John Basil Fitzgerald OAM

Order of Australia

The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...

(born 28 December 1960, in Cummins, South Australia

Cummins, South Australia

Cummins is a town on Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, 67 km north of Port Lincoln and 68 m above sea level. At the 2006 census, the town had a population of 705....

, Australia) is a former professional tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 player from Australia who played right-handed with a single-handed backhand.

Playing career

During his career, he won 6 top-level singles titles and 30 tour doubles titles, including 7 Grand Slam

Grand Slam (tennis)

The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...

 doubles titles, and a career men's doubles Grand Slam (winning all four titles-the Australian Open

Australian Open

The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...

, French Open, Wimbledon

The Championships, Wimbledon

The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...

 and the U.S. Open

U.S. Open (tennis)

The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...

). He reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking in 1991. His career-high singles ranking was World Number 25 in 1988. He was a member of the Australian team which won the Davis Cup

Davis Cup

The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...

 in 1986.

Post-playing career

Fitzgerald was formerly the captain of the Australian Davis Cup Team from 2001 to 2010 before Patrick Rafter

Patrick Rafter

Patrick "Pat" Michael Rafter is an Australian former World No. 1 tennis player. He twice won the men's singles title at the US Open and was twice the runner-up at Wimbledon. Rafter was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006. He was known for his natural serve-and-volley style of...

 took over after Australia's World group playoff loss to Belgium.

External links