Articles

1956 / April 8

Men's singles : early round : Budge Patty d Das 61 62; A Larsen d Samir Khoury (Leb) 63 61; ¼ f : Budge Patty (US) d Bernard Destremau (Fr) 64 62; Bob Perry (US) d Art Larsen (US) 64 46 63; Jack Arkinstall (A) d Fred Kovaleski (US) 63 63; Lewis Hoad (A) d Roger Becker (GB) 86 36 63;

½ f : B Perry d B Patty 62 63 36 64; Hoad d Arkinstall 62 61 62;

Final : Lewis Hoad d Bob Perry 63 64 62;

Ladies singles: ½ f : Jenny Hoad (A) d N Farah (Leb) 62 62; Angela Mortimer (GB) d Renée Abi Hatab (Leb) 60 62; Final : A Mortimer d J Hoad 62 63;

Men's doubles ¼ f : Hoad-Arkinstall d E Attieh-Maurice Tabet (Leb) 62 60; Kovaleski-Perry d F
Sohol- G Sjowall 62 63; A Vieira (Braz) - S Khoury (Leb) d Becker-Poettinger 26 63 64; Patty-Larsen d Balas-Cevendik (Turkey) 60 63

½ f: Hoad-Arkinstall d Kovaleski-Perry 62 75 63; Patty-Larsen d Viziru-Khoury 64 64 46 63;

Final : Hoad-Arkinstall d Patty-Larsen 64 46 63 36 64;

Mixed doubles ½: A Mortimer-Becker d Abihatab-Khoury 61 62; Hoad-Hoad d N Farah-Tabet 62 64;

Final: Hoad-Hoad d Mortimer-Becker 75 26 64;

• Hoad was the flamboyant world no 1 that year, and will remain so till after his 2nd Wimbledon triumph in July 1957 when he turned Pro with the Kramer tour. Patty , French and Wimbledon champ in 1950, and still a Top tenner, missed his expected rendez-vous for a great final vs Hoad , but came back to Lebanon in the summer (see Brummana)


• The left-handed Larsen had won the US title in 1950 and was a very superstitious player, thus earning the nickname of "Tappy"because he used to tap so many surfaces and objects with his fingers as he went along.A car accident…


• In 1961, Angela Mortimer will win the Wimbledon title over fellow English player Christine Truman, adding the prestigious title to those she had conquered at Roland Garros in 1955, and the Australian in 1958. Mortimer was a runner up at Wimbledon in 1958.


• Camille Chamoun, the glamorous President of the Lebanese Republic, and an active sportsman, attended the final at the American University of Beirut's Alumni tennis courts.