Uberto De Morpurgo (11 January 1896 – 26 February 1961) was an Italian tennis player.

Uberto De Morpurgo was born in Trieste when it was part of Austria, but became an Italian citizen when the city changed after World War I. His world rankings were ninth in 1928, tenth in 1929, and eighth in 1930."Big Bill Tilden is Second Only to Henri Cochet", The Montreal Gazette, 27 November 1930. Bill Tilden ranked him 10th in the world in 1924, and 6th in 1929.

Tennis career De Morpurgo was junior champion in Great Britain in 1911 and student champion in Paris in 1915. He was ranked as Italy's top tennis player in 1927 and again in 1929 through 1931. Tennis magazine called him "the Tilden of his country". De Morpurgo reached the semifinals of the 1930 French championships, losing to Henri Cochet).

He was named Italian Commissioner of Tennis by Benito Mussolini in 1929.

Olympics De Morpurgo participated in the singles event at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. He won his first four matches to reach the semifinals, losing to eventual gold medal winner Vincent Richards. De Morpurgo won the bronze medal in a five-set victory against Jean Borotra of France.

Davis Cup De Morpurgo played on Italy's Davis Cup team each year from its inaugural year in 1922 through 1933. He won 39 singles matches and lost 14, and in doubles, he was 16–10.

Playing style De Morpurgo used a very fast serve on his first ball and an exaggerated American Twist serve on the second serve which was of extreme contortion. His baseline game consisted of flat drives. He had an excellent net attack, owing to his great reach. His overhead, like his service, was hard but erratic.

Recognition De Morpurgo, who was Jewish, was inducted as a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.

Grand Slam finals Mixed doubles (1 runners-up) ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1925 Wimbledon Grass Elizabeth Ryan Suzanne Lenglen Jean Borotra 3–6, 3–6

Career finals

Singles (1 win 2 runner-ups)

ResultNo.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreWin 1.1928Genoa International, GenoaClay Emanuele Sertorio 6–2, 8–6, 6–1Loss2.1929Monte Carlo Championships, MonacoClay Henri Cochet 6–8, 4–6, 4–6Loss3.1930Italian Championships, RomeClay Bill Tilden1–6, 1–6, 1–6

See also List of select Jewish tennis players Morpurgo

References

External links

Umberto Louis de Morpurgo at the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (archived)

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