Uberto De Morpurgo

Uberto De Morpurgo

Uberto De Morpurgo playing Tennis
Full name	Hubert Louis (Uberto Luigi) De Morpurgo
Country (sports)	Austria-Hungary (−1920) Italy (1920–)
Born	(1896-01-11)11 January 1896 Trieste, Austria-Hungary
Died	26 February 1961(1961-02-26) (aged 65) Geneva, Switzerland
Turned pro	1914 (amateur tour)
Retired	1939
Plays	Right-handed (1-handed backhand)
Singles
Highest ranking	No. 8 (1930, A. Wallis Myers)
Grand Slam singles results
French Open	SF (1930)
Wimbledon	QF (1928)
Other tournaments
WHCC	3R (1921, 1923)
WCCC	SF (1922)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon	F (1925)
Medal record Olympic Games 1924 Paris Singles tennis

Uberto De Morpurgo was born in Trieste when it was part of Austria, but became an Italian citizen when the city changed hands after World War I. His world rankings were ninth in 1928, tenth in 1929, and eighth in 1930. Bill Tilden ranked him 10th in the world in 1924, and 6th in 1929.

De Morpurgo was junior champion in Great Britain in 1911, and student champion in Paris in 1915. He was ranked as Italy's top tennis player in 1927, and again in 1929 through 1931. Tennis magazine called him "the Tilden of his country". De Morpurgo reached the semifinals of the 1930 French championships (beating Edgar Moon before losing to Henri Cochet).

He was named Italian Commissioner of Tennis by Benito Mussolini in 1929.

Olympics

De Morpurgo participated in the singles event at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. He won his first four matches to reach the semifinal which he lost to eventual gold medal winner Vincent Richards in four sets. De Morpurgo won the bronze medal after a five-set victory in the play-off against Jean Borotra of France.

Davis Cup

De Morpurgo played on Italy's Davis Cup team each year from its inaugural year in 1922 through 1933. He won 39 singles matches and lost 14, while in doubles he was 16–10.

Playing style

De Morpurgo used a very fast serve on his first ball, and an exaggerated American Twist serve on the second serve which was of extreme contortion. His baseline game consisted of flat drives. He had an excellent net attack, owing to his great reach. His overhead, like his service, was hard but erratic.

Recognition

De Morpurgo, who was Jewish, was inducted as a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.

Mixed doubles (1 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1925	Wimbledon	Grass	Elizabeth Ryan	Suzanne Lenglen   Jean Borotra	3–6, 3–6

Singles (1 win 2 runner-ups)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1.	1928	Genoa International, Genoa	Clay	Emanuele Sertorio	6–2, 8–6, 6–1
Loss	2.	1929	Monte Carlo Championships, Monaco	Clay	Henri Cochet	6–8, 4–6, 4–6
Loss	3.	1930	Italian Championships, Rome, Italy	Clay	Bill Tilden	1–6, 1–6, 1–6

• List of select Jewish tennis players
• Morpurgo