In his senior year at Central High School he won the state interscholastic singles championship.

[3] He twice reached the singles fourth round at the U.S national championships, including in 1940 when he had a win over Gardnar Mulloy en route.

Internationally, Surface's title wins included the All-India Championships and he had a fourth round appearance at Roland Garros.

[4] Surface won the Jamaican International Championships on clay in Kingston, Jamaica in 1939 defeating Charles Hare, the 1937 world No.

That same year, Surface won the Maryland State Championships defeating in turn Bill Talbert, Jack Kramer, Wayne Sabin, and Eddie Alloo in the last four rounds.