Brave Hearts

Author(s): Kumarpal Desai
Publisher: Eye Care Foundation

Page 60

The Heart of A Champion
Nanci Boulton. It was too much even for the ardent admirers of Doris Hart to think that she would win again in the third consecutive match on the same day. But once again she proved that nothing was impossible on this earth if only ones determination and will power are strong enough to meet the impending challenge. The mixed-doubles final encounter also becomes very tough. Doris equaled the stoic ness and strength of her male partner Frank Sedgeman and won the match in straight sets 7–5, 6–2. For the third time in a single day Hart, the victor, bowed to the crowds while leaving the court unvanquished. The crowd applauded her again, but this time the applause was three times louder, and did not end until she finally disappeared from the view of the spectators that day.
Prior to the extraordinary performance of Doris Hart in 1951, there had been instances of players winning all the three trophies in a single year. But what distinguishes her from others is the fact that no one had ever passed through the type of turmoil and challenges through which Doris had to pass through in her life. That is why her victories became more pronounced, dramatic and admirable than those of others. It was indeed most memorable. It was a golden moment too because a girl whose right leg had sustained serious injuries in her childhood, and about whom it had been predicted that she would not even be able even to walk in the future, who in that situation would have probably spent her days in remorse sitting as a dependent in some corner or the other outside the precincts of the tennis court, the same Doris Hart today had become the Empress of the tennis world by the virtue of her courage, determination and perseverance. She had notched an unbelievable mark in her life.
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