- Ken Fletcher
Kenneth Norman Fletcher (
June 15 1940 –February 11 2006 ) was an Australian tennis player who won numerous doubles and mixed doubles Grand Slam titles.He was born in
Brisbane ,Queensland ,Australia to parents Norm and Ethel Fletcher. He was educated atSt 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 first and only man to win a calendar year Grand Slam in mixed doubles, partnering fellow AustralianMargaret Court . He reached the final of the Australian Open in 1963, losing to Roy EmersonAfter 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 title s 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 partneringJohn Newcombe , and a finalist again in 1967 with Roy Emerson. In total Fletcher won 27 international tennis titles.Ken was a
larrikin by nature, and many of his exploits feature inHugh 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 withChuck Feeney .Fletcher died of
cancer at the age of 65 and was buried at the Mt Gravatt Lawn Cemetery, Brisbane.External links
* http://www.wimbledon.org
* [http://www.hughlunn.com.au/news.html Hugh Lunn's Website, Vale by Hugh Lunn
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
