This week: a great of tennis, a rising star of rap and an actor known for The Cosby Show

THE sportsman Pancho Segura, who has died aged 96, rose from poverty to become one of the world's greatest tennis players of the 1950s.

Segura was noted for his unique two-handed forehand and brilliant court strategy.

He went from championship amateur to barnstorming professional and then honoured coach, whose students included Jimmy Connors.

Born in Ecuador, he suffered from childhood rickets that bowed his legs. Too weak to play football, he took to tennis instead.

In the 1940s and 1950s, he won three NCAA singles titles in a row, repeatedly reached the US National finals and won US Pro singles and doubles titles six times.

He died on Saturday from complications of Parkinson's disease at his home in the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Southern California in the US, his son Spencer said.

MUSICIAN Lil Peep, who has died of a suspected drug overdose aged 21, was a US rapper whose emotional, downtrodden lyrics gained a cult following online.

The musician, whose real name was Gustav Ahr, was found dead on his tour bus ahead of a concert in Tucson, Arizona.

The Pima County medical examiner's office, which completed a post-mortem examination, said a drug overdose was the likely cause but that toxicology test results would take six to eight weeks.

Sarah Stennett, who runs First Access Entertainment, a company that previously worked with Mr Ahr, said she was shocked and heartbroken.

"He was highly intelligent, hugely creative, massively charismatic, gentle and charming," she said. "He had huge ambition and his career was flourishing."

A Long Island native who later relocated to Los Angeles, Mr Ahr built his career on homemade mixtapes released on the audio sharing platform SoundCloud.

Millions of online listens led to the August release of his first full-length album, Come Over When You're Sober, Part 1.

In a 2016 interview, he described his confessional music as a new version of emo, the rock genre that was occupied by bands such as Good Charlotte and My Chemical Romance in the 2000s.

With tattoos covering his body and parts of his face and a shock of blond hair, the rapper's striking appearance caught the fashion world's attention.

He made runway appearances for several labels in Europe and his ambitions in that realm rivalled his dreams for his rap career.

"I think the fashion world really needs me right now," he told GQ in August.

In her statement, Ms Stennett passed on comments from Mr Ahr's mother.

"She asked me to convey that she is very, very proud of him and everything he was able to achieve in his short life," she said.

"She is truly grateful to the fans and the people who have supported and loved him."

ACTOR Earle Hyman, who has died aged 91, was a veteran star of stage and screen who was widely known for playing Russell Huxtable on The Cosby Show.

A North Carolina native, Hyman made his Broadway debut as a teenager in 1943. He would go on to become a member of the American Shakespeare Theatre. In 1980 he received a Tony nomination for The Lady From Dubuque.

Hyman is best known, however, for The Cosby Show, where he played the father to Bill Cosby's Cliff Huxtable, even though he was only 11 years his senior. He earned a guest performer Emmy nomination for the role in 1986.

Jordan Strohl, a representative for The Actors Fund, said that Hyman died at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey.