Mr Ken Fletcher
Published Sun 01 Jan 2017
| SPORT | Tennis |
| YEAR INDUCTED | 2009 - Athlete Member |
The only man in tennis history to win a calendar year Grand Slam in mixed doubles, partnering Margaret Court to the 1963 Australian, Wimbledon, French and US Open titles.
In the same year he was runner-up to Roy Emerson in the Australian Open singles final, and three times he reached the Wimbledon singles quarter-finals. He played in a total of 19 Grand Slam doubles and mixed doubles finals for 12 titles and also paired with the incomparable Court to win the mixed doubles at the Australian Open in 1964, the French Open in 1964-65 and Wimbledon in 1965-66-68.
He won the French Open men’s doubles crown with Emerson in 1964, when they won 11 of the 13 tournaments they played, the Wimbledon doubles with John Newcombe in 1966, and shared Australia’s 1962 Davis Cup win with Emerson, Rod Laver and Neale Fraser.
Ken was something of a larrikin, but through the 1960s he beat all the world’s best players in singles except Laver, and according to Australian Davis Cup coach Harry Hopman had the world’s best forehand.
