Charles P. Dixon

Charles P. Dixon
Full name	Charles Percy Dixon
Country (sports)	United Kingdom
Born	7 February 1873; Grantham, England
Died	7 April 1939 (aged 66); London, England
Singles
Career record	303/99 (75.38%)
Career titles	34
Highest ranking	No. 6 (1913, A. Wallis Myers)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	QF (1912)
Wimbledon	F (1901AC, 1911AC)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W (1912)
Wimbledon	W (1912, 1913)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	W (1912)
Medal record
Olympic Games

Charles Percy Dixon (7 February 1873 – 29 April 1939) was a male tennis player from Great Britain. He was a four-time Olympic medallist and led a successful British team to victory in the Davis Cup.^[2]

Biography

Dixon was born on 7 February 1873 in Grantham, Lincolnshire. At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London he won a bronze medal in the men's doubles event. In the 1912 Summer Olympics he won three medals in the indoor tennis events: gold in the mixed doubles, silver in men's singles and bronze in men's doubles.^[3]^[4]

From 1929 to 1932 he represented the International Club of Great Britain against France at Queens and at Auteuil in 1932 and 1933. After retiring from tournaments, he coached juniors and umpired at Wimbledon, becoming President of the Umpire's Association. He died on 29 April 1939.^[3]

Tennis tournaments

Dixon was born in 1873, the year that Major Walter Clopton Wingfield defined the first rules for lawn tennis. Dixon reached his first all comers final at Wimbledon in 1901, beating Harold Mahony before losing to Arthur Gore.^[5] A decade later, in 1911, Dixon reached the all comers final again, beating Major Ritchie and Max Decugis before losing to Herbert Roper Barrett.^[5] He won the doubles with Roper Barrett in 1912 and 1913.

His career included victories in international tournaments overseas include the Ostend International tournament (1905), the Doubles at the Championship of Dieppe (Championnat de Diepper) (1908) won partnering with M.J.G. Ritchie^[6] In the UK he won the Surrey Championships (1911) on grass, defeating Anthony Wilding in four sets.^[7]

He also won the Dulwich Farm Hard Courts on clay at Dulwich four times from (1909–1910, 1912–1913).^[8] He also won the Drive Club Tournament at the Drive Club, Fulham that was played on hard cement courts three times (1908-1910).

Dixon was better known at the time for his many successes when representing Britain in the Davis Cup: starting in the 1909 Cup in Philadelphia, he led the British team to victory in the 1912 Cup in Australia.^[3] He was also a member of the English Drive Club team in South Africa in 1910–1911.

He won the 1913 Doubles title at the Russian Open Tennis Championship, partnering Albert D Prebble, and was runner up in the singles.^[9]

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (3 titles, 1 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1912	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Herbert Roper Barrett	Max Decugis André Gobert	3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 7–5
Win	1912	Australasian Championships	Grass	James Cecil Parke	Alfred Beamish Gordon Lowe	6–4, 6–4, 6–2
Win	1913	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Herbert Roper Barrett	Heinrich Kleinschroth Friedrich Wilhelm Rahe	6–2, 6–4, 4–6, 6–2
Loss	1914	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Herbert Roper Barrett	Norman Brookes Anthony Wilding	1–6, 1–6, 7–5, 6–8

References

^ United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 422.
^ "Charles P. Dixon". Olympedia. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Charles P. Dixon, 64, Former Tennis Star. Helped Win Wimbledon Doubles Title for England in 1912". The New York Times. 1 May 1939. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
^ "Charles P. Dixon Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
^ ^a ^b "Wimbledon player archive – Charles Dixon". AELTC.
^ Championnat de Diepper, La Presse, p3, 3 August 1908
^ "Lawn Tennis". Evening Post. 29 May 1911. p. 7.
^ "1877 to 2012 Finals Results". stevegtennis.com. Steve G Tennis. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
^ The early Russian Lawn Tennis Championships (1907–14) by Mark Ryan