Ken Fletcher

Ken Fletcher
	Ken Fletcher at tournament in Santpoort, Netherlands (1965)
Full name	Kenneth Norman Fletcher
Country (sports)	Australia
Born	15 June 1940; Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Died	11 February 2006 (aged 65); Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Turned pro	1968 (amateur from 1958)
Retired	1973
Plays	Right-handed (1-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record	55–31
Highest ranking	No. 10 (1966, Lance Tingay)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	F (1963)
French Open	QF (1963, 1966)
Wimbledon	QF (1962, 1966, 1967)
US Open	3R (1963)
Doubles
Career record	6–5
Highest ranking	No. 1 (1964)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	F (1963, 1964)
French Open	W (1964)
Wimbledon	W (1966)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open	W (1963, 1964)
French Open	W (1963, 1964, 1965)
Wimbledon	W (1963, 1965, 1966, 1968)
US Open	W (1963)
	Last updated on: 14 September 2012.

Kenneth Norman Fletcher (15 June 1940 – 11 February 2006) was an Australian tennis player who won numerous doubles and mixed doubles Grand Slam titles.

Biography

He was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia to parents Norm and Ethel Fletcher. He was educated at St Laurence's College and showed early promise as a championship tennis player there. His greatest success as a tennis player came in 1963, when he became the only man to win a calendar year Grand Slam in mixed doubles, partnering fellow Australian Margaret Court.[2] He reached the final of the Australian Open in 1963, losing to Roy Emerson.[3]

After this achievement, he went on to record mixed doubles championships in the Australian Open in 1964, French Open in 1964 and 1965, and Wimbledon in 1965, 1966, and 1968. All of his mixed doubles Grand Slam titles were in partnership with Smith Court.

He also achieved a Grand Slam title in men's doubles in the 1964 French Open, playing with Roy Emerson. At the Wimbledon men's doubles championship, he was a finalist with Robert Hewitt in 1965, the champion in 1966 partnering John Newcombe, and a finalist again in 1967 with Roy Emerson. In total Fletcher won 27 international tennis titles. He was ranked World No. 10 in 1966 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph.[1]

Ken was a larrikin by nature, and many of his exploits feature in Hugh Lunn's books, especially Over the Top with Jim and Head Over Heels. In later years he was instrumental in gaining significant funding for medical research in Australia, through his association with Chuck Feeney. In 2008 Hugh Lunn published a book on Ken's remarkable life around the globe, The Great Fletch with ABC Books.[4][5]

Fletcher died of cancer at the age of 65 and was buried at the Mount Gravatt Lawn Cemetery, Brisbane.

In January 2012 Ken Fletcher was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame.[6]

Ken Fletcher Memorial, Tennyson

In 2013 the Ken Fletcher memorial was erected in the park, outside the Queensland Tennis Centre, named in his honour . He is the only player in the history of tennis, to win a grand slam (1963), in mixed doubles, that is not enshrined in the International Tennis Hall Of Fame.

Grands Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1963	Australian Championships	Grass	Roy Emerson	3–6, 3–6, 1–6

Doubles: 9 (2 titles, 7 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1963	Australian Championships	Grass	John Newcombe	Bob Hewitt Fred Stolle	2–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss	1964	Australian Championships	Grass	Roy Emerson	Bob Hewitt Fred Stolle	4–6, 5–7, 6–3, 6–4, 12–14
Win	1964	French Championships	Clay	Roy Emerson	John Newcombe Tony Roche	6–3, 6–4
Loss	1964	Wimbledon	Grass	Roy Emerson	Bob Hewitt Fred Stolle	5–7, 9–11, 4–6
Loss	1965	French Championships	Clay	Bob Hewitt	Roy Emerson Fred Stolle	8–6, 3–6, 6–8, 2–6
Loss	1965	Wimbledon	Grass	Bob Hewitt	John Newcombe Tony Roche	5–7, 3–6, 4–6
Win	1966	Wimbledon	Grass	John Newcombe	William Bowrey Owen Davidson	6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3
Loss	1967	French Championships	Clay	Roy Emerson	John Newcombe Tony Roche	3–6, 7–9, 10–12
Loss	1967	Wimbledon	Grass	Roy Emerson	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	2–6, 3–6, 4–6

Mixed doubles: 11 (10 titles, 1 runner-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1963	Australian Championships	Grass	Margaret Smith	Fred Stolle Lesley Turner	6–4, 6–4
Win	1963	French Championships	Clay	Margaret Smith	Fred Stolle Lesley Turner	6–1, 6–2
Win	1963	Wimbledon	Grass	Margaret Smith	Bob Hewitt Darlene Hard	11–9, 6–4
Win	1963	US Championships (3)	Grass	Margaret Smith	Ed Rubinoff Judy Tegart	0–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win	1964	Australian Championships (2)	Grass	Margaret Smith	Mike Sangster Jan Lehane	6–4, 6–4
Win	1964	French Championships (2)	Clay	Margaret Smith	Fred Stolle Lesley Turner	6–3, 4–6, 8–6
Loss	1964	Wimbledon	Grass	Margaret Smith	Fred Stolle Lesley Turner	6–4, 6–4
Win	1965	French Championships (3)	Clay	Margaret Smith Court	John Newcombe Maria Bueno	6–4, 6–4
Win	1965	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Margaret Court	Tony Roche Judy Tegart	12–10, 6–3
Win	1966	Wimbledon (3)	Grass	Margaret Court	Dennis Ralston Billie Jean King	4–6, 6–3, 6–3
↓ Open Era ↓
Win	1968	Wimbledon (4)	Grass	Margaret Court	Alex Metreveli Olga Morozova	6–1, 14–12

References

United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 428.
"Ken Fletcher, former doubles champ, dies at 65". ESPN. 13 February 2006. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
Tony Moore (30 November 2011). "Park honour planned for great Brisbane larrikin". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
Mike Colman (17 October 2008). "Life was a racket for Ken Fletcher". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
"'The Great Fletch' : a story of a tennis player and a larrikin". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 9 October 2008. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
"Ken Fletcher inducted into Australian Tennis Hall of Fame". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2012.