Career
His first successes as an athlete occurred before he was ten years old, when he competed in the open category of the Mexican National Table Tennis Championships. In the course of the tournament, he upset the Mexico City Table Tennis Champion in singles, a feat remarkable both for Osuna's young age and the fact that it was his first tournament. Osuna also won the Doubles Championship, with Alfredo Ramos Uriarte as his partner. From age 10 to 14 he was ranked in the top 10 in Mexico's Open singles in table tennis.
He was awarded a full scholarship to attend the University of Southern California (USC) in the US, by Head Coach George Toley, who quickly identified Osuna as a major talent. Toley had to literally reteach Osuna how to play tennis because of his poor technique but, in Toley's own words ¨he moves on the tennis court like a God¨. Osuna participated in the 1960 Wimbledon championships, competing only in the doubles category with Dennis Ralston (soon to be his roommate at school). The two unknown youngsters soon made history, as the first unseeded pair to win the men's doubles at Wimbledon.
This victory marked the beginning of Osuna's career and fame. Described as an "agile and cerebral player" [4] who "moves on the tennis court with the grace of a panther" (Tony Mottram), his subsequent achievements include:
- He is the only Mexican tennis player ever ranked World No. 1, in 1963, by the International Tennis Federation. [5]
- He is the only Mexican tennis player ever to win a Grand Slam event singles title, the United States Tennis Association National Championships Singles (1963). He is one of only three Latin Americans to win the US Championships, along with two Argentines Guillermo Vilas and Juan Martín del Potro.
- Osuna and Palafox are the only Mexican tennis players ever to win the United States National Championship doubles title, in 1962.
- In 1962, as the leader of the Mexican Davis Cup Team, Osuna led the team to its only Davis Cup Final to date, which was also the first-ever final reached by a Latin American country.
- His last victory (two weeks before his death in a plane crash) was an almost single-handed defeat of Australia in Davis Cup competition; Osuna won both his singles matches and the doubles. At that time Australia had won the Davis Cup 17 times, and the defeat was considered a major upset. [6]
- USTA National Hard Courts singles and doubles champion 1962 and doubles champion 1969.
- Osuna was NCAA singles champion in 1962, doubles champion from 1961 to 1963, and team champion in 1962–63. [5] The 1963 USC tennis team is regarded by some as the best collegiate tennis team of all time.
- Osuna won Mexico's only Olympic gold medals in tennis, in singles and in men's doubles with Vicente Zarazua in 1968, though they were both exhibition events. In the simultaneously run demonstration event, Osuna reached the semifinals in the singles and won the doubles tournament (again alongside Zarazua).
- Osuna earned a Bachelor in Science in Business Administration from the University of Southern California in 1963. In that same year, the International Tennis Federation would declare him the year-end No. 1 player in the world.
Playing style
Osuna was known for his footspeed, touch, and tactical awareness. Commentator Bud Collins dubs him "Mexico's greatest player...Ubiquitous on court, confusing to foes, ever seeking the net". [7] His U.S. Open victory came against big server Frank Froehling, a dangerous unseeded opponent who had upset top-seeded Roy Emerson in the fourth round. Collins describes Osuna's victory as a triumph of tactical play:
...Osuna cleverly neutralized [Froehling's] power with wonderfully conceived and executed tactics, especially lobbed service returns from 10 to 12 feet behind the baseline. Occasionally Osuna would stand in and take Froehling's serve on the rise, chipping the backhand, but more often he lobbed returns to disrupt Froehling's serve-volley rhythm and break down his suspect overhead. In fact, Osuna climbed the wall of the stadium to retrieve smashes and float back perfect lobs, frustrating Froehling with his nimble speed around the court, touch and tactical variations. [8]
He is also remembered by his bold strategy against Bill Bowrey on the 4th match of the Mexico vs Australia Davis Cup tie in 1969. Coming back after the obligatory break after three sets (Osuna leading 2 sets to one), after holding serve on the first game, Osuna hits out, going for the lineas and keeping the ball away from Bowrey on each of all his service returns. While the knowledgeable public interprets this actions as trying to get loose, as the match progresses the public is baffled by Osuna continuing to do so after holding serve. Then, after holding serve and going up 4–3, Osuna changes his manner of play drastically by chipping in his return low to his opponents feet. At this precise moment Bowrey, in the entire 4th set and coming out of the rest period, has not hit one volley after his service motion due to the ¨hitting out¨strategy that Osuna implemented on this set. Bowrey is startled by the change of strategy on the first point. Osuna plays a superb second point to go up 0-30. Being love – 30 gets Bowrey extremely tight and gets broken. Osuna closes the match on his next service game.
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