BRICKA, JUSTINA
United States
Born 14 February 1943
Married Richard "Dick" Horwitz in May 1966-later divorced.
Active 1958-1966
Lefthanded. A player in the serve and volley mold-she was best at doubles.
St. Louis natives Justina Bricka and Carol Hanks made a name for themselves as teenagers in 1958 and 1959 winning the doubles at the Blue and Gray Championships in Montgomery, AL. At the US Nationals in 1959, Bricka saved 3 matchpoints in a first round win over Billie Jean Moffitt and advanced to the 3rd round as a 16 year old.
Bricka vexed King in their debut at the 1959 U.S. championships at Forest Hills, the event known today as the U.S. Open. King was 15, Bricka 16. King won the first set 6-4 and held a 5-4 lead in the second set. Bricka served at 30-40."I have match point. I'm about to win, then the chalk flies," King said recently, agitated at the memory. "She hit the line. I was ticked off."
Bricka laughed at the notion that King remained wound up about a call from 52 years ago.
"I hit a big topspin serve that I'd never tried and she'd never seen before," Bricka said. "She argued, but it was a good call. I don't care what she says."
Bricka fought back, took the set 7-5 and won the third 6-4.
"At the time, it seemed like a nanosecond and the match was over," King said. "Actually, it was a whole set, but it didn't feel like it then. I think it's funny now. Well, no, it's never funny when you lose." King never lost to Bricka again in singles, though they split 4-4 in doubles matches. Bricka counts as one of her career highlights,
Bricka/Hanks won tournaments in Atlanta, Chattanooga and Cincinnati and advanced to the finals of the US Clay Court Championships where they lost to Darlene Hard and Moffitt. Also at the USCC, Bricka stunned reigning US and French champion Hard in the first round.
At the 1961 Wimbledon, she played the eventual champion Angela Mortimer a close 6-4, 9-7 fourth round match and advanced to the mixed doubles quarterfinals with Frank Froehling. The same summer, she advanced to the finals in Merion where she lost to Moffitt and was named to the Wightman Cup team and stunned Mortimer in a US win. The win caught the attention of Time magazine.
Time noted that her victory caused the British press "to fume in disbelieving rage. ... Lefthander Bricka ran Angela Mortimer so hard that the British player suffered leg cramps and had to withdraw from the final doubles match."
In 1962, Justina benefitted from Margaret Smith's feud with the Australian tennis authorities. When Smith was not allowed to play doubles with a countrywoman, she teamed with Justina Bricka. The pair won seven tournaments, defeating Moffitt/Susman 3 times and Bueno/Hard twice. She had several quarterfinal and semifinal finishes in singles and was seeded #11 at the French where she lost to #6 Renee Schuurman. She won back to back small tournaments in the US in 1963 and also reached the quarterfinals of the US National Doubles at Longwood with Victoria Palmer. In 1964, she won five doubles tournaments and reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals and the US National semifinals with Carol Hanks. She and Mary Ann Eisel defeated Bueno & Vera Sukova to win the Irish Open doubles that year also.
1964 and 1965 also saw some success in singles. Bricka won the Middle States Grass and Philadelphia Grass tournaments in 1964, defeating Carole Graebner 6-4, 18-16 in the Philly final. In 1965, Bricka won the Phoenix Thunderbird tournament (defeating Richey en route) and had her career best Wimbledon result, with a quarterfinal loss to Smith. She and Eisel won at the Eastern Grass tournament in July, 1965 and she reached the round of 16 at the US Nationals where she again fell to Smith. After marriage, she reached the finals of the 1966 Tulsa Invitational where she and Carol Hanks Aucamp fell to Casals & King 8-6 in the third.
Bricka married local teaching pro Dick Horwitz and had two sons, Lou, 42 and Joe, 40, before the couple divorced. She became the '60s version of a tennis pro, teaching at the Triple A Club in Forest Park and Frontenac Racquet Club, then was a referee on King's WTA tour stops in the early '80s. A hip replacement and osteoarthritis prevent her from playing competitively and frequently.
Source:
Three Aces For Tennis (St Louis Times dispatch article):
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/othe...s/other/three-aces-for-tennis/article_acd07a75-cff4-519e-93f7-f36979bf7b99.html
Caption: Feb. 9, 1966 --- From left, Carol Hanks Aucamp, Justina Bricka, and Mary Ann Eisel.
[Thanks to Preacherfan for help with this biography]
