Wimbledon quarterfinals in singles. From 1930 to 1939, he played for the Czech Republic Davis Cup team, achieving a record of 18–19, and was its captain. In 1936, Hecht moved to Budapest, and then sought livelihood in Australia. Hecht was invited to play for the German Davis Cup Team in 1938 after Germany acquired part of Czechoslovakia by an aide to Adolph Hitler who was unaware that he was Jewish, but he declined. United States He fled to the United States three days before the Nazi Germany invaded the Czech Lands in 1939, and became an American citizen. He worked in a munitions factory in New Jersey during World War II. After the war, Hecht continued his tennis career, becoming a no. 1 ranked player in the eastern United States. In May 1941, he was the runner-up at the Brooklyn Tennis Tournament, losing to Pancho Segura. At the end of 1942 he was ranked # 10 of all men players in the United States. In 1947, he won the Brooklyn Tennis Tournament at 38 years of age by beating Peruvian Enrique Buse in the final in straight sets. Hecht added the Eastern Clay Court Championships to his accolades the same year by defeating American Dick Savitt in the final in Jackson Heights, Queens. In 1957, the USTA ranked him second in the country in senior singles, behind Bryan Grant. Honors Hecht was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2007 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Slovak Tennis. Later life Hecht started toy and paintbrush businesses, and later in life lived in Queens, New York. Later in life was honored by the city of Bratislava, having a multisport stadium named after him in 1966. He had two children, Timothy and Andrew, both of whom settled in Aspen, Colorado. See also List of select Jewish tennis players References Works cited Online media Books Periodicals External links 1909 births 2004 deaths American male tennis players American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States Czechoslovak Jews Czechoslovak male tennis players Hungarian Jews Jewish American sportspeople Jewish tennis players Sportspeople from Queens, New York Sportspeople from Žilina Jews who emigrated to escape Nazism Tennis people from New York (state) Maccabiah Games gold medalists Maccabiah Games medalists in tennis Maccabiah Games competitors by country Competitors at the 1932 Maccabiah Games International Jewish Sports Hall