Henner Henkel

Heinrich Ernst Otto " Henner " Henkel ( born October 9, 1915 in Posen, German Empire; † January 13, 1943 in Voronezh, Soviet Union ) was a German tennis player. His greatest achievement was the victory at the French Championships (now the French Open ) in 1937. Besides Gottfried von Cramm, he was the most successful German tennis player of the 1930s.

Life

Heinrich Henkel came in 1915 as son of Ferdinand Henkel and his wife Margarete in poses to the world. After the First World War, his family moved in 1919 to Erfurt, where he and his five year older brother Ferdinand in the Sport Club Erfurt on the Cyriaksburg, the forerunner of today's TC Erfurt 93, with the tennis game came in contact together. In 1927 the family moved to his father, who had to move for work reasons to Berlin.

In 1929 he celebrated his first success by winning the club championships of THC 99 Berlin. In 1930, he finished in third place at the German Junior Championships, in the following year he moved up to second place. 1932 and 1933 he won the Junior Championships and participated in a first game in abroad ( Poland).

From 1934 Henkel participated regularly in international tournaments. In the same year he was nominated Cup team for the German Davis, where he studied until 1939 66 games and won 49 of them. In 1937, he achieved his greatest triumph, as he could as the second German Tennis Players by Gottfried von Cramm (1936 ) to win the French championships in singles. Henkel is thus the last to this day German champion in men's singles at Roland Garros. Along with von Cramm he was successful in the same year at the U.S. Championships in doubles. In 1938 he achieved at Wimbledon at the side of George Metaxa the doubles final, which was, however, lost to the American Don Budge and Gene Mako. From 1937 to 1940 he won four times the national German championships, and in 1937 and 1939, the International German Championships.

As a model called Henkel Hans Moldenhauer. His strength was his backhand and a strong first serve. Frequently he scattered praise in his game. His forehand was, however, rather uncertain and the second impact harmless.

1942 Henkel was convened immediately after the Jubilee Tournament of Bad Pyrmont to the Eastern Front. He suffered a shot in the thigh, to which he succumbed on January 13, 1943 in a military hospital near Voronezh during the Battle of Stalingrad.

To his memory the team Junior Championships of the German Tennis Federation Henner Henkel games are called. Likewise, the Henner Henkel Memorial Tournament will be held in Erfurt since 1963.

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Singles

Doubles

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