The night before Australia’s charge at Wimbledon withered on Saturday, a key figure from the nation’s golden generation declared he too would be bowing out due to the difficulty of travel. Neale Fraser, the 1960 Wimbledon champion who later became a successful Davis Cup captain, told a gathering at the annual “Aussie barbecue” that his 60th visit to the All England Club would also be his last.
“It is like a second home. It is 70 years since I played my first match at Wimbledon,” said Fraser, who turns 90 in October. “I remember coming for the first time in 1954 and cameras were in vogue then and I photographed everything around Wimbledon in case I would never get back here again. Little did I know that I would get back here 60 more times.”
When Fraser and his pomp were in their prime, failing to have a finalist at the very least at Wimbledon would have been considered a crisis. But that is no longer the reality. For the first time since 2018, no Australian has managed to reach the last 16 this year. After the highlights of the last two years, which saw Ash Barty fulfil her destiny in 2021 and Nick Kyrgios reach the 2022 final, this has been a sobering Wimbledon.
With Chris O’Connell falling to Chris Eubanks on Saturday, it is the second grand slam in succession in which the final week will progress without an Australian in the singles draw. Despite optimism after strong lead-in performances from Alex de Minaur, Jordan Thompson and Jason Kubler, the grass did not prove any greener in London after a similarly difficult Roland Garros.
The trouble started with Kyrgios’s withdrawal on the eve of the tournament and included De Minaur’s loss to the resurgent former finalist Matteo Berrittini on Friday. Ajla Tomljanovic, a quarter-finalist in 2021 and 2022, withdrew again due to injury, while Daria Saville and Storm Hunter exited in the first round.
There is a fair bet Fraser and Fred Stolle, who was also in attendance at the function on Friday night, would have at least admired O’Connell’s campaign given his astute grass court play and level-headed demeanour. A stereotypical late-blooming Aussie, the 29-year-old reached the third round at a major for the second time and performed well without much fortune against Eubanks.
O’Connell was denied by a stroke of misfortune in the first tiebreaker, several strokes of brilliance from the American in the second and some sublime backhands by Eubanks deep in the third.
“I just felt like the whole match was on his racket,” O’Connell said. “I couldn’t do anything. Not only was he serving fantastic, he was unbelievable off the ground. Even when I made a return, he was just suffocating me with his next ball. And he barely missed one.”
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If the “Aussie barbecue” on Friday night celebrated past glories, it also served to highlight a stark reality. The invitation to prominent expatriate Australians living in London proclaimed the anniversary of several triumphs over the last seven decades in years ending with the number three. There are too many to list.
But with some clear exceptions, that has scarcely been the case this century. Barty, a three-time major winner and No 1, and Sam Stosur were clear standouts. But it is now more than two decades since Lleyton Hewitt, who was courtside for O’Connell’s match, secured the last major by an Australian man. The golden days are gone.
And Australia is not alone in its struggle among the big four in tennis when it comes to historical clout. No French player progressed beyond the second round this year, despite the nation’s depth of talent. At Roland Garros staff commemorated the 40th anniversary of their last male champion Yannick Noah by wearing special commemorative T-shirts. That fact should prompt a wake, not a celebration.
Nor has an American man won a grand slam since Andy Roddick in 2003, though Eubanks remains alive at Wimbledon. Just two American women and one English woman reached the third round, while O’Connell and three American men were the only survivors in the last 32 from the grand slam nations.
At the completion of Wimbledon, the tour moves largely to North America and the Australians will hope for better luck at the US Open beginning in late August. Despite the evidence at grand slam level this year, O’Connell believes there is reason to be optimistic. “We’ve got a lot of good players at the moment who are starting to knock on the door,” he said.