By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
There was a lot of history in the Wimbledon men’s singles final where Novak Djokivic defeated Roger Federer 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 13-12 (3). However, lost among it being the longest ever men’s final at the All England Club and it being the first championship match at SW19 being determined by a tiebreaker was the fact that Djokovic was the first man to save match points in a Wimbledon final since 1948.
The last man before Djokovic to save match points in a Wimbledon final was New York City-born American Bob Falkenburg, who saved three match points against Australian John Bromwich with Falkenburg serving a 3-5 in the fifth set. The former University of Southern California standout didn’t lose another game in the match after his escape, winning by a final scoreline of 7-5, 0-6, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.
In his book “Trojan Tennis: A History of the Storied Men’s Tennis Program at the University of Southern California” (available for sale and download here: https://www.amazon.com/Trojan-Tennis-University-Southern-California/dp/1937559823/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Trojan+Tennis&qid=1563197875&s=gateway&sr=8-1 author Mark Young featured Falkenburg, one of the all-time great USC Trojan tennis players who won the NCAA singles and doubles title in 1946. Like Djokovic against Federer, had the Wimbledon crowd cheering against him in the final and in favor of the Australian Bromwich. “Falkenburg held off three match points to come back and win the fifth set with two aces in a row,” wrote Young. “The crowd, who heavily favored Bromwich, was stunned by the upset. Falkenburg was ranked as high as No. 7 in the world and ended up adding a U.S. and Wimbledon doubles title to his career resume.”
In his authoritative tennis encyclopedia “The Bud Collins History of Tennis” (available for sale and download here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559386/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_XeilDb8B7Y5NV) Collins described the run of Falkenburg to that Wimbledon title in the following book except here:
Falkenburg, 23, was a 6-foot-3, skinny Californian who dawdled between points, apparently stalling to upset opponents, and threw games or whole sets to grab a breather and pace himself, sometimes actually lying down on the court. He later moved to Rio de Janeiro and played in the Davis Cup for Brazil. Seeded No. 7, Falkie beat 20-year-old Aussie Frank Sedgman in the fourth round, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. In the quarterfinal, he won 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 over Swede Lennart Bergelin (conqueror of top-seeded Parker in five sets, 5-7, 7-5, 9-7, 0-6, 10-8). An acrimonious conflict was his semifinal win over Mulloy, 6-4, 6-4, 8-6, who objected to Falkenburg’s delays. Then he met Bromwich, 29, in the final.
Lance Tingay, in his book 100 Years of Wimbledon, described Falkenburg’s topsy-turvy 7-5, 0-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, victory: “Bromwich was a much-loved player. Not only did he have a gentle personality but a persuasively gentle game. Craft and skill and guile were his all, never muscle and pace. His racket was lightweight, the grip small and could have been a girl’s. With a lefty forehand, he was doubled-fisted on the right. His ability to tease pace-making opponents into defeat by the accuracy of his slow returns was entrancing to watch. Falkenburg, having won the first set, 7-5, palpably threw the second at 6-0. The tactics were legitimate but they hardly endeared him to the crowd. He took the third set, 6-2. Bromwich won the fourth, 6-3. By then the effectiveness of Falkenburg’s big serve had declined. And he was missing much with his forehand volley. Bromwich controlled the fifth set decisively, so much so that he led 5-2, 40-15, on his own service. On the two match points, Falkenburg played shots that were pure gambles, screaming backhand returns of service. Bromwich had his third match point at advantage and Falkenburg repeated his performance. The Australian, who thought the last of the match point returns was going long, let it pass rather than volley the ball. When it landed as a winner Bromwich ‘died’ as an effective player. Falkenburg devoured the remaining games. If Bromwich was heart-broken he shared the sentiment with nearly every spectator round the court.”
Falkenburg refused to discuss his highly unpopular tactics of throwing sets and stalling, seemingly unsportingly. But later it came out that he was physically infirm, feeling a frequent need to pause and rest.
He was “diagnosed as suffering from myexoedema: excessive thyroid which prevented him from conserving energy for any length of time,” wrote English author Norman Cutler in his 1954 book, Inside Tennis.
Falkenburg’s story – and that of his family – is documented in more detail by Young in his Trojan Tennis book, as he wrote in this excerpt below:
Bob, Tom and Eugenia “Jinx” Falkenburg were the children of Eugene (Genie) and Marguerite (Mickey) Falkenburg. Genie was a verysuccessful Westinghouse engineer, whose work took him to Spain, Chile and Brazil. Mickey was an accomplished tennis player who won several tournaments as a young girl in Santiago, and then the state tennis championship in São Paulo when she was 16. The children spent most of their early lives in Brazil, until the family moved to Chile, and then back to Los Angeles in 1935. Almost as soon as they arrived back in Los Angeles, the Falkenburgs became members at the LATC. Bob attended Fairfax High School and in 1942 won the National Interscholastic singles title as well and the doubles title with younger brother, Tom.
In her autobiography Jinx, Eugenia stated that her mother nicknamed her Jinx “as it seemed to her a natural contraction from Eugenia.” Jinx’s tennis career was cut short when Sam Goldwyn discovered her while both were watching the Pacific Southwest tournament at the LATC. The 5’7” brunette became a “Goldwyn Girl,” leading to a career as a fashion model and movie star in the 1930s and 1940s. In 1941, she was the highest paid model in the United States, and was considered by many as the first American supermodel. Jinx starred behind Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly in the 1944 film Cover Girl. A crowd favorite, she entertained the troops during WWII through the USO, and was commemorated on a USO stamp. Said John Shea, “Jinx used to come to all of our varsity matches at the LATC. She was very beautiful, had a sparkling personality and was an excellent tennis player.”
In the 1950s, (Bob) married Mayrink Veiga Machado, a Brazilian woman, and moved to Rio de Janeiro where he opened up Falkenburg Ice Creams, Ltd. (Sorveteria) serving soft vanilla ice cream. In 1952, his friends encouraged him to expand and “Bob’s” was created. The restaurant served burgers, shakes and hot dogs to customers in Copacabana in Rio. His single location turned into 600 restaurants, including locations in Chile, Portugal and Angola. In 1970, the Bob and Mayrink Falkenburgs moved back to Los Angeles and retired in Santa Barbara. The “Bob’s” restaurant chain was acquired by Libby of Brazil and then later by Nestlé.
Tom Falkenburg’s life did not go as smoothly as his brother and sister’s. In January 1947, he married socialite Beatrice Allred. Within three weeks of their marriage, Beatrice, in a fit of jealousy, attempted suicide by drinking iodine. Fortunately, on the brink of death, she had the foresight to swallow a mixture of flour and eggs—which neutralized the poison—and she survived. In 1949, Tom and Beatrice moved to Mississippi, where her family lived, and Tom played on the professional tour until 1961. Over the course of his career, he won three professional titles, all in Mississippi, but he never made it into the major leagues like his brother. In 1965, The Lewiston Evening Journal reported that Tom Falkenburg was arrested in connection with a bank robbery that occurred on February 25th, just north of Jackson, Mississippi. The paper noted that, “The FBI accused the handsome, 6’3” athlete who had affected a lisp and a limp, of robbing a bank wearing a ski mask and taking $4,080 at gunpoint….” Incredibly, on March 27th, while out on bail, Tom engaged in a second robbery, this time fleeing with over $14,000. Tom was sentenced to two concurrent 15-year terms in the Lewisburg Penitentiary in Pennsylvania and fined $5,000. At Lewisburg, Tom’s incarceration overlapped with infamous Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa. In an article about Hoffa in the Press and Sun Bulletin, Falkenburg was also mentioned: “In the prison gymnasium…a tall young man booms a tennis ball against a wall volleying endlessly with himself. He is Tom Falkenburg, NCAA Doubles Champion with his brother in 1946. Lewisburg has two tennis courts and Falkenburg is the prison tennis pro, racket stringer, and all-round aide in the recreation department.” While Tom’s family was stunned by this bizarre turn of events, some of his friends and neighbors were not surprised. It was rumored that Tom had been arrested previously in
England, although the reason was unclear. Some noted that he and his family were living well beyond their means, and that Tom had accumulated high gambling debts, speculating that he had robbed the banks to pay off these debts. Tom was paroled in the early 1970s. It appears that his sentence was commuted by nine years—most likely for good behavior although no records are available about the exact date of his release. In February 1971, the Falkenburg brothers played in a senior doubles tournament at the South Florida Open Tennis Championships. Tom Falkenburg later opened the Buttonwood Tennis Club in Stuart, Florida in 1983. He continued to play in senior tournaments, making headlines again in 1986 when he developed a prototype racket that was shaped like a parallelogram. He claimed that the shape created a larger sweet spot than an oval racket. Tom Falkenburg passed away in Florida in 2005.
