Wikipedia

Fred Stolle

Frederick Sydney Stolle, AO[4] (born 8 October 1938) is an Australian former amateur world No. 1 tennis player and commentator. He was born in Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia. He is the father of former Australian Davis Cup player Sandon Stolle.

Fred Stolle
AO
Full nameFrederick Sydney Stolle
Country (sports) Australia
ResidenceAventura, Florida, US
Born (1938-10-08) 8 October 1938 (age 86)
Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1]
Turned pro1966 (amateur from 1958)
Retired1976
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF1985 (member page)
Singles
Career record860–442 (66.0%)[2]
Career titles39[2]
Highest rankingNo. 1 (1966, World Tennis)[3]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenF (1964, 1965)
French OpenW (1965)
WimbledonF (1963, 1964, 1965)
US OpenW (1966)
Professional majors
US ProSF (1967)
Wembley Pro1R (1967)
French ProSF (1967)
Doubles
Career record189–101
Highest rankingNo. 1 (1964)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (1963, 1964, 1966)
French OpenW (1965, 1968)
WimbledonW (1962, 1964)
US OpenW (1965, 1966, 1969)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian OpenW (1962, 1969)
French OpenF (1962, 1963, 1964)
WimbledonW (1961, 1964, 1969)
US OpenW (1962, 1965)

Career

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Stolle is notable for being the only male player in history to have lost his first five Grand Slam singles finals, all but one were to Roy Emerson, the fifth of which he led by two sets to love. However, Stolle went on to win two Grand Slam tournament singles titles, the 1965 French Championships and the 1966 US Championships.[5] At Wimbledon and the Australian Championships he finished as runner-up in these tournaments and losing to compatriot Roy Emerson on no fewer than five occasions. World Tennis magazine ranked Stolle world No. 1 amateur in 1966.[6]

Stolle won ten Grand Slam doubles titles, partnering with compatriots Bob Hewitt (4 titles), Roy Emerson (4 titles) and Ken Rosewall (2 titles). In addition Stolle won 7 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles.

As a member of the Australian Davis Cup team Stolle won the Davis Cup title in 1964,[7] 1965 and 1966.[8] In 1964 Stolle and Emerson were briefly suspended from the Australian Davis Cup team for going on an overseas tour in defiance of a Lawn Tennis Association of Australia order to remain in Australia until April.[9]

Stolle turned professional in 1966,[1] and as a pro, won two singles and 13 doubles titles. He earned about US$500,000 in career prize money.[10]

Stolle coached Vitas Gerulaitis from 1977 until 1983.

For many years, Stolle did TV commentary for ESPN and other tennis broadcasts. He currently provides commentary on Grand Slam tennis tournaments for Australia's Fox Sports and the Nine Network.

Honours

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For his contribution to the tennis sport Fred Stolle was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1985.[11] In 1988 he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.[12] He received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000 and was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2005.[4][13] In 2020, Stolle was awarded the ITF Philippe Chatrier Award, for his contribution to tennis both during his career and post-retirement.[14]

Grand Slam finals

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Singles (2 titles, 6 runners-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1963 Wimbledon Grass   Chuck McKinley 7–9, 1–6, 4–6
Loss 1964 Australian Championships Grass   Roy Emerson 3–6, 4–6, 2–6
Loss 1964 Wimbledon Grass   Roy Emerson 1–6, 10–12, 6–4, 3–6
Loss 1964 US Championships Grass   Roy Emerson 4–6, 2–6, 4–6
Loss 1965 Australian Championships Grass   Roy Emerson 9–7, 6–2, 4–6, 5–7, 1–6
Win 1965 French Championships Clay   Tony Roche 3–6, 6–0, 6–2, 6–3
Loss 1965 Wimbledon Grass   Roy Emerson 2–6, 4–6, 4–6
Win 1966 US Championships Grass   John Newcombe 4–6, 12–10, 6–3, 6–4

Doubles (10 titles, 6 runners-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1961 Wimbledon Grass   Bob Hewitt   Roy Emerson
  Neale Fraser		 4–6, 8–6, 4–6, 8–6, 6–8
Loss 1962 Australian Championships Grass   Bob Hewitt   Roy Emerson
  Neale Fraser		 6–4, 6–4, 1–6, 4–6, 9–11
Win 1962 Wimbledon Grass   Bob Hewitt   Boro Jovanović
  Nikola Pilić		 6–2, 5–7, 6–2, 6–4
Win 1963 Australian Championships Grass   Bob Hewitt   Ken Fletcher
  John Newcombe		 6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3
Win 1964 Australian Championships Grass   Bob Hewitt   Roy Emerson
  Ken Fletcher		 6–4, 7–5, 3–6, 4–6, 14–12
Win 1964 Wimbledon Grass   Bob Hewitt   Roy Emerson
  Ken Fletcher		 7–5, 11–9, 6–4
Loss 1965 Australian Championships Grass   Roy Emerson   John Newcombe
  Tony Roche		 6–3, 6–4, 11–13, 3–6, 4–6
Win 1965 French Championships Clay   Roy Emerson   Ken Fletcher
  Bob Hewitt		 6–8, 6–3, 8–6, 6–2
Win 1965 US Championships Grass   Roy Emerson   Frank Froehling
  Charles Pasarell		 6–4, 10–12, 7–5, 6–3
Win 1966 Australian Championships Grass   Roy Emerson   John Newcombe
  Tony Roche		 7–9, 6–3, 6–8, 14–12, 12–10
Win 1966 US Championships Grass   Roy Emerson   Clark Graebner
  Dennis Ralston		 6–4, 6–4, 6–4
Win 1968 French Open Clay   Ken Rosewall   Roy Emerson
  Rod Laver		 6–3, 6–4, 6–3
Loss 1968 Wimbledon Grass   Ken Rosewall   John Newcombe
  Tony Roche		 6–3, 6–8, 7–5, 12–14, 3–6
Loss 1969 Australian Open Grass   Ken Rosewall   Rod Laver
  Roy Emerson		 4–6, 4–6
Win 1969 US Open Grass   Ken Rosewall   Charles Pasarell
  Dennis Ralston		 2–6, 7–5, 13–11, 6–3
Loss 1970 Wimbledon Grass   Ken Rosewall   John Newcombe
  Tony Roche		 8–10, 3–6, 1–6

Open-era doubles titles (10)

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No Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
1. 1968 French Open, Paris Clay   Ken Rosewall   Roy Emerson
  Rod Laver 		6–3, 6–4, 6–3
2. 1968 Los Angeles, US Hard   Ken Rosewall   Cliff Drysdale
  Roger Taylor 		7–5, 6–1
3. 1969 US Open, New York Grass   Ken Rosewall   Charlie Pasarell
  Dennis Ralston 		2–6, 7–5, 13–11, 6–3
4. 1971 Bologna WCT, Italy Carpet   Ken Rosewall   Robert Maud
  Frew McMillan 		6–7, 6–2, 6–3, 6–3
5. 1972 Bretton Woods, US Hard   John Alexander   Nikola Pilić
  Cliff Richey 		7–6, 7–6
6. 1972 Vancouver WCT, Canada Outdoor   John Newcombe   Cliff Drysdale
  Allan Stone 		7–6, 6–0
7. 1972 Johannesburg-2, South Africa Hard   John Newcombe   Terry Addison
  Bob Carmichael 		6–3, 6–4
8. 1973 Chicago WCT, US Carpet   Ken Rosewall   Ismail El Shafei
  Brian Fairlie 		6–7, 6–4, 6–2
9. 1973 Cleveland WCT, US Carpet   Ken Rosewall   Ismail El Shafei
  Brian Fairlie 		6–2, 6–3
10. 1973 Bretton Woods, US Clay   Rod Laver   Bob Carmichael
  Frew McMillan 		7–6, 4–6, 7–5

Performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

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1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments 2 / 41 102–39 72.3
Australian Open 1R A 1R SF QF SF F F SF A A QF A 3R A A A A A A A A 0 / 10 23–10 69.7
French Open A A 2R 3R 4R 2R 4R W QF A 2R QF A A A A A A A A A 1 / 9 23–8 74.2
Wimbledon A A 1R 2R 3R F F F 2R A 4R 4R 1R 4R A A A A A A 1R 0 / 12 31–12 72.1
US Open A A A A 2R A F 2R W A 2R QF 3R A QF A A 1R A 2R A 1 / 10 25–9 73.5
Pro Slam tournaments 0 / 3 4–3 57.1
U.S. Pro A A A A A A A A A SF Not a Major 0 / 1 2–1 66.7
French Pro A A A A A A A A A SF Not a Major 0 / 1 2–1 66.7
Wembley Pro A A A A A A A A A 1R Not a Major 0 / 1 0–1 0.0
Win–loss 0–1 0–3 6–3 8–4 9–3 19–4 18–3 15–3 4–3 4–3 13–4 1–2 4–2 4–1 0–1 1–1 0–1 2 / 41 106–42 71.6

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Fred Stolle". atpworldtour.com. Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Fred Stolle: Career match record". thetennisbase.com. Tennis Base. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  3. ^ "The Sacramento Bee, 24 November 1966". newspapers.com. 24 November 1966.
  4. ^ a b "STOLLE, Frederick Sydney, AO". It's an Honour. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  5. ^ Frank Deford (19 September 1966). "A forgotten Aussie refreshes the memory". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 25, no. 12. pp. 105–109.
  6. ^ "The Sacramento Bee, 24 November 1966". newspapers.com. 24 November 1966.
  7. ^ Frank Deford (5 October 1964). "Failure of a Winning Formula". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 21, no. 14. pp. 30–31.
  8. ^ Ernest Shirley (10 January 1966). "¡Olé! Manolo—a little bit too late". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 24, no. 2. pp. 48–49.
  9. ^ John Lovesey (13 July 1964). "The Outcasts Are Counted In". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 21, no. 2. pp. 22, 25.
  10. ^ "ATP Player Profile". Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  11. ^ "Tennis Hall of Fame – Fred Stolle". Newport International Tennis Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  12. ^ "Fred Stolle". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Staale, Fred: Australian Sports Medal". It's an Honour. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  14. ^ "SANTANA AND STOLLE HONOURED WITH ITF PHILIPPE CHATRIER AWARD". ITF Website. 31 March 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
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