General Manuel
Alonso de Areyzaga
Male
Spain
1895-11-12
San Sebastián, Guipúzcoa, Spain
1984-10-11
Madrid, Spain


About

Alonso was born at San Sebastián on 12 November 1895.[2] He won the Spanish tennis championships in 1915, 1919 and 1920.[3] He frequently played doubles with his elder brother José María (b. 1890) who also was a successful tennis player.

In 1920, Alonso took part at the Summer Olympics at Antwerpen. In singles, he reached the quarterfinals losing to British Noel Turnbull. In doubles, he teamed with his brother José María but the pair lost its initial match. In the same year, Alonso reached the semifinal at the World Hard Court Championships. At the 1924 Summer Olympics at Paris, Alonso reached the fourth round in singles. In doubles, again along with his brother José María, both could advance to the quarterfinals.

In the early 1920s, Bill Tilden wrote about Alonso: "Seldom have I seen such wonderful natural abilities as are found in this young Spaniard [...] Alonzo has a terrific forehand drive that is the closest rival to W. M. Johnston's of any shot I have seen [...] His overhead is at once severe, deadly and reliable. He smashes with speed and direction. It is not only in his varied stroke equipment that Alonzo is great but in his marvellous footwork. Such speed of foot and lightning turning I have never before seen on a tennis court [...] I look to see Alonzo, who today loses matches through lack of resource, become by virtue of experience and tournament play the greatest player on the continent."[4]

In 1921, at his first appearance at the Wimbledon Championships, Alonso made his way through to the all-comers final where he was eventually beaten by Brian Norton in five sets. He played at Wimbledon in 1922 and 1924 again, but couldn't repeat this success and dropped out of the competition in early rounds. From 1921 to 1925, Alonso was a member of the Spanish Davis Cup team and reached the final in 1922 partnering Manuel de Gomar. Both were called "Los Dos Manolos" ("the two Manuels"), a reference to the American "two Bills", "Big Bill" Tilden and "Little Bill" Johnston.[5]

Alonso moved to the United States in 1923[6] which made him eligible for a U.S. ranking. He regularly played at the U.S. Championships until 1927 and reached the quarterfinals in 1922, 1923, 1925 and 1927. He was three years in the U.S. Top 10 (No. 4 in 1925 and 1927, No. 2 in 1926).[2] In 1927, he was ranked World No. 5 by A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph.[1] In 1931 and 1936, Alonso made two short appearances for his country in the Davis Cup again. Soon thereafter, he retired from tennis.

In 1977, a few years before his death, Alonso was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame. He died on 11 October 1984 at Madrid.[2]



Media


Archive statistics 1912 - 1938
27
146
90


Tournament wins 1933 - Nassau Bowl (Amateur)
1929 - Sao Paulo (Amateur)
1928 - Brooklyn Heights Casino Indoor Invitation (Amateur)
1928 - River Plate Championships (Amateur)
1928 - Argentino Lawn Tennis Club (Amateur)
1927 - Delaware State Championship (Open)
1927 - Brooklyn Heights Casino Indoor Invitation (Amateur)
1927 - Orange Invitation (Amateur)
1927 - Philadelphia (Amateur)
1927 - Middle States Championships (Amateur)
1926 - Buffalo Indoor (Open)
1926 - Orange Invitation (Amateur)
1926 - Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship (Open)
1926 - Delaware State Championship (Open)
1925 - Essex County (Open)
1924 - Buffalo Indoor (Open)
1923 - Southern California Championship (Open)
1923 - Illinois State Championship (Open)
1922 - Castle Point (Amateur)
1922 - Championships of Wales (Amateur)
1922 - Barcelona International (Amateur)
1921 - Barcelona International (Amateur)
1920 - Spanish National Championships (Open)
1920 - Spanish International Championships (Open)
1919 - San Sebastian (Amateur)
1919 - Spanish National Championships (Open)
1915 - Spanish National Championships (Open)


Tournaments River Plate Championships - 1938 US Open - 1936 Nassau Bowl - 1936 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1936 US Open - 1935 US Open - 1934 US Open - 1933 Nassau Bowl - 1933 Terrytown Invitational - 1933 US Open - 1932 Pacific Coast Championship - 1932 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1932 Austrian International Championships - 1931 Spanish National Championships - 1931 Gelb-Weiss T.C. International Championships - 1931 Argentina International Championships - 1929 Sao Paulo - 1929 US Open - 1928 River Plate Championships - 1928 Argentino Lawn Tennis Club - 1928 Brooklyn Heights Casino Indoor Invitation - 1928 US Open - 1927 Delaware State Championship - 1927 Middle States Championships - 1927 Nassau Bowl - 1927 Newport Casino - 1927 Florida State Championship - 1927 Orange Invitation - 1927 South Florida - 1927 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1927 Philadelphia - 1927 Brooklyn Heights Casino Indoor Invitation - 1927 US Open - 1926 Delaware State Championship - 1926 Middle States Championships - 1926 Newport Casino - 1926 Seabright Invitational - 1926 Orange Invitation - 1926 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1926 Buffalo Indoor - 1926 Pennsylvania Indoor Championships - 1926 US Open - 1925 New England Championships - 1925 Newport Casino - 1925 Florida State Championship - 1925 Essex County - 1925 Wimbledon - 1924 US Open - 1924 Olympics, Olympic Games - 1924 Buffalo Indoor - 1924 Middle States Clay Courts - 1924 US Open - 1923 California State Championship - 1923 Illinois State Championship - 1923 New England Championships - 1923 Southern California Championship - 1923 US Clay Courts - 1923 Mexican Championships - 1923 World Covered Court Championships - 1923 Great Lakes Championships - 1923 Eastern Pennsylvania Clay Court Championships - 1923 Wimbledon - 1922 US Open - 1922 World Hardcourt Championships - 1922 Barcelona International - 1922 Championships of Wales - 1922 Castle Point - 1922 Wimbledon - 1921 World Hardcourt Championships - 1921 Barcelona International - 1921 Biarritz - 1921 Olympics, Olympic Games - 1920 World Hardcourt Championships - 1920 Barcelona International - 1920 Spanish National Championships - 1920 Spanish International Championships - 1920 Spanish National Championships - 1919 San Sebastian - 1919 Spanish National Championships - 1917 Barcelona International - 1915 Spanish National Championships - 1915 Spanish National Championships - 1912

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