Neale Fraser
Encyclopedia
Neale Andrew Fraser AO
MBE
(born 3 October 1933) is a former tennis player from Australia, born in Melbourne, Victoria, the son of a Victorian judge. He began playing tennis at age 11 and attended St Kevin's College, Melbourne (Class of 1950) where he became Captain of Tennis at the school.
Fraser won Wimbledon in 1960 and the US title in 1959 and 1960. Team play – doubles and Davis Cup – proved nearest to his 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 Wimbledon (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 in 1956 with Beryl Penrose, Wimbledon in 1962, and the US from 1958 to 1960 with Margaret Osborne duPont
. He holds the distinction of having won the US 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 in a single year, let alone successively.
Fraser was ranked World number one amateur in 1959 and 1960 and was in the top ten every year between 1956 and 1962. He retired from competitive tennis in 1963.
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 twenty 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.
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"...
MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 3 October 1933) is a former tennis player from Australia, born in Melbourne, Victoria, the son of a Victorian judge. He began playing tennis at age 11 and attended St Kevin's College, Melbourne (Class of 1950) where he became Captain of Tennis at the school.
Fraser won Wimbledon in 1960 and the US title in 1959 and 1960. Team play – doubles and Davis Cup – proved nearest to his 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 Wimbledon (1959, and 1961) with three different partners, Ashley Cooper, Lew Hoad
Lew Hoad
Lewis Alan Hoad was a champion tennis player....
, and Roy Emerson
Roy Emerson
Roy Stanley Emerson is an Australian former tennis player who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles. He is the only male player to have won singles and doubles titles at all four Grand Slam tournaments. His 28 Grand Slam titles are an all-time record for a male...
.
Fraser was also successful in the mixed doubles, winning the Australian in 1956 with Beryl Penrose, Wimbledon in 1962, and the US from 1958 to 1960 with Margaret Osborne duPont
Margaret Osborne duPont
Margaret Evelyn Osborne duPont is a former World No. 1 American female tennis player.DuPont won a total of 37 singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles Grand Slam titles, which places her fourth on the all-time list despite never entering the Australian Championships. She won 25 of her Grand...
. He holds the distinction of having won the US 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 in a single year, let alone successively.
Fraser was ranked World number one amateur in 1959 and 1960 and was in the top ten every year between 1956 and 1962. He retired from competitive tennis in 1963.
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 twenty men to win all four majors in doubles and in 1984 he was elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame
International Tennis Hall of Fame
The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. The hall of fame and honors players and contributors to the sport of tennis and includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indoor tennis facility, and a court tennis facility.-History:The hall of fame and...
.
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.
Grand Slam record
- Australian ChampionshipsAustralian OpenThe 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...
- Singles finalist: 1957, 1959, 1960
- Men's Doubles champion: 1957 (w/ Lew HoadLew HoadLewis Alan Hoad was a champion tennis player....
), 1958 (w/ Ashley CooperAshley CooperAshley John Cooper AO is a former tennis player from Australia, who was World No. 1 in the late 1950s....
), 1962 (w/ Roy EmersonRoy EmersonRoy Stanley Emerson is an Australian former tennis player who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 16 Grand Slam men's doubles titles. He is the only male player to have won singles and doubles titles at all four Grand Slam tournaments. His 28 Grand Slam titles are an all-time record for a male...
) - Men's Doubles finalist: 1954 (w/ Clive Wilderspin), 1960 (w/ Roy Emerson)
- Mixed Doubles champion: 1956 (w/ Beryl Penrose)
- French championships
- Men's Doubles champion: 1958 (w/ Ashley Cooper), 1960 and 1962 (w/ Roy Emerson)
- Men's Doubles finalist: 1959 (w/ Roy Emerson)
- WimbledonThe Championships, WimbledonThe 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...
- Singles champion: 1960
- Singles finalist: 1958
- Men's Doubles champion: 1959 and 1961 (w/ Roy Emerson)
- Men's Doubles finalist: 1955, 1957, 1958, 1973 (w/ John CooperJohn Cooper (tennis)John Cooper is a former Australian male tennis player who played on the ATP tour in the 1970s. He achieved a career-high ranking of #66 in September 1973...
) - Mixed Doubles champion: 1962 (w/ Margaret Osborne duPontMargaret Osborne duPontMargaret Evelyn Osborne duPont is a former World No. 1 American female tennis player.DuPont won a total of 37 singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles Grand Slam titles, which places her fourth on the all-time list despite never entering the Australian Championships. She won 25 of her Grand...
) - Mixed Doubles finalist: 1957 (w/Althea Gibson), 1959 (w/ Maria BuenoMaria BuenoMaria Esther Andion Bueno is a former professional tennis player from Brazil. During her 11-year career , she won 19 Major titles ....
)
- U.S. ChampionshipsU.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...
- Singles champion: 1959, 1960
- Men's Doubles champion: 1957 (w/ Ashley Cooper), 1959 and 1960 (w/ Roy Emerson)
- Mixed Doubles champion: 1958, 1959, 1960 (w/ Margaret Osborne duPont)