Obituary: Fred Stolle, tennis player
Fred Stolle at Wimbledon, July 1, 1965, in London.
Fred Stolle was not only a great tennis player, but the two-time grand slam singles title winner was the voice of the sport as a commentator on Australian and US television.
Born in Sydney, Stolle emerged from an incredibly competitive Australian tennis scene, where rivals included Roy Emerson, John Newcombe, Ken Rosewall, Tony Roche and Rod Laver.
He lost the first five grand slam singles finals he reached and also lost three Wimbledon finals in a row from 1963-65.
His first singles major came at the 1965 French Open and he won the US Open the following year.
Doubles was where Stolle really made his mark, winning all four men's grand slam doubles titles from 10 victories in total and seven major mixed doubles titles.
He was part of the Australian Davis Cup-winning team in 1964, '65 and '66.
Stolle coached American major winner Vitas Gerulaitis for several years; his son Sandon was a US Open doubles winner.
Fred Stolle died on March 5, aged 86. — APL/agencies
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