31 March 2015 | Tennis Queensland

THE BRAD DREWETT CHARITY DAY

They may be a little older and they may be a little greyer, but none of them have lost their winning style on the tennis court.

There was no stopping 16 absolute Legends of the game as they banded together to pay tribute to their great mate Brad Drewett in the recent inaugural “Brad Drewett Pro-Am Tennis Charity Day”, held at Australia Tennis Academy on 22 March 2015 in the aid of raising funds for Motor Neurone Disease, Queensland.

Wow!!! what a line up – These humble former giants of the game consisted of Ken Rosewall (world no. 1), Lesley Bowrey (world no. 2), Mal Anderson (world no. 2), Bill Bowrey (world no. 8), John Alexander (world no. 8), John Frawley (world no. 35), Geoff Masters (world no. 42), Scott Draper (world no. 42), Peter Doohan (world no. 43), Mark Kratzmann (world no. 50), Bob Giltinan (world no. 56), Paul Hanley (world no. 5 doubles ), Sandon Stolle (world no. 2 doubles), Johan Anderson (world no. 90), Michael Tebbutt (world no. 87) and the baby of them all Benny Mitchell who is currently one of our young touring pro’s and future Davis Cup Star.

The day commenced with prominent Sydney radio host Alan Jones opening the official ceremonies and introducing the illustrious contenders whilst taking a walk down history lane as the crowd embraced the outstanding accolades of these fabulous legends. Collectively these 16 magicians of the game chalked up 42 Grand Slam Titles, 7 Davis Cups and 2 Fed Cups – absolutely mind boggling.

12 playing pro’s partnered with 12 keen and generous amateurs all doning their swanky blue Charity Day Shirts and battled it out through blood, sweat and tears for the crowing of the Brad Drewett Memorial Trophy. Fittingly enough, it was 14 year old aspiring young pro Celine Southern, who was sponsored by her Grandparents in the name of her Uncle who is suffering from MND along with her partner Ben Mitchell taking out the glory in this prestigious event.

The day was filled with lots of fun, fantastic tennis, amazing auctions both live and silent and everyone got the chance to win some pretty good prizes at the Sam Groth Service Speed Gun.

Thanks to all our pro’s, all our amateurs, all those that helped out on the day and everyone who sponsored and donated to this struggling charity. Motor Neurone Disease Association of Queensland gets very little funding from the Government so heavily relies on donations and charities such as this one. We are happy to announce that we raised near $50,000.00 with this money now able to make a considerable difference in the lives of many who suffer with this devastating illness.

Thanks to Jannene Meyer for the fantastic photos on the day 🙂