Mervyn Rose, an Australian tennis player who won seven Grand Slam tournament titles in the 1950s and later coached champions like Billie Jean King and Margaret Smith Court, died on Sunday. He was 87.
Tennis Australia, the country’s governing body for tennis, announced his death but did not specify a cause or say where he died.
Rose, a left-hander, was somewhat overshadowed in the Australian tennis elite by Ken Rosewall and Lew Hoad — and later by Rod Laver, who is considered the country’s greatest player. But he was a tough, sometimes temperamental player known for strong volleying and what was called his “chip and charge,” in which he would chip, or slice, a return and rush to the net.