Stanley Matthews

Stanley John Matthews (born 20 November 1945) is an English former professional tennis player. He became Wimbledon Boys' Champion in 1962 and reached the second round of the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. He is the son of former professional footballer Sir Stanley Matthews (1915-2000).

Football career Matthews' first foray in sport was via football, and, like his father, he played on the wing. "But I stopped playing soccer, as we call it in America, when I was 12," he explained in 2007.

In 1962, Matthews won the Wimbledon Boys' Championship. He can remember the final point by point. "It was against Alexander Metreveli, who went on to be the top Russian and lost in the final of a Wimbledon senior." The match went the distance, and Matthews won 7–5 in the final set. he reached the second round of Wimbledon in 1963 and 1969. He attained the second round of the 1967 French Open and in the 1969 French Opens he won his most notable singles victory in a Grand Slam event, beating Ilie Năstase in the first round in a close five set match.

In 1971, Matthews represented Britain in the Davis Cup, losing to Yugoslav Boro Jovanović in five sets. However, Matthews would win more tournaments in his playing career than Barrett achieved. Matthews' father said "There is no doubt my reputation did put some pressure on him. I know it worried him a bit, being in my shadow. I hoped he might overcome it."

Matthews junior partially concurs: "Even though it wasn't football, it was a lot of pressure to live up to the name of Matthews. There would be pictures of my father and me in the papers, and they started to call me the next Fred Perry. Sure, being Dad's son opened some doors, but it also made things harder. Instead of being congratulated if I did well, I was expected to. And if I didn't do well, they'd say 'He's not as good as his father.' Unfortunately, that's how it is. It goes with the territory."

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Note: The 1972 US Open had a special preliminary round before the main 128 player draw began.

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