Stoll fred

Fred Stoll’s career, which peaked in the years before the beginning of the Open Era , continued into its early years. He won his first Grand Slam tournament - the Wimbledon mixed pair tournament in 1961 with compatriot Leslie Turner . His first title in the men's Grand Slam doubles was won a year later also at Wimbledon with Bob Hewitt . From 1963 to 1965, he reached Wimbledon three times in a row to reach the finals in singles, just like Gottfried von Kramm , but, like von Kramm, failed to achieve victory, and twice in his way another Australian became Roy Emerson . Nevertheless, in 1964, Stoll, adding similar achievements to the Australian Championships and the United States Championships to the Wimbledon final, also won two titles at the Grand Slam in men's and one in mixed pairs, won the Davis Cup with the Australian team , defeating the Americans , and eventually took second place in the annual ranking of the strongest amateur tennis players in the world, compiled by the Daily Telegraph observer Lance Tingey ^[2] .

In 1965 , after five defeats in a row in the finals of the Grand Slam singles tournaments, Stoll finally won the French Championship . He usually felt less confident on the clay courts that traditionally play this tournament, but in 1965, according to his own words, the weather and the balls used created a situation where the game on the ground was fast enough for his favorite tactic - quick exits to the net. ^[3] . A year later, at the age of 28, when he arrived at the US Championship, Stoll discovered that he was not among the seeded players. The disgruntled veteran declared: “They seem to consider me just old-hearted”, after which he won his second Grand Slam tournament in singles, beating Dennis Ralston in the fourth round, in the Emerson semifinal, and in the final of John Newcomb . The nickname “old clumsy” ( eng. Old Hacker ) then stuck to him forever, replacing the earlier nickname “hot Fred” ( eng. Fiery Fred ), given to him by his colleagues for sports passion ^[2] . In addition to two victories in singles, he won four more titles in the men's and one in two pairs and defended the right to the Davis Cup with the Australian team twice.

At the end of 1966, Stoll was offered a professional contract, and with the blessing of the Australian national team coach Harry Hopman, he became a professional ^[3] . This happened a year before the start of the Open Era, when leading tennis professionals were allowed into Grand Slam tournaments, so Stoll’s separation from the Wimbledon courts and the Australian Championship was not long. After the beginning of the Open Era, he no longer won at this level in singles, but in pairs he became a champion four more times - two times in the men's and mixed doubles. In all, he won 19 titles in Grand Slam tournaments - two in singles, ten in men's pairs (four of them with Hewitt and Emerson, winning each Grand Slam at least twice) and seven in mixed ones (three with Leslie Turner and two with Margaret Smith and British Ann Haydon-Jones ). At the same time, he played in the World Tour Tennis Tournament professional tournaments. He completed his playing career in 1972 in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, after victories over the fifth and 11th seeded rivals (Newcomb and Cliff Drysdale ), and also over Roy Emerson, then losing to future champion Ilie Nastas ^{[2] [3]} .

Stoll continued his tennis career as a professional coach. As a playing coach, he twice (in 1976 and 1977) led to a champion title in the professional league of the World Team Tennis team "New York Apples" ^[2] . In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was also the personal trainer of the leading American tennis player Vitas Gerulaitis , with whom he simultaneously played in doubles competitions ^[4] . Since 1979, Stoll has worked as a commentator on Australian and American television channels (including ESPN ) and founded Grand Slam Sports Marketing along with other tennis champions.

In 1985, the name of Fred Stoll was added to the lists of the International Tennis Hall of Fame , and three years later - to the lists of the Australian Sports Hall of Fame. In 2005, Stoll was promoted to an officer of the Order of Australia for his services to tennis as a player, coach and commentator ^[2] .

Singles (2 + 6)

Men's doubles (10 + 6)

Mixed doubles (7 + 5)

Victory (3)

• Fred Stoll at Australia's Sports Hall of Fame (Eng.)
• Fred Stoll at the International Tennis Hall of Fame website
• Profile on ATP website (eng.)

• Profile on the ITF website (English)
• Profile on the Davis Cup website (eng.)