Bill Tilden was the most cerebral of tennis champions, convinced that greatness was as much in the mind as in the arms and legs. His powerful serve was once clocked at 151 miles per hour, but he especially loved the tactical part of the game, publishing books and articles on inner tennis. When he lost part of his finger in an accident in 1922, he modified his grip and continued to play at the top level.

In concert with his great rivals, France’s “Four Musketeers” — Jean Borotra, Henri Cochet, Rene Lacoste and Jacques Brugnon — Tilden dominated the sport in the 1920s. “Big Bill” won seven US Open singles champions, and between 1918-29 was a finalist 10 times, seven of those against his other main rival, “Little Bill” Johnson, a fellow American. He also won five men’s doubles and four mixed doubles at the US Open. He won Wimbledon in 1920 (the first American to do so) and again in 1921, then stayed away for five years before winning again in 1930, nine years after his last victory. In one of Wimbledon’s most memorable matches, he won his semifinal over Borotra that year by the score of 0-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0, 7-5. Tilden was also a great Davis Cup player, winning 13 straight singles matches from 1920-26.

Elegant and eccentric, Tilden became a star of such stature that when he was suspended and declared ineligible to play for the United States in the 1928 Davis Cup, the French Federation, desperate to have a big crowd for the match at new Roland Garros Stadium, used diplomatic channels to petition the President. The American ambassador in Paris eventually was told to go over the head of the US Davis Cup captain and select Tilden.

Tilden was a homosexual in an era of less tolerance, and twice he was jailed on indecency charges. He became ostracized by his friends and died alone in 1953, at age 60, in a sparse apartment in Hollywood.