Tennis at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's outdoor singles

The men's (outdoor) singles was one of six lawn tennis events on the Tennis at the 1908 Summer Olympics programme. The tournament was played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. There were 31 competitors from 9 nations. Nations could enter up to 12 players.Official Report, p. 35. The event was won by Major Ritchie of Great Britain, the nation's third victory in four Games. Otto Froitzheim earned Germany's first medal in the event with his silver. Another Briton, Wilberforce Eaves, took bronze.

Background

This was the fourth appearance of the men's singles tennis. The event has been held at every Summer Olympics where tennis has been on the program: from 1896 to 1924 and then from 1988 to the current program. Demonstration events were held in 1968 and 1984. In 1908, for the first time of two, an indoor version was held concurrently.

The top players did not compete in this event. Arthur Gore played only in the indoor event. William Larned, Norman Brookes, Anthony Wilding, and Laurence Doherty were noted absences.Official Report, p. 209. Major Ritchie was a solid player, having gone deep into Wimbledon multiple times but never having won in singles (he took doubles titles in 1908 and 1910 with Wilding).

Austria, Bohemia, Canada, the Netherlands, and South Africa each made their debut in the event. France, Germany, and Great Britain each made their third appearance, tied for most among all nations.

Competition format

The competition was a single-elimination tournament. For the first time at the Olympics, a bronze medal match was played. All matches were best-of-five sets.

Schedule

The schedule was impacted by rain, with matches adjourned overnight on occasion.

The Olympics started three days after the end of the 1908 Wimbledon Championships, a scheduling issue which the Official Report recommended avoiding in the future.

Date Time Round Monday, 6 July 1908 Round of 64Round of 32Round of 16 Tuesday, 7 July 1908 Round of 32Round of 16 Wednesday, 8 July 1908 Round of 16Quarterfinals Thursday, 9 July 1908 Round of 16QuarterfinalsSemifinals Friday, 10 July 1908 QuarterfinalsSemifinals Saturday, 11 July 1908 Bronze medal matchFinal

Draw

Finals

Top half

Section 1

Section 2

Bottom half

Section 3

Section 4

Results summary

Rank Player Nation Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Major Ritchie W 6–1, 6–4, 6–1 W 6–1, 6–4, 6–1 W 6–0, 6–4r W 2–6, 6–1, 6–4, 6–1 W 7–5, 6–3, 6–4 Otto Froitzheim W 6–3, 6–1, 6–4 W 6–2, 6–3, 6–3 W 6–4, 11–9, 6–4 W 6–4, 6–1, 5–7, 6–1 W 2–6, 6–1, 6–4, 6–4 L 7–5, 6–3, 6–4 Wilberforce Eaves W 6–3, 6–1, 6–0 W w/o W 8–6, 7–5, 7–5 W 6–3, 7–5, 6–3 L 2–6, 6–1, 6–4, 6–1 W 6–2, 6–2, 6–3 4 John Richardson W w/o W 6–2, 6–4, 6–3 W 6–3, 6–1, 6–0 L 2–6, 6–1, 6–4, 6–4 L 6–2, 6–2, 6–3 5 George Caridia W 6–1, 6–3, 6–1 W 6–4, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2 L 6–4, 6–1, 5–7, 6–1 did not advance Charles P. Dixon W 6–2, 7–5, 6–4 W 6–1, 6–0, 6–0 W 6–1, 6–2, 6–3 L 6–3, 7–5, 6–3 did not advance Maurice Germot W 7–5, 6–4, 6–2 W w/o L 6–0, 6–4r did not advance Claude Russell-Brown W w/o W 6–2, 6–1, 6–2 L 6–3, 6–1, 6–0 did not advance 9 Moritz von Bissing W w/o W 6–1, 6–4, 6–4 L 8–6, 7–5, 7–5 did not advance Walter Crawley W w/o L 6–1, 6–4, 6–1 did not advance J. F. Foulkes W 6–2, 6–4, 6–3 L 6–2, 6–4, 6–3 did not advance Bohuslav Hykš W w/o W 7–5, 6–4, 3–6, 6–0 L 6–1, 6–2, 6–3 did not advance James Cecil Parke W w/o W 6–1, 6–3, 6–2 L 6–4, 11–9, 6–4 did not advance Robert Powell W 6–4, 6–1, 6–2 W 2–6, 6–0, 6–4, 6–1 L 6–4, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2 did not advance David Slíva W w/o L 6–2, 6–1, 6–2 did not advance 16 Victor Gauntlett (tennis) L 6–1, 6–4, 6–1 did not advance Harold Kitson L 6–1, 6–3, 6–1 did not advance Oscar Kreuzer W 6–3, 6–1, 6–4 L 6–2, 6–3, 6–3 did not advance Dezső Lauber L 6–1, 6–0, 6–0 did not advance Heinrich Schomburgk L 7–5, 6–4, 6–2 did not advance Ede Tóth W 6–3, 2–1r L 6–1, 6–3, 6–2 did not advance Roelof van Lennep L 6–2, 6–4, 6–3 did not advance Arthur Zborzil W w/o L 6–1, 6–4, 6–4 did not advance Ladislav Žemla W w/o L 2–6, 6–0, 6–4, 6–1 did not advance Jenő Zsigmondy W w/o L 7–5, 6–4, 3–6, 6–0 did not advance 26 Kenneth Powell L 6–3, 6–1, 6–4 did not advance Rolf Kinzl L 6–3, 6–1, 6–0 did not advance Josef Mičovský L 6–3, 2–1r did not advance Felix Pipes L 6–3, 6–1, 6–4 did not advance Friedrich Wilhelm Rahe L 6–2, 7–5, 6–4 did not advance Christiaan van Lennep L 6–4, 6–1, 6–2 did not advance — Herbert Roper Barrett L w/o did not advance G Ball-Greene L w/o did not advance Max Decugis L w/o did not advance Laurence Doherty L w/o did not advance Arthur Gore L w/o did not advance George Hillyard L w/o did not advance L. Ivánka L w/o did not advance Vitus Károly W w/o L w/o did not advance Josef Rössler-Ořovský L w/o did not advance Ödön Schmid L w/o did not advance Hedley Suckling L w/o did not advance Kurt von Wessely W w/o L w/o did not advance Jaroslav Žemla L w/o did not advance Zdeněk Žemla L w/o did not advance

References

External links

ITF, 2008 Olympic Tennis Event Media Guide