Cleveland in June 1951. He defeated Budge in a long semifinal and Pancho Segura in the final in five sets, saving five match points against him in the fifth set before winning. Kovacs was awarded the Benrus Cup, emblematic of the U.S. Pro Championships. A week later he withdrew from the Forest Hills version of the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships (organized by Riggs and Kramer) won by Segura. Kovacs was vice-president of the PTPA, which supported the rival Cleveland event, and Riggs and Kramer did not play at Cleveland that year. In early August 1951, shortly after beginning a tour with George Lyttleton Rogers and Frank Parker, Kovacs and Lyttleton Rogers disappeared and did not play scheduled fixtures, leaving Parker on his own. Kovacs and Lyttleton Rogers were longtime friends, and Rogers was married on September 2 in California. Kovacs was ranked the world No. 1 professional tennis player for 1951 by the PTPA (Professional Tennis Players Association), ahead of Segura, Gonzales, and Kramer, in that order. 1952 In March 1952, at age 32, Kovacs defeated Pancho Gonzales in the Philadelphia Masters indoor on wood, despite losing the first eight games of the match. Kovacs lost all of his remaining matches (including his other match against Gonzales) in this round-robin event where four players played each other twice. This was Gonzales' only loss in the tournament, as he beat Kramer twice, beat Segura twice, and split the two matches with Kovacs. Kovacs was ranked the world No. 3 professional in the PTPA annual rankings for 1952 behind Segura and Gonzales. The USPLTA pro rankings for 1952 and published in Lawn Tennis & Badminton placed Kovacs at No. 3 behind Segura and Gonzales. 1953 An injured Kovacs won the U. S. Pro Clay Court Champioinships in January at Hollywood Beach, Fla. over Riggs in the final in three straight sets. The 1953 win over Riggs marked Kovacs' seventh U.S. national singles title. 1954 Kovacs won the 1954 Florida Pro Championships at Fort Lauderdale on clay, defeating Riggs in the final. "Kovacs' power and accurate placements to the corners, plus a number of service aces, spelled the difference in the deciding set." Kovacs was ranked fifth by the International Professional Tennis Association. 1955 In March, 1955 Kovacs defeated Nick Carter in a pro exhibition match in San Francisco in straight sets. Immediately after this match, Kovacs played in the Cleveland World Pro