Australian tennis is mourning the loss of legendary player and Davis Cup captain Neale Fraser AO, MBE. Fraser, who won 19 grand slam titles, has died aged 91.
For all his grand slam glory, Fraser’s name will forever be associated with the Davis Cup both as a player and in a record-setting run as Australian captain.
A three-time grand slam singles champion, Fraser won tennis’s greatest prize in 1960, defeating the great Rod Laver in a memorable all-Australian Wimbledon men’s final.
He repeated the victory over Laver shortly after to defend the US Open crown he first won in 1959 with success against Peru-born American Alex Olmedo.
Fraser also amassed 16 grand slam doubles titles, completing the career slam in the men’s format, and claiming five mixed trophies.
But after helping Australia claim four successive Davis Cup titles from 1959 to 1962, Melbourne-born Fraser penned perhaps his greatest legacy as captain.
He held the captaincy for a record 24 years from 1970 to 1993, piloting Australia to four finals triumphs – in 1973, 1977, 1983 and 1986 – and recording 55 wins from 75 ties played, all the while sitting courtside in his famous chair and terry towelling hat.
“I could never think of anything better than representing your country,” Fraser often said.
He learned to play on the clay courts next door to his childhood home in Melbourne and developed a game built around a thunderous left-handed serve.
As a cricket fan, Fraser watched how leg-spin bowlers turned the ball in different directions by cocking their wrists and he adapted this ‘googly’ approach to his serve.
Emerging during the golden era of Australian men’s tennis, Fraser was initially unable to break into the Davis Cup team and lost three times in major singles finals, including twice to close friend Ashley Cooper – first at the 1957 Australian championships and at Wimbledon in 1958.
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Then he broke through the following year, also completing the sweep of singles, doubles and mixed titles at the 1959 US Open at Forest Hills before also gaining the world No 1 singles ranking.
Fraser ultimately became one of 20 men to win all four majors in doubles. He was elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1984.
One of his doubles partners, Roy Emerson, described Fraser as “a general” on the court.
Despite lucrative offers to turn professional, Fraser remained an amateur in the hope he would succeed Hopman as Australian Davis Cup captain, which he did.
Hopman once called the competition “the Fraser Cup” as Fraser ushered in several generations of talent including future captains John Newcombe and John Fitzgerald and two-time Cup-winning hero Pat Cash.
“He was like a father to me,” Cash told the Tennis Australia website. “He just knew how to make you feel important and play your best.”
Source: theguardian.com
