Reginald Doherty

Reginald "Reggie" or "R. F." Frank Doherty (14 October 1872 – 29 December 1910) was a British tennis player and the older brother of tennis player Laurence Doherty. He was known in the tennis world as "R.F." rather than "Reggie". He was a four-time Wimbledon singles champion and a triple Olympic Gold medalist in doubles and mixed doubles.

Early life Doherty was born on 14 October 1872 at Beulah Villa in Wimbledon, the oldest son of William Doherty, a printer, and his wife Catherine Ann Davis. Doherty began tennis early in life and as a boy at Westminster School showed great promise. At age 14, he won the boys' singles title at an open championship in Llandudno. Doherty was educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he played for the Cambridge University Lawn Tennis Club. In 1895 and 1896, he was part of the Cambridge team that beat Oxford and won the Scottish and Essex championships.

Career

Grand Slam tournaments

Doherty played in his first Wimbledon Championships in 1894 and lost in the first round to Clement Cazalet in four sets. In 1897 Doherty won his first singles Wimbledon title after beating reigning champion Harold Mahony in three straight sets (6–4, 6–4, 6–3). He successfully defended his title for the next three years (1898, 1899, 1900). In 1898 he did so by beating his brother in the Challenge Round in five sets. In 1901 he finally lost his Wimbledon crown when he was defeated in the Challenge Round by Arthur Gore in four sets). He was also a runner-up at the US Championships in 1902 where he was beaten by the defending American champion William Larned in four sets. Together with his brother Laurie he won eight Wimbledon Championships doubles titles and two US Championship doubles titles.

Davis Cup

Doherty represented the British Isles in the prestigious Davis Cup contest from 1902 to 1906. In 1902 he won the doubles match with his brother but lost the final and decisive singles match against American Malcolm Whitman in straight sets. In 1903 he contributed significantly to his team's first Davis Cup title against the United States by winning the doubles match and the decisive singles match against Robert Wrenn. Doherty won the Davis Cup trophy a further three times (1904, 1905, 1906) although in these years he only competed, and won, in the doubles matches.

Olympics

Doherty won the doubles title (gold medals were not given at the 1900 Games) at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris with his brother. He also competed in the singles tournament and reached the semifinal, where he was scheduled to play against his brother. Reggie withdrew, since the brothers refused to play each other before the final. He also won the mixed doubles title with five-time Wimbledon champion Charlotte Cooper. Doherty did not compete in the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis. In the 1908 Olympics in London, Reggie again won the doubles title, this time with compatriot George Hillyard.

R.F. Doherty was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1980 together with his brother.

According to his obituary in The New York Times, Doherty had "been in ill health for some time". The article further stated he "held at various times every important championship the world of tennis has for a man to win. He was not beaten until he began to fail in health".

R.F. and his brother had been urged to take up lawn tennis by their father, reportedly for health reasons.

Doubles: 13 (10 titles, 3 runners-up) ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1896 Wimbledon Grass Harold Nisbet Herbert Baddeley Wilfred Baddeley 6–1, 6–3, 4–6, 2–6, 1–6 Win 1897 Wimbledon Grass Laurence Doherty Herbert Baddeley Wilfred Baddeley 6–4, 4–6, 8–6, 6–4 Win 1903 Wimbledon Grass Laurence Doherty Frank Riseley Sydney Smith 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 Colchester, England Grass Herbert Ramon Yglesias 6–3, 6–1, 6–0 2. 1895 Scottish Championships, Moffat, Scotland Grass Richard Millar Watson walkover 3. 1895 Welsh Covered Court Championships, Llandudno, Wales Wood William S. N. Heardwalkover 4. 1895 Exmouth LTC Tournament, Exmouth, England Grass Harry S. Barlow 6–1, 7–5, 6–2 5. 1896 Baden Baden International, Baden-Baden, Germany Clay Count Voss 6–1, 7–5, 6–2 6. 1896 East of England Championships, England Grass Edward Roy Allen 6–4, 8–6 7. 1896 Essex Championships, Colchester, England Grass Laurence Doherty walkover 8. 1896 Scottish Championships, Monte Carlo, France Clay Conway W. Blackwood Price 6–2, 6–1, 6–2 16. 1897 Scottish Championships, Moffat, Scotland Grass Laurence Doherty walkover 17. 1897 Cannes Championships, Cannes, France Clay M.G. Gongoltz 6–2, 6–4, 6–3 18. 1897 Welsh Covered Court Championships, Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Lionel Escombe 6–3, 6–1, 6–1

Singles runners-up (16) No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score 1. 1895 Colchester Championship, Colchester, England Grass Charles Allen walkover 2. 1896 Irish Championships, Dublin, Ireland Grass Harold Mahony 6–2, 6–2, 6–4 3. 1896 Queen's Club Championships, London, England Grass Harold Mahony 11–9, 6–4, 6–4 4. 1896 Sussex Championships, Exmouth, England Grass Wilfred Baddeley 6–1, 6–2, 6–3 5. 1897 Irish Championships, Dublin, Ireland Grass Wilberforce Eaves 6–4, 6–3, 3–6, 6–2 6. 1897 Northern Lawn Tennis Association Tournament, Manchester, England Grass Wilfred Baddeley 6–2, 7–5, 2–6, 6–0 7. 1898 South of France Championships, Nice, France Clay Laurence Doherty walkover 8. 1898 Irish Championships, Dublin, Ireland Grass Harold Mahony 6–3, 8–6, 6–3 9. 1898 Scottish Championships, Moffat, Scotland Grass Laurence Doherty walkover 10. 1899 Championship of Europe, Bad Homburg, Germany Clay Harold Mahony walkover 11. 1900 South of France Championships, Nice, France Clay Laurence Doherty walkover 12. 1901 Wimbledon Championships, London, England Grass Arthur Gore 4–6, 7–5, 6–4, 6–4 13. 1902 U.S. National Championships, Newport, RI, USA Grass William Larned 4–6, 6–2, 6–4, 8–6 14 1902 South of France Championships, Nice, France Clay Laurence Doherty walkover 15. 1902 Irish Championships, Dublin, Ireland Grass Laurence Doherty walkover 16 1905 East Grinstead Open, East Grinstead, England Grass Roderick James McNair walkover