Obituary: Fred Stolle, tennis player
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
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
2 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Basketball: Jackson Ball a double Hawk and a Wisconsin Badger
Hawke's Bay Hawks guard Jackson Ball in action in the Junior Tall Blacks' playoff for third place at the Under-19 Fiba World Cup in Switzerland in early July. He's now signed for an Australian NBL season with the champions, the Illawarra Hawks, and next year is off to the University of Wisconsin. Teenage Hawke's Bay Hawks basketball star Jackson Ball is expected to still play for the franchise next year, despite signing with Australia champions the Illawarra Hawks and high-flying US college side the Wisconsin Badgers. The 17-year-old Napier Boys' High School joint deputy head boy, who first appeared for the Hawke's
Scoop
3 hours ago
- Scoop
New Zealand Davis Cup Team Announced Ahead Of Tie Against Georgia
New Zealand has named their five-strong Davis Cup team to take on Georgia in the upcoming tie. The team consists of Ajeet Rai, Finn Reynolds, Jack Loutit, Isaac Becroft and James Watt. New Zealand number one Ajeet Rai has the most Davis Cup selections from the young squad, with this being his 11th appointment. New Zealand doubles specialist Finn Reynolds, currently ranked at an impressive #121 in the world, gets the greenlight for the 6th time, alongside Jack Loutit who has proved a considerable contender against higher ranked opponents at his last two Davis Cup outings. Isaac Becroft gets his third call-up into the team, while Cantabrian James Watt has earned his first selection. 'I'm super excited to represent New Zealand for the first time,' Watt said, in a video to New Zealand tennis fans. 'It's been a dream of mine to be selected for the Davis Cup team. Now it's my time, it's a pretty cool feeling.' James Watt has shot up the rankings in both singles and doubles over the last few months, creating a successful pairing on the ATP Challenger Tour with fellow Davis Cup team member Finn Reynolds. Since they began playing together in March, James has climbed an impressive 184 places in the world rankings, and is now the world #135. The World Group II clash will take place on 13-14 September, and will mark the second time in a row Fly Palmy Arena will host the World Cup of Tennis, following a sellout weekend last year where New Zealand suffered a narrow defeat to Luxembourg. New Zealand's non-playing Davis Cup captain Artem Sitak will lead the squad once again, having made his captaincy debut last year in Palmerston North. Sitak brings years of international experience and a deep connection to the Davis Cup environment as a former player. 'We've got unfinished business in Palmy. Last year the atmosphere was incredible, and we were so close, but this year I know we'll give even more and get the right result for the Manawatū fans,' Sitak said. Day one features two singles matches, day two features the doubles match and reverse singles matches. Tickets are now on sale via
Otago Daily Times
8 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Deans 13th in 1500m freestyle
Caitlin Deans. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON Dunedin Olympian Caitlin Deans has made a sound start to her big week. The Neptune swimmer finished 13th overall in the women's 1500m freestyle on day two of the world championships in Singapore yesterday. She clocked 16min 13.16sec in the second heat, her fastest time on the international stage at the distance. Kiwi Eve Thomas, who was part of the 4x200m relay alongside Deans in Paris, finished 16th in 16min 28.10sec. United States great Katie Ledecky, who has been a dominant force in the distance for over 10 years, was the top qualifier for the final with 15min 36.68sec. Looking to defend her 400m freestyle title on Sunday, former Dunedin swimmer Erika Fairweather was disqualified for moving on the blocks during the heat. Canadian Summer McIntosh stormed home to win the title in 3min 56.26sec. China's Bingjie Li claimed silver in 3min 58.21sec and Ledecky took bronze in 3min 58.49sec. It was a tight battle — Olympic champion Ariarne Titmus skipping the world championships again — and the top four all went under 4min with Australian Lani Pallister coming fourth in 3min 58.87sec. Fairweather is back in the pool this afternoon in the women's 200m freestyle, alongside Milana Tapper making her Aquablacks debut. Olympian Lewis Clareburt will also get his world championships under way in the men's 200m butterfly. Semifinals for both events are scheduled for late tonight (NZ time). Deans is back in the pool on Friday, racing alongside former club-mate Fairweather in the women's 800m freestyle.
