Mal Anderson

Malcolm James Anderson MBE (born 3 March 1935) is an Australian former tennis player who was active from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s.

He won the singles title at the 1957 U.S. National Championships and achieved his highest amateur ranking of No. 2 in 1957. He became a professional after the 1958 season and won the Wembley World Professional Tennis Championships in the 1959 season. In the Open Era, he was runner-up at the 1972 Australian Open.

Mal Anderson
MBE
Mal Anderson
Mal Anderson (1972)
Country (sports)Australia
Born (1935-03-03) 3 March 1935 (age 89)
Theodore, Queensland
Turned pro1958 (amateur from 1952)
Retired1977
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF2000 (member page)
Singles
Career record646-446 (59.1%)
Career titles17
Highest rankingNo. 2 (1957, Adrian Quist)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenF (1958, 1972)
French Open2R (1957)
WimbledonQF (1956, 1958)
US OpenW (1957)
Other tournaments
Professional majors
US ProQF (1959, 1965, 1966)
Wembley ProW (1959)
French ProSF (1962, 1965)
Other pro events
TOCSF (1959AUS)
Doubles
Career record53–28
Career titles4

Background

A right-hander, Anderson started playing tennis when he was eight and became serious about the sport at 16.

Anderson is the brother-in-law of fellow Australian tennis star Roy Emerson.

Playing career

Amateur

Anderson's two best seasons were 1957 and 1958 when, as an amateur, he twice achieved a ranking of world No. 2.

In 1957, Anderson won the US Championships as an unseeded player. Earlier that year, he had reached the semifinals of the Australian Championships and won the French Championship doubles, partnering with Ashley Cooper, the man he went on to defeat in the final of the 1957 US Championships.

In 1958, Anderson was a finalist at both the Australian Championships and US Championships, losing both times to Cooper.

Professional

Anderson turned professional in late 1958. He finished fourth in the 4-man 1959 World Championship tour behind Gonzales, Hoad, and Cooper, although he won five matches against Hoad. In the 1959 Ampol world series of tournaments, Anderson finished tied for sixth place with Segura. At the Forest Hills Tournament of Champions, part of the Ampol series, Anderson lost a close quarterfinal to Hoad. Later in the Ampol series, Anderson won the Wembley Championships, defeating defending champion Frank Sedgman in the quarterfinal, and with close five-set victories over Ken Rosewall in the semifinal and Pancho Segura in the final. Anderson saved match point against Segura before winning. Following the win, Anderson stated that he would retire from pro tennis as soon as he had saved enough money to buy a farm in Australia. At the Sydney White City Tournament of Champions in December, also part of the Ampol series, Anderson reached the semifinal where he lost to Hoad.

Anderson announced his retirement from the pro tour following the 1963 Wembley tournament, citing eyesight problems.

Anderson appeared in another major final in 1972, when at age 36, he was a finalist at the Australian Open, defeating Newcombe in a long five set quarterfinal, and Metreveli in the semifinal, before losing the final to Ken Rosewall. In that same season, he won the Hong Kong Hardcourt title defeating Geoff Masters in the semifinal and Pancho Gonzales in the final. In 1973, he captured the Australian Open doubles title along with John Newcombe. Anderson's last important tournament win was the 1973 New South Wales Championships at Sydney White City (billed as Sydney International), where he defeated in succession Hans Plotz, Phil Dent in five long sets, Colin Dibley in five sets, Newcombe in a close four set semifinal, and Rosewall in the final in three close sets.

Anderson played on four Australian Davis Cup teams, in 1957, 1958, 1972 and 1973, the team winning twice (1957 and 1973).

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 4 (1 title, 3 runner-ups)

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win 1957 U.S. Championships Grass Mal Anderson  Ashley Cooper 10–8, 7–5, 6–4
Loss 1958 Australian Championships Grass Mal Anderson  Ashley Cooper 5–7, 3–6, 4–6
Loss 1958 U.S. Championships Grass Mal Anderson  Ashley Cooper 2–6, 6–3, 6–4, 8–10, 6–8
Loss 1972 Australian Open Grass Mal Anderson  Ken Rosewall 6–7(2–7), 3–6, 5–7

Doubles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1957 Australian Championships Grass Mal Anderson  Ashley Cooper Mal Anderson  Lew Hoad
Mal Anderson  Neale Fraser
3–6, 6–8, 4–6
Win 1957 French Championships Clay Mal Anderson  Ashley Cooper Mal Anderson  Don Candy
Mal Anderson  Mervyn Rose
6–3, 6–0, 6–3
Win 1973 Australian Open Grass Mal Anderson  John Newcombe Mal Anderson  John Alexander
Mal Anderson  Phil Dent
6–3, 6–4, 7–6

Mixed doubles: 1 (1 title)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1957 Australian Championships Grass Mal Anderson  Fay Muller Mal Anderson  Jill Langley
Mal Anderson  Billy Knight
7–5, 3–6, 6–1

Pro Slam finals: 1 (1 title)

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win 1959 Wembley Pro Indoor Mal Anderson  Pancho Segura 4–6, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 8–6

Singles performance timeline

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.
1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments 1 / 25 51–23 68.9
Australian Open 1R 3R QF SF F A A A 1R A A A A A A 3R 1R 2R F 2R A A 3R A 1R 0 / 13 19–12 61.3
French Open A A A 2R A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 1 1–1 50.0
Wimbledon A 1R QF 4R QF A A A A A A A A A A 3R A A A A A A A A 0 / 5 13–5 72.2
US Open A 3R 1R W F A A A A A A A A A 3R A A A 2R A A A A A 1 / 6 18–5 78.3
Pro Slam tournaments 1 / 17 14–17 45.2
U.S. Pro A A A A A A QF A A A A A QF QF 1R 0 / 3 2–4 33.3
French Pro NH NH A NH A QF QF 1R SF QF A SF QF A 0 / 7 7–7 50.0
Wembley Pro NH NH A A A W 1R 1R 1R QF A QF QF A 1 / 7 5–6 45.5
Win–loss 0–1 3–3 6–3 14–3 14–3 5–2 1–2 0–2 2–3 1–2 0–0 3–3 2–3 0–1 1–1 4–2 0–0 1–1 6–2 0–1 0–0 0–0 2–1 0–1 2 / 42 65–40 61.9

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

Honours

In the 1972 Birthday Honours, Anderson was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) "for his contribution to lawn tennis".

Anderson was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000. On 23 August 2000, he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his achievements in tennis.

In 2001, Anderson was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame. In 2009 he was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame. On 6 January 2016, he was named an Icon of Queensland Tennis, and inducted into the Brisbane Tennis Trail, in December 2017, at Tennis Avenue Park, Ashgrove, by the placement of a bench in Tennis Avenue Park in his honour.

References

Tags:

Mal Anderson BackgroundMal Anderson Playing careerMal Anderson Grand Slam finalsMal Anderson Singles performance timelineMal Anderson HonoursMal Anderson

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