Kenneth Bruce McGregor (2 June 1929 – 1 December 2007) was an Australian tennis player from Adelaide who won the Men's Singles title at the Australian Championships in 1952. He and his longtime doubles partner, Frank Sedgman, are generally considered one of the greatest men's doubles teams of all time and won the doubles Grand Slam in 1951. McGregor was also a member of three Australian Davis Cup winning teams in 1950–1952. In 1953, Jack Kramer induced both Sedgman and McGregor to turn professional. He was ranked as high as World No. 3 in 1952.[1]
In 1951 and 1952 McGregor and Frank Sedgman won seven consecutive Grand Slam doubles titles – a feat that is unmatched to this day.[2][3] McGregor was also a good singles player. At the Australian Championships in 1950, McGregor beat top seed Jaroslav Drobný in an early round before losing the final against Sedgman.[4] At the 1951 Australian Championships, McGregor beat Adrian Quist and Arthur Larsen before losing the final to Dick Savitt.[5] Savitt also beat him in the Wimbledon final. McGregor won the 1952 Australian Championships, beating Savitt and Sedgman in the last two rounds.[6]
McGregor was a fine all-round athlete, excelling in cricket, Australian rules football, and tennis. He also played lacrosse.[7] At 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), he had a powerful serve and overhead. The great tennis player Ellsworth Vines said of McGregor: "He was the same height as Pancho Gonzales, faster, moved as well and could jump higher, and once he got to the net he was difficult to pass because of his prehensile reach. The handsome Aussie had the most extraordinary overhead of all time." In his 1979 autobiography Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself who brought McGregor into professional tennis, wrote that "McGregor was one of the weakest players but one of the nicest guys who ever played for me in the pros. As nearly as I could tell, all he wanted to do was save up some money, go back Down Under and play Australian-rules football, which in fact, he played better than he did tennis. And that's what he did."
In early January 1953 McGregor and Sedgman signed a contract to join Jack Kramer's professional tour.[8][9] This made them ineligible to compete in the amateur Grand Slam tournaments and Davis Cup.
In his 1952–1953 tour against Pancho Segura, McGregor was beaten by 71 matches to 25. In a subsequent 1953–1954 tour against Pancho Gonzales, he was beaten 15 matches to 0.[10][2]
In 1999, McGregor was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island followed in 2000 by induction into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame.[12] The Ken McGregor Foundation was established by Tennis SA, the governing body of tennis in South Australia, with the aim of assisting the next generation of international tennis players.[13]
Ken McGregor was the son of Bruce and Winnifred McGregor. Bruce was the winner of the 1926 and 1927 SANFLMagarey Medals and was the West Adelaide Football Club's premiership captain-coach in 1927 as well as the Glenelg Football Club's inaugural premiership coach in 1934. Ken had one sister (Betty) who was born in 1927, the day their father Bruce was awarded his second Magarey Medal.
In 1953 he married Winifred Caro.[2] McGregor had a history of heart problems, but was diagnosed with stomach cancer ten days prior to his death on 1 December 2007.[14] He was survived by his wife, two children, and five grandchildren.
References
^ abUnited States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 426.
mcgregor, former, player, footballer, kenneth, bruce, mcgregor, june, 1929, december, 2007, australian, tennis, player, from, adelaide, singles, title, australian, championships, 1952, longtime, doubles, partner, frank, sedgman, generally, considered, greatest. For the former AFL player see Ken McGregor footballer Kenneth Bruce McGregor 2 June 1929 1 December 2007 was an Australian tennis player from Adelaide who won the Men s Singles title at the Australian Championships in 1952 He and his longtime doubles partner Frank Sedgman are generally considered one of the greatest men s doubles teams of all time and won the doubles Grand Slam in 1951 McGregor was also a member of three Australian Davis Cup winning teams in 1950 1952 In 1953 Jack Kramer induced both Sedgman and McGregor to turn professional He was ranked as high as World No 3 in 1952 1 Ken McGregorMcGregor in 1950Full nameKenneth Bruce McGregorCountry sports AustraliaBorn 1929 06 02 2 June 1929Adelaide AustraliaDied1 December 2007 2007 12 01 aged 78 Adelaide AustraliaHeight188 cm 6 ft 2 in Turned pro1952 amateur tour from 1948 Retired1957PlaysRight handed one handed backhand Int Tennis HoF1999 member page SinglesHighest rankingNo 3 1952 Lance Tingay 1 Grand Slam singles resultsAustralian OpenW 1952 French OpenSF 1951 1952 WimbledonF 1951 US Open4R 1951 DoublesHighest rankingNo 1 1951 Grand Slam doubles resultsAustralian OpenW 1951 1952 French OpenW 1951 1952 WimbledonW 1951 1952 US OpenW 1951 Grand Slam mixed doubles resultsUS OpenW 1950 Team competitionsDavis CupW 1950 1951 1952 Contents 1 Career 1 1 Honours 2 Grand Slam finals 2 1 Singles 1 title 3 runners up 2 2 Doubles 7 titles 1 runner up 2 3 Mixed doubles 1 title 3 Grand Slam tournament performance timeline 3 1 Singles 4 Personal life 5 References 5 1 Sources 6 External linksCareer EditIn 1951 and 1952 McGregor and Frank Sedgman won seven consecutive Grand Slam doubles titles a feat that is unmatched to this day 2 3 McGregor was also a good singles player At the Australian Championships in 1950 McGregor beat top seed Jaroslav Drobny in an early round before losing the final against Sedgman 4 At the 1951 Australian Championships McGregor beat Adrian Quist and Arthur Larsen before losing the final to Dick Savitt 5 Savitt also beat him in the Wimbledon final McGregor won the 1952 Australian Championships beating Savitt and Sedgman in the last two rounds 6 McGregor was a fine all round athlete excelling in cricket Australian rules football and tennis He also played lacrosse 7 At 6 ft 2 in 1 88 m he had a powerful serve and overhead The great tennis player Ellsworth Vines said of McGregor He was the same height as Pancho Gonzales faster moved as well and could jump higher and once he got to the net he was difficult to pass because of his prehensile reach The handsome Aussie had the most extraordinary overhead of all time In his 1979 autobiography Jack Kramer the long time tennis promoter and great player himself who brought McGregor into professional tennis wrote that McGregor was one of the weakest players but one of the nicest guys who ever played for me in the pros As nearly as I could tell all he wanted to do was save up some money go back Down Under and play Australian rules football which in fact he played better than he did tennis And that s what he did In early January 1953 McGregor and Sedgman signed a contract to join Jack Kramer s professional tour 8 9 This made them ineligible to compete in the amateur Grand Slam tournaments and Davis Cup In his 1952 1953 tour against Pancho Segura McGregor was beaten by 71 matches to 25 In a subsequent 1953 1954 tour against Pancho Gonzales he was beaten 15 matches to 0 10 2 After his retirement from tennis at the age of 25 he returned to Australian rules football and played five seasons for West Adelaide in the SANFL 11 Honours Edit In 1999 McGregor was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport Rhode Island followed in 2000 by induction into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame 12 The Ken McGregor Foundation was established by Tennis SA the governing body of tennis in South Australia with the aim of assisting the next generation of international tennis players 13 Grand Slam finals EditSingles 1 title 3 runners up Edit Result Year Championship Surface Opponent ScoreLoss 1950 Australian Championships Grass Frank Sedgman 3 6 4 6 6 4 1 6Loss 1951 Australian Championships Grass Dick Savitt 3 6 6 2 3 6 1 6Loss 1951 Wimbledon Championships Gras Dick Savitt 4 6 4 6 4 6Win 1952 Australian Championships Grass Frank Sedgman 7 5 12 10 2 6 6 2Doubles 7 titles 1 runner up Edit Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents ScoreWin 1951 Australian Championships Grass Frank Sedgman John Bromwich Adrian Quist 11 9 2 6 6 3 4 6 6 3Win 1951 French Championships Clay Frank Sedgman Gardnar Mulloy Dick Savitt 6 2 2 6 9 7 7 5Win 1951 Wimbledon Grass Frank Sedgman Jaroslav Drobny Eric Sturgess 3 6 6 2 6 3 3 6 6 3Win 1951 U S Championships Grass Frank Sedgman Don Candy Mervyn Rose 10 8 6 4 4 6 7 5Win 1952 Australian Championships Grass Frank Sedgman Don Candy Mervyn Rose 6 4 7 5 6 3Win 1952 French Championships Clay Frank Sedgman Gardnar Mulloy Dick Savitt 6 3 6 4 6 4Win 1952 Wimbledon Grass Frank Sedgman Vic Seixas Eric Sturgess 6 3 7 5 6 4Loss 1952 U S Championships Grass Frank Sedgman Mervyn Rose Vic Seixas 6 3 8 10 8 10 8 6 6 8Mixed doubles 1 title Edit Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents ScoreWin 1950 U S Championships Grass Margaret Osborne duPont Doris Hart Frank Sedgman 6 4 3 6 6 3Grand Slam tournament performance timeline EditKey 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 Edit Tournament 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 SRAustralian Championships 2R 3R F F W 1 5French Championships A A 4R SF SF 0 3Wimbledon A A 4R F QF 0 3U S National Championships A A 1R 4R 1R 0 3Strike rate 0 1 0 1 0 4 0 4 1 4 1 14Personal life Edit Ken McGregor hitting a smash in the early 1950 s Ken McGregor was the son of Bruce and Winnifred McGregor Bruce was the winner of the 1926 and 1927 SANFL Magarey Medals and was the West Adelaide Football Club s premiership captain coach in 1927 as well as the Glenelg Football Club s inaugural premiership coach in 1934 Ken had one sister Betty who was born in 1927 the day their father Bruce was awarded his second Magarey Medal In 1953 he married Winifred Caro 2 McGregor had a history of heart problems but was diagnosed with stomach cancer ten days prior to his death on 1 December 2007 14 He was survived by his wife two children and five grandchildren References Edit a b United States Lawn Tennis Association 1972 Official Encyclopedia of Tennis First Edition p 426 a b c Ken McGregor The Daily Telegraph 15 December 2007 Richard Evans 13 December 2007 Ken McGregor The Guardian Australian Open 1950 www tennis co nf Australian Open 1951 www tennis co nf Australian Open 1952 www tennis co nf Ken McGregor www tennis co nf Sedgman McGregor Ready For Pro Debut The Newcastle Sun No 10 857 New South Wales Australia 5 January 1953 p 11 via National Library of Australia Sedgman and McGregor Sign Pro Contracts Illawarra Daily Mercury New South Wales Australia 6 January 1953 p 8 Retrieved 17 March 2016 via National Library of Australia The History of Professional Tennis Joe McCauley page 199 Jesper Fjeldstad 22 November 2013 How Ken McGregor became one of sport s few two event players Herald Sun Australia s forgotten tennis ace finally recognised ABC 9 July 1999 Ken McGregor Foundation www tennis com au Tennis SA Tennis ace Ken McGregor dies The Advertiser 30 November 2007 Sources Edit The Game My 40 Years in Tennis 1979 Jack Kramer with Frank Deford ISBN 0 399 12336 9 The History of Professional Tennis 2003 Joe McCauleyExternal links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ken McGregor Ken McGregor at the International Tennis Hall of Fame Ken McGregor at the Association of Tennis Professionals Ken McGregor at the International Tennis Federation Ken McGregor at the Davis Cup Ken McGregor at Tennis Australia Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ken McGregor amp oldid 1092108525, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
