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General First nameCecil Roberts
LastnameBlackbeard
GenderMale
CountrySouth Africa
Date of birth1900-00-00
Place of birthKing William’s Town, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Date of death1954-04-19
Place of deathBenoni, Gauteng, South Africa


About

A native of South Africa, Cecil Blackbeard would go on to represent his country in both the Davis Cup and the Summer Olympic Games. He enjoyed a good deal of success in overseas tournaments in 1920, when he was part of team of touring South African players. In May 1920, he reached the final of the men’s doubles event at the World Hard Court Championships, played at the Stade Français in Paris. He and his teammate, Nicolae Mishu of Romania, were defeated in the final by the French pair André Gobert and William Laurentz in straight sets, 6-4 6-2, 6-1.

In the doubles event at the 1920 Summer Olympics, held in Antwerp, Belgium, Cecil Blackbeard competed with George Dodd. They reached the quarter-final round after victories over the English pair Alfred Beamish and Francis Lowe in the first round, followed by a win over the Frenchmen Jean-Pierre Samazeuilh and Daniel Lawton in the second round. In the quarter-finals they were defeated in four sets by another French pair, Max Decugis and Pierre Albarran.

In the summer of 1920, Cecil Blackbeard took part in all three events (men’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles) at the Wimbledon Championships. In the singles event he made it to the quarter-final round after victories over the Indian player Yasin Mohamed, the Englishman Ambrose Dudley, his doubles partner and compatriot George Dodd and another Englishman, Frank Jarvis. In the quarter-finals he lost in four sets to the American Charles Garland, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-1. With George Dodd he also reached the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles event in which Algernon Kingscote of England and Cecil Parke of Ireland proved too strong. Blackbeard was less successful in the mixed doubles event, reaching the second round with the South African-born player Dorothy Kemmis-Betty.

In late July of 1920, Cecil Blackbeard won the men’s singles title at the Scottish Championships in Edinburgh, where he beat the Englishman Charles Dixon in the final, 6-2, 14-12, 9-7. At the same tournament he also won the men’s doubles title with the Scotsman Arthur MacPherson and the mixed doubles title with the Scotswoman Mary Welsh.

In 1926, Cecil Blackbeard reached the final of the singles event at the South African Championships which he lost in three straight sets to his countryman Jack Condon, 6-0 6-3 6-2. At the same tournament he won the men’s doubles title twice, in 1923 with D. Blackbeard and in 1926 with Charles Winslow.

Media


Archive statistics Career1920 - 1927
Tournament wins5
Matches36
Match wins23


Tournament wins 1927 - Eastern Province (Open)
1927 - Western Province (Open)
1922 - Southern Transvaal Championships (Amateur)
1920 - Scottish Championships (Amateur)
1920 - Epsom (Amateur)


Tournaments Southern Transvaal Championships - 1927 Western Province - 1927 Eastern Province - 1927 South African Championships - 1926 South African Championships - 1925 Southern Transvaal Championships - 1925 South African Championships - 1924 South African Championships - 1923 Southern Transvaal Championships - 1923 Southern Transvaal Championships - 1922 South African Championships - 1921 Wimbledon - 1920 South African Championships - 1920 World Hardcourt Championships - 1920 Scottish Championships - 1920 Hampshire Championships - 1920 Epsom - 1920 Frinton-on-Sea - 1920