General Georg Theodor Woldemar
Demasius
Male
Germany
1898-07-27
Riga, Russia
1969-00-00
Johannesburg, South Africa


About

Georg Demasius was born into an ancient German family as a subject of the Russian Tsar. As an adolescent he witnessed the bitter years of the Great War, which resulted in the capture of Riga by the German Army in September 1917 and the independence of Latvia in November 1918. In early 1919, Demasius joined the Volunteer Territorial Army, which defended the Baltic States against the Soviet Red Army. After the death of his father in the same year he emigrated to Berlin as part of a German resettlement program.

In 1920, Demasius made his debut on the German tennis scene, representing the clubs TC Borussia Berlin and later the Berliner Schlittschuh-Club. He developed into one of the best players and featured in the German singles rankings from 1922-1927 (1922:11, 1923:7, 1924:6, 1925:9, 1926:9, 1927:4).

George Demasius notably won the men’s doubles (with Anton Tomlin) at the German Covered Court Championships in 1924; the German Club Championships (with the Berliner Schlittschuh-Club), also in 1924; and the mixed doubles title at the German Covered Court Championships in 1925 and 1927. His name can also be found on the list of the singles champions at the Bavarian Championships, held in Munich (in 1926 and 1927), and the Württemberg Championships, in Stuttgart (in 1926). He also won the singles title at the Prussian Championships and Saxony Championships.

In May 1927, Demasius was chosen to represent Germany against Portugal in Germany’s first Davis Cup match after World War One. Demasius won the first singles and the doubles match (with Hans Moldenhauer). However, this proved to be his only Davis Cup nomination. The German Tennis Handbook of 1927 describes Georg Demasius as a vigorous player with a hard service, a powerful forehand and a successful net game, who sometimes lacked the stamina to win the deciding set. Because of this he was generally rated as a better doubles player than singles player.

In 1928/1929, Demasius became the first of only four German Davis Cup players to join the ranks of the professional tennis coaches during the amateur era (the other three were Rupert Huber in 1958, Wolfgang Stuck in 1966 and Peter Scholl in 1967). In the following years Demasius worked for the Rot-Weiss Club in Cologne and the Rochus Club in Düsseldorf. During these years, his most important pupil was Hilde Sperling (née Krahwinkel), who won the women’s singles title at the French Championships from 1935-37.

In May 1931, Georg Demausius was allowed to coach the South African Davis Cup Team, which played and won its first-round match against a rather weak German team in Düsseldorf. Apparently, the South African officials and players were so impressed by his abilities that he was offered a coaching job. In the same year Demasius emigrated to South Africa and stayed there for the rest of his life, continuing to coach the South African Davis Cup team. His most successful pupil in South Africa was Eric Sturgess.

From 1931 to 1969, Demasius was also a regular contributor to the German tennis magazines Tennis und Golf, Der Tennis-Sport and Deutsche Tennis Zeitung, submitting reports about the South African tennis scene.

Georg Demasius died of a heart attack while playing tennis.



Media


Archive statistics 1920 - 1931
29
229
161


Tournament wins 1929 - West German Professional Championships (Professional)
1927 - Prussian Championships (Amateur)
1927 - St. Moritz Suvretta (Amateur)
1927 - Davos (Open)
1927 - Villa d'Este (Amateur)
1927 - Stresa Campionato del Verbano (Amateur)
1927 - Championships of Dresden (Amateur)
1927 - Bavarian International Championships (ATP World Tour 250 series)
1927 - Homburg Cup (Amateur)
1926 - South German Covered Court Championships (Amateur)
1926 - Engadine Championships (Amateur)
1926 - Bad Reichenhall (Amateur)
1926 - Augsburg International (Amateur)
1926 - Bavarian International Championships (ATP World Tour 250 series)
1926 - Championships of Stuttgart (ATP World Tour 250 series)
1926 - Championships of Saxony (Amateur)
1925 - Vevey International (Open)
1925 - Düsseldorf Tennis Games (Tennis-Wettspiele) (Amateur)
1924 - Düsseldorf International ()
1924 - Championships of Braunschweig (Amateur)
1924 - Berlin Closed Championships (Amateur)
1924 - Bad Nauheim (Amateur)
1924 - Mönchengladbach (Amateur)
1924 - Barmen (Amateur)
1923 - Czechoslovakian International Championships (Open)
1923 - Championships of Dresden (Amateur)
1923 - Sopot (Amateur)
1922 - Travemünde International (Amateur)
1921 - Köln International (Amateur)


Tournaments Bristol Cup - 1931 German Professional Championships - 1929 Bristol Cup - 1929 German International Covered Court Championships - 1927 Prussian Championships - 1927 Championships of Berlin - 1927 Homburg Cup - 1927 Swiss International Covered Courts - 1927 Bavarian International Championships - 1927 Villa d'Este - 1927 Davos - 1927 Championships of Dresden - 1927 St. Moritz Suvretta - 1927 Stresa Campionato dei Laghi - 1927 Stresa Campionato del Verbano - 1927 German International Covered Court Championships - 1926 Championships of Berlin - 1926 Montreux Palace - 1926 Hungarian International Championships - 1926 Bavarian International Championships - 1926 Düsseldorf International - 1926 Championships of Stuttgart - 1926 Championships of Dresden - 1926 Championships of Saxony - 1926 Gelb-Weiss T.C. International Championships - 1926 Bad Reichenhall - 1926 Lac Léman Championships (Grand Hôtel) - 1926 Engadine Championships - 1926 South German Covered Court Championships - 1926 Berliner Schlittschuh-Club - 1926 Hindenburg and Black Forest Cup - 1926 German International Covered Court Championships - 1925 German International Championships - 1925 Championships of Berlin - 1925 French Switzerland Championships - 1925 Championships of Merano - 1925 Homburg Cup - 1925 Stockholm Covered Court Championships - 1925 German National Championships - 1925 Swiss International Covered Courts - 1925 Düsseldorf International - 1925 Köln International - 1925 Oslo International - 1925 Gelb-Weiss T.C. International Championships - 1925 Championships of Heringsdorf - 1925 Borussia Tournament - 1925 Berliner Schlittschuh-Club - 1925 Duisburg - 1925 Düsseldorf Tennis Games (Tennis-Wettspiele) - 1925 Göteborg Covered Courts - 1925 Merano Open - 1925 Vevey International - 1925 B93 Covered Court Championships,Copenhagen - 1925 German International Championships - 1924 Prussian Championships - 1924 Championships of Berlin - 1924 Championships of Merano - 1924 Homburg Cup - 1924 Championships of Hamburg - 1924 Danish Covered Courts - 1924 Düsseldorf International - 1924 Köln International - 1924 Blau-Weiss Club - 1924 Gelb-Weiss T.C. International Championships - 1924 West German Championships - 1924 Bad Nauheim - 1924 Barcelona Fall - Real Turo - 1924 Berlin Closed Championships - 1924 Berliner Schlittschuh-Club - 1924 Hindenburg and Black Forest Cup - 1924 Championships of Magdeburg - 1924 Merano Open - 1924 Mönchengladbach - 1924 Barmen - 1924 Rhine Cup - 1924 Berlin Autumn Tournament - 1924 Helsingfors Covered Court Championships - 1924 German International Covered Court Championships - 1923 German International Championships - 1923 Championships of Dresden - 1923 Sopot - 1923 Berliner Schlittschuh-Club - 1923 German International Covered Court Championships - 1922 Czechoslovakian International Championships - 1922 German National Championships - 1922 Travemünde International - 1922 Championships of Frankfurt am Main - 1922 Championships of Breslau - 1922 Borussia Tournament - 1922 Wiesbaden Cup - 1921 Köln International - 1921 Bad Kissingen - 1921 German International Championships - 1920

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