Henry "Bunny" Austin, who teamed up with Fred Perry to win four Davis Cup finals in a row between 1933-36 in a golden era of British tennis, has died age 94, a family friend said today.
Henry "Bunny" Austin, who teamed up with Fred Perry to win four Davis Cup finals in a row between 1933-36 in a golden era of British tennis, has died age 94, a family friend said today.
Austin died peacefully on Saturday at a nursing home south of London, according to Michael Smith.
His last public appearance was at the Parade of Champions at this summer's Wimbledon championship, when he came out in a wheelchair and was given one of the biggest ovations by the crowd.
His movie star wife, Phyllis Konstam, died in 1976 but Austin is survived by a son, antiques dealer John Austin, and a daughter, Jennifer Bocock, who lives in Alberta, Canada.
Austin's partnership with Perry, who won the Wimbledon singles title three years in a row between 1934-36, was invincible in four successive Davis Cup competitions around the same time.
They ended a streak of six straight French triumphs by beating them 3-2 at Roland Garros in 1933. Then came 4-1 and 5-0 triumphs over the United States at Wimbledon followed by a 3-2 beating of Australia in 1936.
Austin never won a major, losing to Americans Ellsworth Vines and Donald Budge at Wimbledon in 1932 and '38 and to Germany's Henner Henkel at the 1937 French Open at Roland Garros.
He went to live in the United States with his actress wife in 1938. He served as a private in the US Army and did not return to Britain until 1961.
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