- Jiro Sato
Jiro Sato (jap. 佐藤 次郎 "Satō Jirō",
January 5 1908 in present-dayShibukawa ,Gunma Prefecture -April 5 1934 inStrait of Malacca ) was a formertennis player from Japan. He graduated fromWaseda University . He was ranked World No.3 in 1933, but committed suicide inStrait of Malacca during his trip toDavis Cup 1934.Jiro Sato reached Grand Slam Men's singles semifinals five times, still the best record in history of Japanese tennis.
* French Championships: Singles semifinalist 1931 and 1933
* Wimbledon: Singles semifinalist 1932 and 1933, Men's Doubles finalist 1933 (PartnerRyosuke Nunoi , lost toJean Borotra andJacques Brugnon )
* Australian Championships: Singles semifinalist, Mixed doubles finalist (PartnerMeryl O'Hara Wood ), both in 1932He received worldwide fame in Wimbledon 1932, when he beat the defending champion
Sidney Wood at the quarterfinal. (In the semifinal, he lost toHenry Austin .) His peak came in 1933, when he beatFred Perry in theFrench Open quarterfinal. He was ranked World No.3 by an English critic ofThe Daily Telegraph . (Ranked No.1: Jack Crawford, No.2:Fred Perry ) However, it got more and more difficult for him to endure enormous pressure from Japan. That drove him to throw himself into theStrait of Malacca inApril 5 1934 , at 26 years of age.Grand Slam performance timeline
Grand Slam singles semifinals
* 1931 French Championships: lost
Jean Borotra 10-8, 2–6, 5–7, 6–1, 6–2
* 1932 Wimbledon: lostBunny Austin 7–5, 6–2, 6–1
* 1932 Australian Championships: lostHarry Hopman 0–6, 6–2, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4
* 1933 French Championships: lost Jack Crawford 6–0, 6–2, 6–2
* 1933 Wimbledon: lost Jack Crawford 6–3, 6–4, 2–6, 6–4External links
* [http://www.daviscup.com/teams/player.asp?player=10004384 Davis Cup Records]
* [http://championships.wimbledon.org/en_GB/bios/rolls/mensdoublesroll.html Wimbledon Men's Doubles] (See 1933)
* [http://bmarcore.club.fr/tennis/reccord/Australie.html Australian Open Records] (French site, click "Double mixte " and see 1932)References
* Maurice Brady, "The Encyclopedia of Lawn Tennis" (Robert Hale Ltd., published in 1958 / See pages 118-119.)
*Bud Collins , "Total Tennis, The Ultimate Tennis Encyclopedia" (ISBN 0973144343, Sport Classic Books / See page 785.)
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