Winner of two Grand Slam singles titles and 17 doubles majors Fred Stolle has died aged 86.
He lost his first five Grand Slam finals but persevered to win the Men’s singles final at French Open in 1965 and the US Open in 1966 and made the final in six other Grand Slams including Wimbledon three times.
He also won 10 Grand Slam men’s doubles titles and seven mixed doubles.
Stolle was part of three winning Davis Cup teams (1964-66) with his finest achievement being a come-from-behind five-setter over Dennis Ralston in Cleveland in 1964.
Stolle grew up in Hornsby on Sydney’s North Shore and his first introduction to the Davis Cup was as a ball boy at the 1951 tie between United States and Italy.
Although already showing considerable skills in Cricket and Rugby at that young age the experience made such an impression on him he decided to concentrate on his tennis.
Stolle turned professional in 1966 reaching four Grand Slam singles quarter finals after tennis went ‘open’ in 1968 and played well into the 1970s, playing his last singles match in Baltimore in November 1982, four years after his final Grand Slam singles match at Wimbledon in 1978.
During his Davis Cup years Fred was nicknamed ‘Fiery’ in the tradition of ironic nicknames because of his slow start in the mornings and quiet play on practice courts.
The nickname belied his sense of humour and appetite for life, which made him a popular figure on the tour.
Stolle once wrote “for some the tennis court was like a boxing ring but for me it was like being on stage”.
Stolle was part of an epic era of Australian stars playing alongside Roy Emerson, Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe and Rod Laver, all of whom dominated the Men’s Game late into the amateur era and start of the professional.
He then became coach to former world No.3 Vitas Gerulaitas before turning his hand to broadcasting and became known to generations of tennis fans as worldwide the voice of tennis, broadcasting for the Nine Network, CBS and Fox Sports
Although he lived most of his life in Florida, and later California Stolle always was fiercely proud of being an Australian.
“Rocket Rod” Laver, the only man to win all four majors in one year during the Open era, described Stolle as “too nice a guy to hold a grudge”.
“It took the best to beat the best,” he said on X.
“We never tired of reliving the past as we travelled the world looking into the future with an enduring love of the sport.”
Fred had spent his last few years living not far from Laver in “The Desert” California
Stolle, for several decades a good friend of this author and a regular contributor to Grandslam Tennis Online is survived by wife Pat, son Sandon a former doubles world No.2 and major champion, and daughters Monique and Nadine.
