Wimbledon quarter-finalist and US Open champion dies as heartbreaking tributes pour in | Tennis | Sport

Tributes have poured in following the passing of Australian tennis legend Mal Anderson MBE at age 91. Anderson won the 1957 US Open, becoming the first unseeded player to lift the trophy in New York, beating three seeded players and dropping only two sets along the way.

He also finished runner-up at his home Slam, the Australian Open, in 1958 and 1972, and reached two Wimbledon quarter-finals. Anderson claimed two Major doubles titles at the 1957 French Open and 1973 Australian Open. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000.

The late tennis icon, from Theodore in Queensland, helped his nation win two Davis Cup titles and mentored several Australian players following his retirement, including Pat Rafter, who became the world No. 1 and won two Grand Slam titles. After learning of Anderson’s passing, Rafter told tennis.com.au: “I was really sad to hear of Mal’s passing. He was one of those people who helped shape my tennis from very early on.

“He took me overseas for the first time, over to Wimbledon, and introduced me to what the professional game looked like and what it meant to carry yourself properly around it. For a young Aussie kid coming through, that was a pretty special thing to have someone like Mal do for you.

“I still remember being at Queen’s Club in London and hearing the reception he got when his name was announced – the whole place stood up for him. That told you everything about the respect people had for him, not just here in Australia but around the world.

“He was a true legend of the game, but more importantly he was a terrific bloke – humble, generous with his time and always happy to help younger players along. Tennis in Australia has lost one of its greats, and a lot of us have lost a mate and mentor. I feel very lucky to have known him.”

Scott Draper, Wally Masur and John Fitzgerald were also guided by Anderson and shared touching tributes to their old mentor. Draper said: “Mal was someone I looked up to from a very young age. I had my first tennis lesson from Mal at five. Our family spent every weekend playing tennis at his centre, it was a home away from home.

“In my teens, I was part of the Mal Anderson high-performance squad with my brother Mark. Mal was the epitome of fitness and professionalism and role-modelled the highest standards, inspiring all of us to be better. I was lucky to travel with him on his Mal Anderson Exhibition tours, which are an incredible legacy.

“He took tennis to the regions and took young wannabes like me with him. We learned how to coach and play exhibition matches. Mal was a joy to be around, humility personified and always took genuine interest in your life. A great bloke and his legacy will definitely live on in me.”

“I first met Mal when he took 10 youngsters on a satellite circuit around country NSW in about 1979. If you were out of the tournament he made you run at 6.30am, punishing runs that usually brought up the contents of my stomach. He did every one of those runs with us and did them easily,” Masur recalled.

“Then it was four or five hours on the practice court, and he hit for every minute of those hours. Never a critical word, just encouragement and he was with you every step of the way. I’ll leave it to his peers to judge where he sits in the pantheon of Australian tennis greats, but what a gentleman and an inspiration he was to a young player trying to make the tour.”

Former doubles No. 1 Fitzgerald said: “He played a sliding-door role in my life when I was one of about 10 young guys who he took on a five-week Satellite Tour in the eastern states around 1978/79. He taught me what it took to train and work if you wanted to be a player. It was a light-bulb realisation for me and helped my direction enormously. That was when the penny dropped for me on what is involved if you want to be successful in this sport.”

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