Ken Fletcher

Ken Fletcher

Ken Fletcher at tournament in Santpoort, Netherlands (1965)
Full name	Kenneth Norman Fletcher
Country (sports)	Australia
Born	(1940-06-15)15 June 1940 Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Died	11 February 2006(2006-02-11) (aged 65) Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Turned pro	1968 (amateur tour 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)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1963	Australian Championships	Grass	Roy Emerson	3–6, 3–6, 1–6

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

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

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

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

References

External links

• ATP Player Profile
• Hugh Lunn's Website, Vale by Hugh Lunn
• Australian Open Player Profile

Further reading

Lunn, Hugh (2008). The Great Fletch: The Dazzling Life of Wimbledon Aussie Larrikin Ken Fletcher ISBN 0-7333-2209-3