1933 was a poor year for Vines. One of his most surprising losses was to young Australian player Vivian McGrath in the Australian championships quarter finals. Vines reached the final of Wimbledon in 1933, but lost a classic five set battle to Jack Crawford. It was a "Wimbledon final that produced some of the greatest tennis in the history of the world famous tournament" and "the crowd gave Crawford one of the longest, wildest cheers that ever has echoed through Wimbledon". At the US Championships, Vines lost in the fourth round to Bryan Grant.