Legendary Australian tennis giant Neale Fraser dies aged 91

Australian tennis icon Neale Fraser has died, aged 91.

Fraser won 19 major championships across singles and doubles, including Wimbledon and US Open singles titles.

But it is contribution to Davis Cup as both a player and captain for which he is remembered most fondly.

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“I could never think of anything better than representing your country,” Fraser said regularly.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame member was part of the great Australian team which won four Davis Cups in a row between 1958 and 1962.

He later captained Australia for a record-setting 24 years between 197- and 1993.

Fraser was the world’s No.1 ranked singles player in 1959, the same year that he won the first of his two US Open titles.

Neale Fraser in action during Wimbledon 1961.Neale Fraser in action during Wimbledon 1961.
Neale Fraser in action during Wimbledon 1961. Credit: Central Press/Getty Images

In that same year, he reached the final of the Australian Open and the semi-finals at Roland Garros — his equal best result at each of those two majors.

The legendary left-hander had his career-best year in 1960, when he won Wimbledon, the second of his two titles at Flushing Meadows, and got to the final at his home slam for a third and final time. In all three finals, he faced compatriot Rod Laver.

Fraser won every slam at least twice in men’s doubles during an extraordinary stretch between 1957 and 1962 that saw him lift 11 out of a possible 24 major trophies.

He also won five mixed doubles major titles.

Fraser was the source of inspiration for generations of Australian players, including Pat Cash, who had a lot to do with him.

“He was like a father to me,” Cash said.

“He just knew how to make you feel important and play your best.”

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