Olmedo Still Winning After All These Years

He still travels as smoothly across the tennis court as he did when he was in his prime. Back then, when he won the Australian Nationals and Wimbledon in 1959, Alex Olmedo didn’t just run, he sort of flowed.

At 57, it’s not a fast-moving river any more, which Olmedo has no trouble admitting: “I am slow motion.”

But he gets there just the same. Olmedo won his second consecutive USTA 55 age-group national hard court championship Sunday at Lindborg Racquet Club in Huntington Beach. The Encino resident defeated Les Dodson, 56, of Kalamazoo, Mich., 6-0, 6-4, to add to his collection of tennis hardware.

Olmedo’s trophies from winning the Australian and Wimbledon are still in his trophy case, which is where he keeps only part of his memories from his greatest year when he won two of the four Grand Slam events and lost in the final of the U.S. Nationals at Forest Hills, N.Y.

“In my head, I feel young,” Olmedo said. “You know, like it was yesterday. But when you look back and count it numerically, heck, it was a century ago, I guess.”

Olmedo was 23 when he defeated 20-year-old Rod Laver in straight sets to win Wimbledon and forever change his life. Olmedo attended Wimbledon this summer with his longtime friend Pancho Segura and helped get Segura a seat in the Royal Box.

“Look at me, I won it 34 years ago and I get treated like a king,” Olmedo said. “You go to any other tournament I won and you have to get in the line to get a ticket. I tell you, winning Wimbledon was a great feeling, a great honor.”

Olmedo, a two-time NCAA champion at USC, was the head pro at the Beverly Hills Hotel for 27 years, but the hotel has been closed for remodeling for eight months. Olmedo gives private lessons in his back yard.

If they listen, they probably can learn a lot from the man with the still jet-black hair and the swing you could pour over pancakes.

“They don’t even know who I am,” he said and laughed.