John Alexander (Australian politician)

For other people named John Alexander, see John Alexander (disambiguation).

Tennis Career

Country (sports)	Australia
Born	(1951-07-04) 4 July 1951 Sydney, Australia
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Turned pro	1968
Retired	1985
Plays	Right-handed (1-handed backhand)
Prize money	$1,214,079
Singles
Career record	508–379 (Grand Slam, Grand Prix and WCT level, and Davis Cup)
Career titles	7
Highest ranking	No. 8 (15 December 1975)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	SF (1973, 1977Jan, 1977Dec)
French Open	4R (1975, 1978, 1983)
Wimbledon	4R (1969, 1978)
US Open	4R (1971, 1973)
Other tournaments
WCT Finals	SF (1975)
Doubles
Career record	451–300 (Grand Slam, Grand Prix and WCT level, and Davis Cup)
Career titles	28
Highest ranking	No. 15 (23 August 1977)
Last updated on: 11 April 2012.

John Alexander
Member of the Australian Parliament for Bennelong
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 August 2010
Preceded by	Maxine McKew
Personal details
Political party	Liberal Party of Australia
Residence(s)	Sydney, New South Wales
Profession	Tennis player / Politician

John Gilbert Alexander OAM MP (born 4 July 1951 in Sydney) is a former professional touring tennis player and current Australian politician.

Tennis career

During a tennis career spanning the late 1960s to mid-1980s, Alexander won 7 tour singles titles and 27 doubles titles. He achieved a career best singles ranking of World No. 8 in December 1975. Alexander is the youngest player to represent Australia in the Davis Cup. He was also one of Australia's longest serving Davis Cup players, representing his country from 1968 to 1983.

Alexander served as captain of the Australian Fed Cup team and worked as a sports commentator for Australian (Channel 7) and British (BBC) television networks for over 20 years. Alexander is known for his extensive knowledge (historical and technical) of tennis.

As Managing Director of Next Generation Clubs Australia, Alexander became a successful businessman building sport and fitness clubs; including the development of the Ryde Aquatic Centre in Sydney to host the 2000 Summer Olympic Games water polo event, development of Memorial Drive in Adelaide into a multi-function health and fitness facility, and Royal King's Park in Perth.

In 1995, Alexander was the referee in the first Australian series of Gladiators.

Political career

In December 2009 Alexander won Liberal preselection for the seat of Bennelong, which was held for 33 years by former Prime Minister John Howard until he lost it to Maxine McKew in November 2007. Alexander won the seat of Bennelong in the 2010 federal election with a swing of 4.52%.

Alexander delivered his maiden speech to Parliament on 28 October 2010, detailing his particular interest in areas of preventative health, infrastructure, transport and sustainable growth. During his first term Alexander has been put in charge of several internal policy committees, with a particular focus on regional development, high speed rail and policies to tackle urban congestion.

In October 2011 Alexander ran the inaugural Bennelong Cup Table Tennis Test Match, involving players from China, Korea and Australia playing in a formal competition in Ryde. In October 2012 the opening games were played in the Great Hall of Parliament House - the first competitive sporting event ever played there. The Ambassadors for China and Korea attended and participated in a friendly competition with Alexander and Minister for Sport Kate Lundy. The Bennelong Cup is the celebration of Alexander's Bennelong Schools Table Tennis Program which has put tables in all 40 Bennelong schools in order to encourage social interaction between students of different cultural backgrounds, together with a healthy activity.

Alexander's continual focus on delivering initiatives for the local Bennelong community has made him a popular local Member. Alexander was unchallenged in his Liberal preselection for the 2013 election.

Career finals

Singles wins (7)

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1.	9 August 1970	Kitzbühel, Austria	Clay	Željko Franulović	4–6, 7–9, 4–6
Runner-up	2.	10 January 1971	Hobart, Australia	Hard	Alex Metreveli	6–7, 3–6, 6–4, 3–6
Runner-up	3.	18 January 1971	Sydney, Australia	Hard	Phil Dent	6–3, 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	4.	15 May 1971	Tehran, Iran	Clay	Marty Riessen	7–6, 1–6, 3–6, 6–7
Runner-up	5.	2 December 1972	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	John Newcombe	1–6, 6–7
Runner-up	6.	23 April 1973	Gothenburg, Sweden	Carpet	Stan Smith	7–5, 4–6, 2–6
Runner-up	7.	16 September 1973	Seattle, USA		Tom Okker	5–7, 4–6
Runner-up	8.	15 April 1974	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	Andrew Pattison	3–6, 5–7
Winner	1.	17 February 1975	Fort Worth, USA	Hard	Dick Stockton	7–6(2), 4–6, 6–3
Runner-up	9.	24 March 1975	Atlanta WCT, USA	Carpet	Mark Cox	3–6, 6–7(3)
Winner	2.	31 March 1975	Tucson, USA	Hard	Ilie Năstase	7–5, 6–2
Runner-up	10.	20 July 1975	Chicago, USA	Carpet	Roscoe Tanner	1–6, 7–6, 6–7
Runner-up	11.	14 March 1977	St. Louis WCT, USA	Carpet	Jimmy Connors	6–7(5), 2–6
Winner	3.	31 July 1977	North Conway, USA	Clay	Manuel Orantes	2–6, 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	12.	30 July 1978	Louisville, USA	Clay	Harold Solomon	2–6, 2–6
Runner-up	13.	31 July 1978	North Conway, USA	Clay	Eddie Dibbs	4–6, 4–6
Runner-up	14.	9 October 1978	Brisbane, Australia	Grass	Mark Edmondson	4–6, 6–7
Winner	4.	7 May 1979	Nations Cup, Germany	Clay	Corrado Barazzutti	6–2, 6–0
Winner	5.	23 July 1979	Louisville, USA	Hard	Terry Moor	7–6, 6–7, 3–3, RET
Winner	6.	13 December 1982	Sydney, Australia	Grass	John Fitzgerald	4–6, 7–6, 6–4
Winner	7.	10 January 1983	Auckland, New Zealand	Hard	Russell Simpson	6–4, 6–3, 6–3

Doubles titles (28)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1.	1970	Australian Open, Melbourne	Grass	Phil Dent	Bob Lutz Stan Smith	3–6, 6–8, 3–6
Runner-up	2.	1970	Hilversum, Netherlands	Hard	Phil Dent	Bill Bowrey Owen Davidson	3–6, 4–6, 2–6
Winner	1.	1970	Kitzbühel, Austria	Clay	Phil Dent	Željko Franulović Jan Kodeš	10–8, 6–2, 6–4
Winner	2.	1971	Sydney Outdoor, Australia	Hard	Phil Dent	Mal Anderson Alex Metreveli	6–7, 2–6, 6–3, 7–6, 7–6
Winner	3.	1971	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Andrés Gimeno	Dick Crealy Allan Stone	6–4, 7–5, 7–9, 6–4
Winner	4.	1971	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Phil Dent	John Newcombe Tom Okker	5–7, 6–3, 6–4
Winner	5.	1971	Los Angeles, U.S.	Hard	Phil Dent	Frank Froehling Clark Graebner	7–6, 6–4
Runner-up	3.	1971	Vancouver WCT, Canada		Phil Dent	Roy Emerson Rod Laver	7–5, 7–6, 0–6, 5–7, 6–7
Runner-up	4.	1972	Quebec WCT, Canada		Terry Addison	Bob Carmichael Ray Ruffels	6–4, 3–6, 5–7
Runner-up	5.	1972	St. Louis WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Phil Dent	John Newcombe Tony Roche	6–7, 2–6
Winner	6.	1972	Bretton Woods, U.S.	Hard	Fred Stolle	Nikola Pilić Cliff Richey	7–6, 7–6
Winner	7.	1972	Louisville WCT, U.S.	Clay	Phil Dent	Arthur Ashe Robert Lutz	6–4, 6–3
Runner-up	6.	1973	Australian Open, Melbourne	Grass	Phil Dent	Mal Anderson John Newcombe	3–6, 4–6, 6–7
Winner	8.	1973	Toronto WCT, Canada	Carpet	Phil Dent	Roy Emerson Rod Laver	3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up	7.	1973	Brussels WCT, Belgium	Carpet	Phil Dent	Bob Lutz Stan Smith	4–6, 6–7
Winner	9.	1973	Cincinnati, U.S.	Clay	Phil Dent	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez	1–6, 7–6, 7–6
Runner-up	8.	1974	Richmond WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Phil Dent	Nikola Pilić Allan Stone	3–6, 6–3, 6–7
Winner	10.	1974	Miami WCT, U.S.	Hard	Phil Dent	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	4–6, 6–4, 7–5
Winner	11.	1974	Monte Carlo WCT, Monaco	Clay	Phil Dent	Manuel Orantes Tony Roche	7–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–3
Runner-up	9.	1974	San Francisco, U.S.	Carpet	Syd Ball	Robert Lutz Stan Smith	4–6, 6–7
Winner	12.	1975	Australian Open, Melbourne	Grass	Phil Dent	Bob Carmichael Allan Stone	6–3, 7–6
Runner-up	10.	1975	Fort Worth WCT, U.S.	Hard	Phil Dent	Bob Lutz Stan Smith	7–6, 6–7, 3–6
Winner	13.	1975	San Antonio WCT, U.S.	Hard	Phil Dent	Mark Cox Cliff Drysdale	7–6, 4–6, 6–4
Runner-up	11.	1975	Tokyo Indoor, Japan	Carpet	Phil Dent	Bob Lutz Stan Smith	4–6, 7–6, 2–6
Winner	14.	1975	Las Vegas, U.S.	Hard	Phil Dent	Bob Carmichael Cliff Drysdale	6–1, 6–4
Runner-up	12.	1975	French Open, Paris	Clay	Phil Dent	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez	4–6, 6–2, 2–6, 4–6
Winner	15.	1975	Chicago, U.S.	Carpet	Phil Dent	Mike Cahill John Whitlinger	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	13.	1975	North Conway, U.S.	Clay	Phil Dent	Haroon Rahim Erik Van Dillen	6–7, 6–7
Winner	16.	1976	Atlanta WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Phil Dent	Wojtek Fibak Karl Meiler	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	14.	1976	St. Louis WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Phil Dent	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez	4–6, 2–6
Winner	17.	1976	Denver WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Phil Dent	Jimmy Connors Billy Martin	6–7, 6–2, 7–5
Runner-up	15.	1977	Houston WCT, U.S.	Hard	Phil Dent	Ilie Năstase Adriano Panatta	3–6, 4–6
Runner-up	16.	1977	Wimbledon, London	Grass	Phil Dent	Ross Case Geoff Masters	3–6, 4–6, 6–3, 9–8, 4–6
Winner	18.	1977	Cincinnati, U.S.	Clay	Phil Dent	Bob Hewitt Roscoe Tanner	6–3, 7–6
Winner	19.	1977	Washington, D.C., U.S.	Clay	Phil Dent	Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart	7–5, 7–5
Winner	20.	1977	Louisville, U.S.	Clay	Phil Dent	Chris Kachel Cliff Letcher	6–1, 6–4
Runner-up	17.	1977	Adelaide, Australia	Grass	Phil Dent	Syd Ball Kim Warwick	6–3, 6–7, 4–6
Winner	21.	1977	Sydney Outdoor, Australia	Grass	Phil Dent	Ray Ruffels Allan Stone	7–6, 2–6, 6–3
Runner-up	18.	1977	Australian Open–2, Melbourne	Grass	Phil Dent	Ray Ruffels Allan Stone	6–7, 6–7
Winner	22.	1978	Forest Hills WCT, U.S.	Clay	Phil Dent	Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart	7–6, 7–6
Winner	23.	1978	Atlanta, U.S.	Hard	Butch Walts	Mike Cahill Marcello Lara	3–6, 6–4, 7–6
Winner	24.	1978	Los Angeles, U.S.	Carpet	Phil Dent	Fred McNair Raúl Ramírez	6–3, 7–6
Winner	25.	1978	Brisbane, Australia	Grass	Phil Dent	Syd Ball Allan Stone	6–3, 7–6
Runner-up	19.	1979	Houston, U.S.	Clay	Geoff Masters	Gene Mayer Sherwood Stewart	1–6, 7–5, 4–6
Runner-up	20.	1979	Adelaide, Australia	Grass	Phil Dent	Colin Dibley Chris Kachel	7–6, 6–7, 4–6
Runner-up	21.	1981	Mexico City, Mexico	Clay	Ross Case	John Newcombe Tony Roche	7–6, 3–6, 1–6
Runner-up	22.	1981	Maui, U.S.	Hard	Jim Delaney	Tony Graham Matt Mitchell	3–6, 6–3, 6–7
Winner	26.	1982	Australian Open, Melbourne	Grass	John Fitzgerald	Andy Andrews John Sadri	6–7, 6–2, 7–6
Winner	27.	1982	Sydney Outdoor, Australia	Grass	John Fitzgerald	Cliff Letcher Craig Miller	6–4, 7–6
Winner	28.	1983	Bristol, England	Grass	John Fitzgerald	Tom Gullikson Johan Kriek	7–5, 6–4
Runner-up	23.	1984	Rome, Italy	Clay	Mike Leach	Ken Flach Robert Seguso	6–3, 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up	24.	1984	Bristol, U.K.	Grass	John Fitzgerald	Larry Stefanki Robert Van't Hof	4–6, 7–5, 7–9
Runner-up	25.	1985	Bristol, U.K.	Grass	Russell Simpson	Eddie Edwards Danie Visser	4–6, 6–7

Singles performance timeline

Tournament	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977		1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985
Australian Open	A	2R	2R	3R	1R	SF	3R	A	A	SF	SF	QF	1R	1R	3R	4R	2R	1R	1R
French Open	3R	1R	1R	2R	A	1R	A	4R	A	A		4R	A	A	A	1R	4R	2R	A
Wimbledon	2R	4R	2R	2R	A	A	2R	2R	1R	2R		4R	3R	A	1R	2R	2R	1R	A
US Open	A	2R	A	4R	2R	4R	3R	2R	3R	2R		1R	2R	A	1R	1R	A	A	A

A = Did not participate

External links

• ATPtennis.com player profile for Alexander
• "Parliament of Australia House of Representatives"

Personal

Alexander was married to Rosemary Brown, a former swimmer, for almost 10 years. They have three children: Emily (1990), Georgia (1991) and Charles (1994).

Honours

On 26 January 1992, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of services to tennis.

On 30 August 2000, he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for strong commitment to tennis.