- Gene Mako
Constantine ("Gene") Mako (born
24 January 1916 ) is a former Americantennis player; and is also an art gallery owner. He was born inBudapest .Mako was born in the Hungarian capital. At the age of seven he moved with his family from
Buenos Aires toLos Angeles .In 1934 he won the
NCAA singles and the doubles championships while playing for theUniversity of Southern California where he lettered at USC for three years (1934-36-37).Mako was especially successful as a doubles player with his partner and friend
Don Budge . They competed in 7 Grand Slam finals, 4 of which they won.In 1936 Gene Mako andAlice Marble won the finals at the US Mixed Doubles Championships againstSarah Palfrey and Don Budge (6:3 and 6:2).From 1935 to 1938 Mako was member of the
United States Davis Cup team , which this team won in 1937 (against the United Kingdom) and in 1938 (against Australia).Mako was in the U.S. Top Ten in 1937 and 1938 (No. 3), and No. 9 in the world ranking of 1938. That year he reached the U.S. final at
Forest Hills versus his double partner,Don Budge , who was in pursuit of the first Grand Slam. Unseeded, Mako reached his only major singles final on victories over sixth-seed Frank Kovacs and the third and first foreign seeds, Franjo Puncec and John Bromwich.During the
Second World War Mako served on theUnited States Navy . He continued to play tennis at that time.In 1973 Mako was inducted into the
International Tennis Hall of Fame . In 1999 he was elected to theUniversity of Southern California (USC) Athletic Hall of Fame.Mako has a long-time interest in art as evidenced by his Gene Mako Galleries, Los Angeles, CA.
Grand Slam singles finals
Runner-up (1)
External links
* [http://www.daviscup.com/teams/player.asp?player=10003952 Gene Mako's Davis Cup profile]
* [http://www.tennisfame.com/famer.aspx?pgID=867&hof_id=170 Gene Mako in the "International Tennis Hall of Fame"] (including image)
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