John Alexander (Australian politician)

John Alexander OAM, MP
Member of the Australian Parliament for Bennelong
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 August 2010
Preceded by	Maxine McKew
Majority	7.8%
Personal details
Political party	Liberal Party of Australia
Residence	Sydney
Occupation	Politician
Website	johnalexander.net.au
Nickname(s)	J.A.

Tennis Career

John Alexander at the 1970 International Dutch Championships in Hilversum.
Country (sports)	Australia
Born	4 July 1951 Sydney
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Turned pro	1968
Retired	1985
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money	$1,214,079
Singles
Career record	515–385 (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, 1977^Jan, 1977^Dec)
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)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	W (1975, 1982)
French Open	F (1975)
Wimbledon	F (1977)
US Open	QF (1972, 1973, 1974)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	W (1977)

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

Political career

As a Liberal Party candidate John Alexander won the seat of Bennelong from the Australian Labor Party in the 2010 election with a swing of 4.52 points, giving a two-party-preferred margin of 3.1 points.^[1]

Alexander delivered his maiden speech to parliament on 28 October 2010,^[2] detailing his particular interest in areas of preventative health, infrastructure, transport and sustainable growth. During his first term Alexander was put in charge of several internal policy committees, with a particular focus on regional development 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 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. The Bennelong Cup has continued every year since with an interschool tournament followed by international competition in Ryde, preceded by exhibition matches in Parliament House, Canberra.^[3]

Alexander has also established a range of other local programs including Bennelong Gardens, which provides work opportunities for people with disabilities in specially designed market gardens, and Bennelong Village Business program which promotes the benefits of local small business shopping and negotiates discounted advertising rates for small businesses in the local newspaper. John Alexander received much publicity for his 100 km charity walk around Bennelong to raise money and awareness of motor neurone disease after the loss of two close friends to the disease.^[4]

Alexander was not challenged in Liberal preselection in 2012. In the 2013 election Alexander was re-elected as Member for Bennelong, increasing his two party preferred margin to 7.8%.^[5]

In September 2013 Alexander was appointed Chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Tax & Revenue where he worked on improving access to 'light touch' tax returns for individuals with simple tax affairs. Following this he was appointed Chair of the House Standing Committee on Economics where he instigated an inquiry into home ownership and opportunities for tax reform.^[6] Following Malcolm Turnbull's ascension to Prime Minister John Alexander was appointed Chair of the newly formed House Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport & Cities where he commenced an inquiry into transport connectivity, regional development, high speed rail and the use of value capture as an innovative funding mechanism.^[7]

Alexander also currently serves as Chair of the Coalition Policy Committees on Infrastructure & Regional Development, and on Tourism, Chair of the Sydney Airport Community Forum, and Chair of the Australia-East Asia Parliamentary Network.

As a strong proponent of high speed rail linking Australia's eastern seaboard,^[8] Alexander delivered the keynote speech at a high-speed rail conference at University of Melbourne in February 2014, highlighting the resultant opportunities for regional development and reduction in traffic congestion in major cities.^[9]

Alexander was not challenged in Liberal preselection in 2016 and will be recontesting the seat of Bennelong for the Liberal Party.

Professional career

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

Shortly before his election to Parliament in 2010, Alexander's Tennis Professionals won a High Court case for the right to redevelop the White City Tennis Centre in Sydney.

Alexander also managed a variety of small businesses in the retail and sporting sectors.

Tennis career

During a tennis career spanning the late 1960s to mid-1980s, Alexander won 7 tour singles titles and 27 doubles titles, and earned a total of $1,214,079 (USD) in prize money.^[10] 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. From 1974 to 1986 Alexander served as the resident tennis professional at Lamar Hunt's World Championship Tennis Peachtree World of Tennis Club in Peachtree Corners, Georgia US.

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.

Singles (7 titles, 20 runner-ups)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
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	3–6, 4–6, 4–6
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.	18 January 1974	Lakeway, USA		Cliff Richey	6–7, 1–6
Runner-up	9.	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^(7–2), 4–6, 6–3
Runner-up	10.	24 March 1975	Atlanta WCT, USA	Carpet	Mark Cox	3–6, 6–7^(3–7)
Winner	2.	31 March 1975	Tucson, USA	Hard	Ilie Năstase	7–5, 6–2
Runner-up	11.	20 July 1975	Chicago, USA	Carpet	Roscoe Tanner	1–6, 7–6, 6–7
Runner-up	12.	14 March 1977	St. Louis WCT, USA	Carpet	Jimmy Connors	6–7^(5–7), 2–6
Winner	3.	31 July 1977	North Conway, USA	Clay	Manuel Orantes	2–6, 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	13.	30 July 1978	Louisville, USA	Clay	Harold Solomon	2–6, 2–6
Runner-up	14.	31 July 1978	North Conway, USA	Clay	Eddie Dibbs	4–6, 4–6
Runner-up	15.	9 October 1978	Brisbane, Australia	Grass	Mark Edmondson	4–6, 6–7
Runner-up	16.	26 March 1979	Milan, Italy	Carpet	John McEnroe	4–6, 3–6
Runner-up	17.	2 April 1979	Nice, France	Clay	Víctor Pecci	3–6, 2–6, 5–7
Winner	4.	23 July 1979	Louisville, USA	Hard	Terry Moor	7–6, 6–7, 3–3, RET
Runner-up	18.	10 September 1979	Atlanta, USA	Hard	Eliot Teltscher	3–6, 6–4, 2–6
Winner	5.	14 June 1982	Bristol, Great Britain	Grass	Tim Mayotte	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	19.	13 September 1982	Palermo, Italy	Clay	Mario Martinez	4–6, 5–7
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
Runner-up	20.	25 July 1983	South Orange, USA	Clay	Brad Drewett	6–4, 4–6, 6–7

Doubles (28 titles, 25 runner-ups)

Outcome	No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
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, 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, UK	Grass	John Fitzgerald	Larry Stefanki Robert Van't Hof	4–6, 7–5, 7–9
Runner-up	25.	1985	Bristol, UK	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	QF	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

• John Alexander at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• John Alexander at the International Tennis Federation
• John Alexander at the Davis Cup
• "Parliament of Australia House of Representatives"
• "Personal Website"

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). Alexander lives with his children in the electorate of Bennelong in Sydney's inner north-west.

Honours

On 26 January 1992, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia.^[11]

On 30 August 2000, he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal.^[12]

References

10. "John Alexander | Overview". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
11. "John Alexander OAM". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
12. "John Alexander". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 31 December 2012.