Mervyn Rose, an Australian tennis player who won seven Grand Slam tournament titles in the 1950s and later coached champions like Billie Jean King and Margaret Smith Court, died on Sunday in Coffs Harbour, Australia. He was 87.

His death, in a hospital, was confirmed by his nephew Bradlee Rose.

Rose, a left-hander, was somewhat overshadowed in the Australian tennis elite by Ken Rosewall and Lew Hoad — and later by Rod Laver, who is considered the country’s greatest player. But he was a tough, sometimes temperamental player known for strong volleying and what was called his “chip and charge,” in which he would chip, or slice, a return and rush to the net.

In 1954, at the Australian Championships (now the Australian Open), Rose defeated Rosewall in five sets in the semifinals, avenging his loss in straight sets to Rosewall in the finals a year earlier. Rose then needed just 70 minutes to beat Rex Hartwig in the final to win his first Grand Slam singles championship. He and Hartwig also won the tournament’s doubles title.

Afterward, Harry Hopman, Australia’s longtime Davis Cup captain and coach, praised Rose’s victory as a breakthrough.