Neale Fraser

Neale Fraser
AO, MBE
Neale Fraser at the 1972 Dutch Open
Full nameNeale Andrew Fraser
Country (sports) Australia
ResidenceAustralia
Born (1933-10-03) 3 October 1933 (age 91)
Melbourne, Victoria
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Retired1977
PlaysLeft-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF1984 (member page)
Singles
Career record697–227 (75.2%)[1]
Career titles37[1]
Highest rankingNo. 1 (1959, Lance Tingay)[2]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenF (1957, 1959, 1960)
French OpenSF (1959, 1962)
WimbledonW (1960)
US OpenW (1959, 1960)
Doubles
Career record20–16
Highest rankingNo. 1 (1959)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (1957, 1958, 1962)
French OpenW (1958, 1960, 1962)
WimbledonW (1959, 1961)
US OpenW (1957, 1959, 1960)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian OpenW (1956)
WimbledonW (1962)
US OpenW (1958, 1959, 1960)
Team competitions
Davis CupW (1959, 1960, 1961, 1962)

Neale Andrew Fraser AO MBE (born 3 October 1933) is a former number one amateur male tennis-player from Australia, born in Melbourne, Victoria, the son of a Victorian judge. Fraser is the last man to have completed the triple crown, i.e. having won the singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles at a Grand Slam tournament, which he managed on two consecutive occasions, in 1959 and 1960 (both times at US National, now known as US Open); no male player has equalled this feat at any Grand Slam tournament since.

After his playing days were over, he was non-playing captain of Australia's Davis Cup team for a record 24 years.[3]

Biography

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He was the son of barrister and politician Archibald Fraser.[4]

Fraser was taught by coach Bryan Slattery, and later won the Wimbledon singles in 1960 and the US Championships singles in 1959 and 1960. Fraser failed to win the Australian Championships, finishing as runner-up on three occasions (1957, 1959 and 1960) and held a championship point in the 1960 final. Team play – doubles and Davis Cup – proved nearest to Fraser's heart. In doubles, Fraser took three Australian (1957, 1958, and 1962), French (1958, 1960, and 1962) and US (1957, 1959, and 1960) titles, and two Wimbledons (1959, and 1961) with three different partners: Ashley Cooper, Lew Hoad, and Roy Emerson.

Fraser was also successful in the mixed doubles, winning the Australian Championships in 1956 with Beryl Penrose, Wimbledon in 1962, and the U.S. Championships from 1958 to 1960 with Margaret Osborne duPont. He holds the distinction of having won the U.S. National (now Open) singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles in 1959 and then successfully defending those titles a year later. Since that time, no one has equalled that feat at a grand slam tournament, let alone successively.

Fraser was ranked the World No. 1 amateur in 1959 and 1960 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph, and was in the top 10 every year between 1956 and 1962.[2]

Fraser became Davis Cup Captain for the Australian team in 1970, holding the position for a record 24 years and piloting Australia to four wins in 1973, 1977, 1983 and 1986, and recording 55 wins from 75 ties played.

Fraser is one of the 20 men to win all four majors in doubles, and in 1984, he was elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Fraser was honoured with an MBE in 1974 and an AO in 1988. He was chairman of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame from 1997 until 2005. In 2008, he received the International Tennis Federation's highest honour: the Phillippe Chartier Award for outstanding achievements in tennis.

Fraser was also the centenary ambassador for Davis Cup, and was the first recipient of the ITF and International Hall of Fame's Davis Cup Award of Excellence.

Neale Fraser is married with children and grandchildren. He was voted Victorian Father of the Year in 1974.[5]

Grand Slam finals

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Singles: 7 (3 wins, 4 losses)

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Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1957 Australian Championships Grass Australia Ashley Cooper 3–6, 11–9, 4–6, 2–6
Loss 1958 Wimbledon Championships Grass Australia Ashley Cooper 6–3, 3–6, 4–6, 11–13
Loss 1959 Australian Championships Grass United States Alex Olmedo 1–6, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win 1959 US Championships Grass United States Alex Olmedo 6–3, 5–7, 6–2, 6–4
Loss 1960 Australian Championships Grass Australia Rod Laver 7–5, 6–3, 3–6, 6–8, 6–8
Win 1960 Wimbledon Championships Grass Australia Rod Laver 6–4, 3–6, 9–7, 7–5
Win 1960 US Championships Grass Australia Rod Laver 6–4, 6–4, 10–8

Doubles: 18 (11 wins, 7 losses)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1954 Australian Championships Grass Australia Clive Wilderspin Australia Rex Hartwig
Australia Mervyn Rose		 3–6, 4–6, 2–6
Loss 1954 Wimbledon Grass Australia Ken Rosewall Australia Rex Hartwig
Australia Lew Hoad		 5–7, 4–6, 3–6
Win 1957 Australian Championships Grass Australia Lew Hoad Australia Mal Anderson
Australia Ashley Cooper		 6–3, 8–6, 6–4
Loss 1957 Wimbledon Grass Australia Lew Hoad United States Budge Patty
United States Gardnar Mulloy		 10–8, 4–6, 4–6, 4–6
Win 1957 U.S. Championships Grass Australia Ashley Cooper United States Gardnar Mulloy
United States Budge Patty		 4–6, 6–3, 9–7, 6–3
Win 1958 Australian Championships Grass Australia Ashley Cooper Australia Roy Emerson
Australia Bob Mark		 7–5, 6–8, 3–6, 6–3, 7–5
Loss 1958 Wimbledon Grass Australia Ashley Cooper Sweden Sven Davidson
Sweden Ulf Schmidt		 4–6, 4–6, 6–8
Win 1958 French Championships Clay Australia Ashley Cooper Australia Robert Howe
South Africa Abe Segal		 3–6, 8–6, 6–3, 7–5
Loss 1959 French Championships Clay Australia Roy Emerson Italy Nicola Pietrangeli
Italy Orlando Sirola		 3–6, 2–6, 12–14
Win 1959 Wimbledon Grass Australia Roy Emerson Australia Rod Laver
Australia Bob Mark		 8–6, 6–3, 14–16, 9–7
Win 1959 U.S. Championships Grass Australia Roy Emerson United States Earl Buchholz
United States Alex Olmedo		 3–6, 6–3, 5–7, 6–4, 7–5
Loss 1960 Australian Championships Grass Australia Roy Emerson Australia Rod Laver
Australia Bob Mark		 6–1, 2–6, 4–6, 4–6
Win 1960 French Championships Clay Australia Roy Emerson Spain Jose-Luis Arilla
Spain Andrés Gimeno		 6–2, 8–10, 7–5, 6–4
Win 1960 U.S. Championships Grass Australia Roy Emerson Australia Rod Laver
Australia Bob Mark		 9–7, 6–2, 6–4
Win 1961 Wimbledon Grass Australia Roy Emerson Australia Bob Hewitt
Australia Fred Stolle		 6–4, 6–8, 6–4, 6–8, 8–6
Win 1962 Australian Championships Grass Australia Roy Emerson Australia Bob Hewitt
Australia Fred Stolle		 4–6, 4–6, 6–1, 6–4, 11–9
Win 1962 French Championships Clay Australia Roy Emerson West Germany Wilhelm Bungert
West Germany Christian Kuhnke		 6–3, 6–4, 7–5
Loss 1973 Wimbledon Grass Australia John Cooper United States Jimmy Connors
Romania Ilie Năstase		 6–3, 3–6, 4–6, 9–8, 1–6

Mixed doubles: 7 (5 titles, 2 runner-ups)

[edit]
Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1956 Australian Championships Grass Australia Beryl Penrose Australia Mary Bevis Hawton
Australia Roy Emerson		 6–2, 6–4
Loss 1957 Wimbledon Grass United States Althea Gibson United States Darlene Hard
Australia Mervyn Rose		 4–6, 5–7
Win 1958 U.S. Championships Grass United States Margaret Osborne Brazil Maria Bueno
United States Alex Olmedo		 6–3, 3–6, 9–7
Loss 1959 Wimbledon Grass Brazil Maria Bueno United States Darlene Hard
Australia Rod Laver		 4–6, 3–6
Win 1959 U.S. Championships Grass United States Margaret Osborne United States Janet Hopps
Australia Bob Mark		 7–5, 13–15, 6–2
Win 1960 U.S. Championships Grass United States Margaret Osborne Brazil Maria Bueno
Mexico Antonio Palafox		 6–3, 6–2
Win 1962 Wimbledon Grass United States Margaret Osborne United Kingdom Ann Haydon-Jones
United States Dennis Ralston		 2–6, 6–3, 13–11

Grand Slam performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

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Tournament 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 SR W–L Win %
Australian 3R 2R 2R 3R SF F SF F F A SF A A A A A 3R A A A 3R 1R 1R 1R 0 / 15 29–15 65.9
French A A 3R A A QF QF SF QF A SF A A 2R A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 7 20–7 74.1
Wimbledon A A 2R 1R QF SF F QF W 4R SF A A 3R A A A A A A 1R 1R 2R 1R 1 / 14 38–13 74.5
U.S. A A 4R 4R SF 3R SF W W A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A 2 / 7 32–5 86.5
Win–loss 1–1 1–1 7–4 4–3 12–3 14–4 17–4 18–3 21–2 3–1 13–3 3–2 2–1 2–2 0–2 1–2 0–2 3 / 43 119–40 74.8

References

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  1. ^ a b Garcia, Gabriel. "Neale Fraser: Career match record". thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SL. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  2. ^ a b United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 427.
  3. ^ "Neale Fraser: A Davis Cup devotee like no other". WLM Tennis. 25 November 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Archibald McDonald Fraser". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Past winners". Father’s Day Council of Victoria.
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