General Albert
Burke
Male
Ireland
1901-00-00
Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France
1958-11-22
Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes, France


About

From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Burke_(tennis)

Albert Burke was a French-born professional tennis player of Irish descent who described himself as British but was classed as a representative of Ireland and, on other occasions, of France when playing in international tournaments. In 1924 and 1925, he won the men’s singles event at the Bristol Cup tournament, which was at that time the principal competition for tennis professionals.

Albert Burke was the son of Thomas Burke, one of the earliest tennis professionals. His father had been the tennis coach at Dublin’s Lansdowne Club (where the champions Joshua Pim and Frank Stoker were among those he guided) before moving to France in 1897 at the behest of Viktor Voss. […]

Thomas Burke’s three sons, Tommy, Albert and Edmund, were all raised to succeed their father in the game. The eldest, Tommy, was already playing professionally by February 1914 when, aged 13, he played a set against the former British Prime Minister Arthur Balfour at Cannes. He was subsequently eclipsed by Albert and by Edmund, the latter enjoying a long and consistent professional career, but without matching Albert’s degree of success.

Albert Burke coached at the Lawn Tennis Club of Marseille in 1920 but soon after, following the death of his father, he returned to the Carlton Club’s seven court-complex at Cannes. In 1922, he won the international professional invitation tournament at Lloyd Park, Walthamstow (sponsored by the News of the World), defeating Joseph Negro in straight sets in the semi-final and overcoming Charles Read of the Queen’s Club in the final “after a magnificent contest that lasted two and a half hours”.

When organising tournaments at the Carlton Courts he was able to attract the best players of the day, both professional and amateur, and during a 1923 competition four hundred and twenty matches were played there during a single week. These included a “memorable” contest between Suzanne Lenglen and Elizabeth Ryan, and a match between Burke and the Frenchman Henri d’Arsonville, then regarded as the world professional champion. The latter encounter attracted heavy betting on its outcome, “thrilled a large audience and ended in a win for the French player”. In 1925, partnered by Lenglen, Albert Burke played in an exhibition match against René Lacoste and Yvonne Bourgeois at Nice.

Albert Burke won the Bristol Cup in France in 1924 and 1925, beating Roman Najuch in both finals. He was also losing finalist in the Bristol Cup in 1926, 1929 and 1931, defeated in all three finals by the Czechoslovak Karel Koželuh.

In the absence of Koželuh, Burke won the Deauville tournament in 1927, meeting Joseph Negro, Howard Kinsey and his own brother Edmund in the final pool, and beating them all without losing a set. On account of this victory he was saluted as “champion of the world”, and he was the acknowledged Champion of France when, in the following year, he played in the 1928 Bristol Cup competition and appeared at the World Professional Singles Championship at the Queen’s Club, defeating the titleholder, Dan Maskell, in the third round.

Playing against his brother Edmund and their assistant coach at Cannes, Robert Ramillon, Albert won the doubles final at the Queen’s Club in 1928 with Roman Najuch as his partner, but it was Ramillon who defeated Edmund to take the singles title. Albert Burke finished second in the 1930 French Pro Championship round robin, while Karel Koželuh was the winner.

At the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships Burke was a quarter finalist in 1931 (losing to Howard Kinsey) and 1932 (losing to Bill Tilden). In 1931, at an exhibition match at Crawford Notch, he had defeated Tilden in what was described as “the best feat of his career.” At the 1935 Wembley Championships, Burke lost in the quarter finals to Ellsworth Vines. The following year he partnered Henri Cochet to the doubles title at the French Professional Championships.

Albert Burke died in Cannes in November 1958 at the age of 57.



Media


Archive statistics 1920 - 1939
6
154
92


Tournament wins 1928 - Deauville Professional Championships (Professional)
1927 - Deauville Professional Championships (Professional)
1927 - Berlin Pro Championships (Professional)
1925 - Bristol Cup (Professional)
1924 - Bristol Cup (Professional)
1922 - Walthamstow Pro (Professional)


Tournaments French Professional Championship - 1939 Southport Professional Tournament - 1938 Deauville Professional Championships - 1938 Calcutta Professional Championships - 1938 Southport Professional Tournament - 1937 French Professional Championship - 1937 Egyptian Professionals - 1937 Deauville Professional Championships - 1937 Universal Exposition Pro Championships - 1937 Dutch International Professional Championships - 1937 Southport Professional Tournament - 1936 French Professional Championship - 1936 La Baule Professionals - 1936 Roubaix Professional Championships - 1936 Southport Professional Tournament - 1935 French Professional Championship - 1935 Wembley Professional Championships - 1935 Deauville Professional Championships - 1935 Strasbourg Pro - 1935 French Professional Championship - 1934 Lyon Pro - 1934 Parc de Expositions Professional Tournament - 1934 German Professional Championships - 1933 US Pro Indoors - 1932 Florida Professional - 1932 Eastern Professional Championships - 1932 German Professional Championships - 1932 Hamilton Pro Championships - 1932 Washington Pro Championships - 1932 Hartford Professional - 1932 US Pro Championships - 1931 Bristol Cup - 1931 French Professional Championship - 1930 Bristol Cup - 1930 Bristol Cup - 1929 World Pro Championships - 1928 La Baule Professionals - 1928 Bristol Cup - 1928 Berlin Pro Championships - 1928 Deauville Professional Championships - 1928 Berlin Pro Championships - 1927 Deauville Professional Championships - 1927 Bristol Cup - 1926 World Pro Championships - 1925 Bristol Cup - 1925 Bristol Cup - 1924 Bristol Cup - 1923 Cannes Pro Championships - 1922 Bristol Cup - 1922 Walthamstow Pro - 1922 Bristol Cup - 1921 Bristol Cup - 1920

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