college tennis team in Pennsylvania , but years of dedicated practice started to bear fruit after the First World War as he reached the U.S. Open finals of 1918 and 1919 . He reached his peak in the 1920s , winning his first U.S. Open title and holding the world number one spot for seven straight years . Tilden also led the United States to a record seven straight Davis Cup titles as well as claiming three Wimbledon titles . His famed `` cannonball '' services worked particularly well on the fast grass surfaces on which the U.S. Open and Wimbledon were staged . Tilden never won the French Open being losing finalist in the last year it was held on grass courts , in 1927 , and 1930 on clay . He won the last of his 10 grand slam titles at Wimbledon in 1930 before deserting the amateur ranks for the fledging professional circuit Eventually joined by the likes of Ellsworth Vines , Fred Perry and Don Budge , Tilden remained a star attraction until well into his 40s , filling arenas such as Madison Square Garden in big money matches . But off the court , Tilden
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Five-time defending champion Roger Federer is bidding to match the record of a controversial tennis legend who dominated the sport in the 1920s but died in disgrace . Tilden dominated tennis in the 1920s with his own trademark style . American Bill Tilden achieved fame and fortune through his tennis exploits and befriended Hollwyood stars such as Charle Chaplin , but he spent over a year in jail in the 1940s on a morals charge , which ruined his reputation before his untimely death in 1953 . Tilden won his six straight U.S. Open titles from 1920-1925 - a record since the tournament abolished the challenge system - where the champion automatically qualified for the final - in 1911 . Under that system , Richard Sears won the first seven editions of the U.S. Open -LRB- then the U.S. National Tennis Championships -RRB- in the 1880s . Tilden , who claimed his seventh U.S . Open title in 1929 as well as being twice a losing finalist , goes down in the history books as one of the greatest tennis players of all time . A relatively late starter , Tilden struggled to get into his