On the 7 July, 1887, Scottish former co-World number 1 tennis player, Herbert Fortescue Lawford (1851-1925) won the Men’s Singles championship at Wimbledon, and shared the record as 5 times runner-up.
In the 1887 final, the native of Bayswater, defeated Ernest Renshaw in five sets (1–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4). He reached the finals of Wimbledon in 1880,1884, 1985,1986, 1987 and 1888).
Lawford won the first major men’s doubles tennis tournament, the Oxford University Men’s Doubles Championship, in 1879, partnering Lestocq Robert Erskine. This event was a precursor to the Wimbledon men’s doubles championship, introduced in 1884. It was played over the best of seven sets ending in a score of 4–6, 6–4, 6–5, 6–2, 3–6, 5–6, 7–5. In 1885 he won the singles title at the inaugural British Covered Court Championships.
Lawford is said to be the first person to introduce ‘topspin’ to the game of tennis, and his formidable forehand was called ‘the Lawford stroke’. Lawford made a more substantial contribution in technically advancing the game. He unveiled the ‘Lawford forehand,’ introducing topspin into the sport with that revolutionary shot. Aggressive and unwavering, he was equipped with power, speed and uncanny accuracy.
Lawford died in Dess, Aberdeenshire, in 1925, aged 73, and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006.
7 July, 2019