Vladimir Petrović (tennis)

Vladimir Petrović (born 11 May 1929) is a Croatian former professional tennis player who represented Yugoslavia and later emigrated to the United States.

Vladimir Petrović
Full nameVladimir Petrović
Country (sports) Yugoslavia
Born(1929-05-11)11 May 1929
SFR Yugoslavia
Singles
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open2R (1954)
Wimbledon3R (1951)

Biography

Petrović, a three-time national champion, played Davis Cup tennis for Yugoslavia. He also competed several times at both the French Championships and Wimbledon. Although he held a law degree from the University of Zagreb, he chose not to practise law as he would have been required to join the Communist Party.[1]

His most noted performance in a Grand Slam tournament was reaching the third round of the 1951 Wimbledon Championships. He won five set matches in both of the opening two rounds, then had his run ended by American Ham Richardson.[2]

In 1952 he made his Davis Cup debut in a tie against Finland and also featured in a tie with Great Britain, in which he had a win over Roger Becker.[3] The following year he took part in a tie against France in his native Croatia, where he lost a marathon five setter to Robert Haillet, but was able to defeat Robert Abdesselam in the reverse singles. He finished his Davis Cup career with an 8/10 overall record from seven ties, the last in 1955, just months before he defected.

With Yugoslavia under Communist rule, Petrović made the decision to defect in 1955. His wife Georgia, a renowned table tennis player, had temporarily left the country on a student exchange program, which gave him an opportunity to seek asylum when he travelled to England for the 1955 Wimbledon Championships. He ended up in Germany, where he remained based for the next four years.[1] In 1958 he won the Dutch Championships and made his last appearance at Wimbledon, beaten by eventual runner-up Neale Fraser.

In 1959 he moved to Los Angeles with his family. His son Glenn, who was born in Germany, went on to compete on the professional tennis circuit as an American.[1]

See also
  • List of Yugoslavia Davis Cup team representatives

References
  1. Downey, Mike (9 May 1999). "The Best Gift Item of All - latimes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  2. "Mottram's Great Win Over Drobny". The West Australian. 29 June 1951. p. 15. Retrieved 30 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "Cup Tie To Britain". The West Australian. 21 May 1952. p. 13. Retrieved 30 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
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