Ex-Tennis Star Bitsy Grant Dead at 75

Bryan (Bitsy) Grant, who won more than 50 amateur tennis tournaments during his career, died Thursday of cancer. He was 75.

Grant, who stood only 5-4 and weighed 125 during his prime, was ranked No. 2 in the world in 1936; was a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon twice, and was a member of the U.S. Davis Cup team in 1935-37.

Grant won his first major title, the Southern championship, in 1927, when he was 16. His titles included four U.S. National Clay Courts championships, the Eastern Grass championship, four River Oaks (Houston, Tex.) championships, three Bermuda championships and 12 Southern championships.

Grant, who graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1933, was born on Christmas Day in 1910 in Atlanta.

One of Grant’s greatest victories came in the U.S. National Championships at Forest Hills, N.Y., in 1933. He beat the top player in the world at the time, Ellsworth Vines, in the quarterfinals, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. He lost to eventual champion Fred Perry in the semifinals.

Grant leaves a son, a daughter, a sister and three grandchildren. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.