Sao Paulo June 9 (IANS) Brazilian tennis legend Maria Bueno who dominated the women s game in the late 1950s and for much of the 1960s has died at the age of 78 after a battle with mouth cancer.
Bueno passed away at the 9 de Julho hospital here where she had been admitted several days earlier doctors and family members said on Friday reports Xinhua news agency.
The winner of 19 Grand Slam titles -- seven in singles 11 in doubles and one in mixed doubles -- Bueno was nicknamed the tennis ballerina for her elegant playing style.
In 1960 she became the first female player to win a calendar year Grand Slam in doubles when she claimed the Australian Open French Open Wimbledon and US Open titles -- each with different partners.
But she rated the 1959 Wimbledon singles title as her greatest career achievement.
"I came from Brazil where there were only clay courts and we didn t have any opportunities to practice on grass " she said in an interview with the WTA.
"So to win for the first time on grass was a big surprise."
In 1978 Bueno became the first South American to be inducted into the tennis Hall of Fame. She has since been joined by Argentina s Gabriela Sabatini and compatriot Gustavo Kuerten.

--IANS ajb/