Tennis song for Sangster

It is that time of year when the wonderful Wimbledon Championships are dominating the sporting headlines and, in tribute to the All England Club, we remember a tennis hero from Devon’s past. 

Born in Kingskerswell, just outside Newton Abbot, in 1940, Mike Sangster survived a bombing at his local church during World War Two and went on to become an accomplished footballer as a junior. He played for Torquay United and was offered a contract by West Ham United before turning to tennis.

His amazing sporting prowess as a junior led to a first Wimbledon appearance at the age of 17 and he immediately became a cult figure among the British public, who loved his massive serve and suave dress sense off the court.

In 1961, Sangster became the first Brit in almost 25 years to reach the Wimbledon Men’s Singles semi-finals. He also got to the semi-finals of the US Championship and the final of the US Open in 1964. In team events, he helped Great Britain reach the Davis Cup semi-final in 1963.

The only other male British players to reach the semi-final stage at Wimbledon since Sangster are Roger Taylor, Tim Henman and Andy Murray.

For all the tools in his tennis armoury, it was his amazing serve that gave Sangster the edge on opponents. His first serve was recorded at a mind boggling 154mph in 1964, just one mph slower than the world record set by American Andy Roddick in 2004.

Opponents of Sangster were known to stand way back in the court to return his serve and in one match against tennis legend Rod Laver, the Australian great went back so far that he became entangled in the backdrop netting.

His career sadly stuttered following the untimely death of his coach George Washington. After tennis, he ran of chain of sport shops throughout the South-West but his life was tragically cut short by a heart attack while playing golf in 1985. He was just 44 years-old.