a glittering Grand Slam career. The first Australian to win the US Open, he took back-to-back titles in 1951 and 1952, and was Australian Open champion in 1950. He and his doubles partner, Ken McGregor, won seven major titles and in 1951 became the first pair to complete the doubles Grand Slam – a feat still unequalled.

Sedgman was a national hero, but the day after leading Australia to Davis Cup victory in 1952, he scandalised his countrymen by announcing plans to join the professional tennis troupe assembled by Jack Kramer, the crack American player. Newspaper editorials denounced him, but the $100,000 signing fee was irresistible. As a member of the Australian team, he received 25 shillings a day in expenses.

In the 1950s, tennis was a no-frills sport. There were no tiebreaks, no chairs for players to sit on between changes of end and no 30-second break between points. Sedgman recalls a match where one set went to 31-29 and another to 17-15.

The demands of television prompted rule changes to speed up the game, and tennis has also been transformed by modern equipment, most notably the lightweight, flexible rackets. But for Sedgman, it is the rich prize money on offer that has really changed the game. It is because of money, in his view, that most players specialise in doubles or singles, that some pick and choose their tournaments, and some retire before realising their full potential.

He believes that Hewitt, repository of Australian hopes for a first Wimbledon title since Pat Cash in 1987, has yet to reach his peak. "I think he still needs to refine his game a bit and I hope he remains injury-free. I admire the way he's a real go-getter. He's got a lot of heart and he's certainly got the determination to succeed."