Sven Viktor Davidson (13 July 1928 – 28 May 2008) was a Swedish tennis player who became the first Swede to win a Grand Slam title when he won the French Championships in 1957, beating Ashley Cooper and Herbert Flam.
Career Davidson also reached the French championships final in the two previous years. In 1955, he lost to Tony Trabert. In 1956, he lost to Lew Hoad. He also reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 1957, losing to Lew Hoad. At the 1957 U.S. Championships, Davidson lost in five sets in the semifinals to Mal Anderson. In 1958, Davidson partnered with Ulf Schmidt to win the doubles title at the Wimbledon Championships, defeating the Australian pair Ashley Cooper and Neale Fraser. He played his last Grand Slam event at Wimbledon in 1959.
Davidson reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 2.
He played for the Swedish Davis Cup team from 1950 to 1960.
Davidson was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2007.
Personal life Davidson lived in Arcadia, California since the 1970s. In 1981, at age 52, he suffered a heart attack while playing a tennis match in Los Angeles. He died in Arcadia on 28 May 2008 as a result of pneumonia.
Grand Slam finals Singles (1 title, 2 runners-up) ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 1955French ChampionshipsClay Tony Trabert6–2, 1–6, 4–6, 2–6Loss 1956French ChampionshipsClay Lew Hoad4–6, 6–8, 3–6Win 1957French ChampionshipsClay Herbie Flam6–3, 6–4, 6–4
Doubles (1 title) ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1958 Wimbledon Grass Ulf Schmidt Ashley Cooper Neale Fraser 6–4, 6–4, 8–6
Grand Slam tournament performance timeline
Singles Tournament 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959Australian Championships A A A A A A3R A A A A 0 / 1French Championships1R4R4R A4RQFFFW A A 1 / 8Wimbledon A1R2R AQF4RQF2RSFQF3R 0 / 9U.S. National Championships A2R A AQF4R A ASF A A 0 / 4Strike rate 0 / 1 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 0 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 2 1 / 3 0 / 1 0 / 1
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