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General First nameKenneth Bruce (Ken)
LastnameMcGregor
GenderMale
CountryAustralia
Date of birth1929-06-02
Place of birthAdelaide, Australia
Date of death2007-12-01
Place of deathMyrtle Bank, South Australia, Australia


About

Ken was a tennis player from Australia who won the Men's Singles title at the Australian Championships (now known as the Australian Open) in 1952. He and his long time doubles partner, Frank Sedgman, are generally considered one of the greatest men's doubles teams of all time. In 1951 and 1952, they won seven consecutive Grand Slam doubles titles – a feat that has never been matched. McGregor was also a member of three Australian Davis Cup winning teams in 1950–1952. At the end of 1952, Jack Kramer induced both Sedgman and McGregor to turn professional. He was ranked as high as World No. 3 in 1952.
Sound on the volley and impeccable with his overhead, McGregor was largely a product of his era, performing confidently and consistently, especially on grass courts.

Ken McGregor is the son of Bruce and Winnifred McGregor. Bruce was the winner of the 1926 and 1927 SANFL Magarey Medal's 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 has one sister (Betty) who was born in 1927, the day their father Bruce was awarded his 2nd Magarey Medal.

McGregor was a fine all-round athlete, excelling in cricket, Australian rules football, and tennis. At 6 ft 3 in (1.91 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 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.

In 1999, McGregor was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Media


Archive statistics Career1947 - 1959
Tournament wins13
Matches229
Match wins167


Tournament wins 1952 - Australian Open (Grandslam)
1952 - Eastern Suburbs Hard Court Championship (Open)
1952 - Oslo International Hard Court Championships (Amateur)
1952 - Belgian International Championships ()
1952 - Tasmanian Championships (Amateur)
1952 - Eastern Grass Court Championships (Amateur)
1952 - Northern Suburbs (Amateur)
1951 - Western Australia Championships (Open)
1951 - Northern Suburbs (Amateur)
1950 - Albury Easter Tournament (Amateur)
1950 - Benalla New Years Tournament (Amateur)
1950 - South West Districts VIC ()
1949 - Riverina ()


Tournaments New South Wales Pro Championships - 1959 Victorian Professional Championships - 1959 Australian Professionals - 1957 Slazenger Professional - 1955 Ostend Professional Round Robin - 1955 Slazenger Professional - 1953 Geneva Professional Gold Trophy - 1953 Vienna Professional - 1953 Australian Open - 1952 Wimbledon - 1952 South Australian Championships - 1952 Roland Garros - 1952 US Open - 1952 Victorian Championships - 1952 New South Wales Championships - 1952 Newport Casino - 1952 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1952 Queens Club Tournament - 1952 Queensland Championships - 1952 Belgian International Championships - 1952 Tasmanian Championships - 1952 Manly Seaside Tournament - 1952 Bastad - 1952 Eastern Suburbs Hard Court Championship - 1952 Northern Suburbs - 1952 Oslo International Hard Court Championships - 1952 Australian Open - 1951 Wimbledon - 1951 South Australian Championships - 1951 Roland Garros - 1951 US Open - 1951 Victorian Championships - 1951 New South Wales Championships - 1951 Newport Casino - 1951 Queens Club Tournament - 1951 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1951 Queensland Championships - 1951 US vs. Australia exhibitions - 1951 Western Australia Championships - 1951 Eastern Suburbs Hard Court Championship - 1951 Northern Suburbs - 1951 Australian Open - 1950 Wimbledon - 1950 Roland Garros - 1950 US Open - 1950 Victorian Championships - 1950 New South Wales Championships - 1950 Queens Club Tournament - 1950 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1950 Queensland Championships - 1950 Australian Hard Courts Championship - 1950 Metropolitan Grass Court Championships of Sydney - 1950 Albury Easter Tournament - 1950 Benalla New Years Tournament - 1950 South West Districts VIC - 1950 Australian Open - 1949 South Australian Championships - 1949 Victorian Championships - 1949 New South Wales Championships - 1949 South African Championships - 1949 Australian Hard Courts Championship - 1949 Victorian Hardcourt Championships - 1949 New South Wales Hard Court Championships - 1949 Australia vs. South Africa team match - 1949 Australia vs. South Africa team match 2 - 1949 Riverina - 1949 Australian Open - 1948 South Australian Championships - 1948 Victorian Championships - 1948 New South Wales Championships - 1948 Victorian Hardcourt Championships - 1948 Metropolitan Cricket (MCC ) Autumn Tournament - 1948 New South Wales Championships - 1947 Metropolitan Grass Court Championships of Sydney - 1947