Australian tennis great Peter McNamara dies from cancer, aged 64

Tributes have flowed in from the tennis world for former Australian Davis Cup tennis star Peter McNamara, who has died after fighting a silent battle with cancer.

The tennis world is in mourning after the death of Peter McNamara.

The international tennis community is mourning the death of former Australian great Peter McNamara.

The former world No.7 lost his battle with prostate cancer on Saturday. He was 64.

The passing of the dual-Wimbledon doubles champion and Australian Davis Cup representative sparked a flood of tributes from tennis luminaries.

Paul McNamee and Peter McNamara twice won the Wimbledon doubles title.

The Victorian, who spent the latter stages of his life in Germany, was an immensely popular figure on both the men’s and women’s tour.

His refusal to publicly acknowledge he was suffering silently with the killer disease was the talk of January’s Australian Open, where he cut a tragically gaunt – but typically elegant – figure as he continued to coach China’s Wang Qiang.

Aussie and international tennis identities were shattered at news of his passing, many unaware of how ill he was.

R.I.P. Peter McNamara ! One of the good guys in tennis !
My condolences to his family

— Boris Becker (@TheBorisBecker) July 21, 2019

So sad to wake up & hear the news of Peter McNamara’s passing 😢 he was always one of the coaches I could sit down with on tour & be able to have a great chat with. Mostly about life & our kids. I will never forgot him telling me to live my life & be happy with who I am #RIPMacca

— Casey Dellacqua OLY (@caseydellacqua) July 21, 2019

Peter McNamara was one of the greats, a great person. He gave his all to everything he did, respected life & always had a smile & time for you. He’s someone you wanted to be in the trenches with. He fought in silence and now he can rest peacefully . #RIPMacca

— roger rasheed (@roger_rasheed) July 21, 2019

Absolutely devastated to hear the news of Peter McNamara passing. Peter was an amazing player, friend, compatriot, gentleman, coach & on and on. I CANNOT believe in all the time i saw him on tour i never knew he was this sick. He made every player better he coached. RIP Pete😢

— Rennae Stubbs (@rennaestubbs) July 21, 2019

#RIP Peter McNamara,
still shocked 😰 What a great person... You will be missed...

— Jule Goerges✌️🇩🇪 (@juliagoerges) July 21, 2019

Cut down at his peak as a singles player because of a knee injury, McNamara was a world-class competitor.

In his prime, he beat grand slam champions Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl en route to two of five singles crowns.

He was an Australian Open singles semi-finalist and also reached the last eight at Wimbledon and the French Open.

Renowned for his flair, McNamara was a bona fide star, reaching No.7 in singles and No. 3 in doubles.

Peter McNamara coached Aussie Matt Ebden.

His collaboration with fellow Victorian Paul McNamee, a partnership dubbed “the SuperMacs”, delivered three majors — the 1979 Australian and 1980 and ’82 Wimbledon titles.

Forced to retire at only 28 because of his knee injury, McNamara forged an excellent coaching career.

He mentored Mark Philippoussis, Grigor Dimitrov and Matt Ebden before working with China’s Wang for four years until February.

Wang rose to the top-20 under McNamara before his illness meant he could no longer travel.

McNamara spent the latter years of his life in Germany with his wife Petra.

Peter McNamara in action at the Australian Open.