Atlanta Daily World

LONDON - (INS) - Perennial bridesmaid Shirley Fry won the Wimbledon women's singles tennis championship Saturday and Althea Gibson realized a lifetime dream by taking one of the doubles titles.

Miss Fry, seasoned 29-year-old star from St. Petersburg, Fla., took her first major championship by defeating Britain's Angela Buxton 6-3, 6-1.

The fifth-seeded American girl's victory dashed English hopes for an end to the famine that began after Dorothy Round of Britain won the 1937 championship Every all-England women's singles title since then has been won by an American.

In the women's doubles finals, Miss Gibson and Miss Buxton teamed to take the championship, defeating Australia's Fanny Muller and Daphne Seeney, 6-1, 8-6.

For the 28-year-old Negro girl from New York, the victory was some slight salve for her inability to win in the singles division where she lost to Miss Fry in the quarter-finals.

Althea also lost to Shirley in the mixed doubles championship. Miss Fry combined with Vic Seixas of Philadelphia to win the finals, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5, from Miss Gibson and Gardner Mulloy of Denver, Colo.

Australia's Lew Hoad, who defeated fellow-Aussie Ken Rosewall Friday for the men's title, joined with his countryman Saturday to win the men's doubles championship, by defeating Italy's unseeded duo of Nicola Pietrangeli and Orlando Sirola, 7-5, 6-2, 6-1.

Miss Fry, in 12 years as one of America's top-ranked players, had reached a major finals twice. In 1951, she lost at Wimbledon to Doris Hart and the same year she lost the U. S championship to Maureen Connolly.

Today there was no stopping her Shirley had left nothing to chance, taking a tough pre-match workout. She needed only 52 minutes to win the baseline duel from the slender an attractive Miss Buxton.

In the first set, both girls made many errors but Miss Fry's great experience and hitting power helped her through.

In the second set, Miss Fry went all out for shots and began to find the corners, forcing Miss Buxton into numerous backhand errors.

Miss Buxton changed her tactics and tried to go to the net only to be left standing as Miss Fry's sizzling forehands and backhands passed her.

A number of tennis experts present thought the match to be one of the poorest finals seen at Wimbledon in a long time.

But such opinions could not have mattered much to Miss Fry when the Duchess of Kent presented her with the trophy emblematic of her triumph. Shirley wiped tears of joy from her eyes as the cup was presented.

In the women's doubles the victors were in complete control through the first set but in the second set the Australians tightened their game.

Miss Buxton and Gibson dropped five match points in the tenth game but the reprieve was a brief one for the losers. Althea's serves and smashes proved to be decisive throughout.

When the Duchess of Kent presented the cup to the Anglo-American duo, Miss Gibson curtsied. The Duchess was photographed with the winners.

In the mixed doubles, the four Americans delighted the crowd with the calibre of their play.

Up to the last point of the last set, it looked as though Miss Gibson's and Mulloy's powerful services and smashes would give them the edge to win.

But Seixas was superb. In the final game Miss Gibson was forced into errors and Seixas and Miss Fry collected the championship.

In the men's doubles, Hoad and Rosewall completely dominated the Italian pair. In the final set the Australians broke service at will and ran out the match as easy winners.