{"id":227003,"date":"2019-01-29T12:29:29","date_gmt":"2019-01-29T02:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=227003"},"modified":"2020-07-25T10:20:55","modified_gmt":"2020-07-25T00:20:55","slug":"tribute-to-aussie-tennis-legend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/01\/29\/tribute-to-aussie-tennis-legend\/","title":{"rendered":"Tribute To Aussie Tennis Legend"},"content":{"rendered":"
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FLASHBACK: A line-up of sporting talent at the opening of the Roy Emerson Statue in Blackbutt in January 2017 … Australian tennis greats Ashley Cooper AO, Mal Anderson MBE and Wendy Turnbull MBE with Roy Emerson AC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

January 29, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Blackbutt’s favourite son, tennis great Roy Emerson, received a major award in the Australia Day Honours List on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Roy, who was raised at nearby Nukku, was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for his “eminent service to tennis as a player at the national and international level, to the promotion of the sport, and as an inspiration to young sportspersons”.<\/p>\n

During his career, Emerson won 12 Grand Slam tournament finals, 16 Men\u2019s Doubles titles and eight Davis Cup titles.<\/p>\n

This is the latest tribute for the sporting legend, who is remembered in Blackbutt with a bronze statue and a small museum in his honour.<\/p>\n

In August 2000, Roy was awarded an Australian Sports Medal.<\/p>\n

In 2016, he was named an “Australia Post\u00a0Legend” and his image was used on postage stamps.<\/p>\n

These days Roy, 82, lives in Newport Beach, California, but makes regular trips back to Australia.<\/p>\n

He attended the recent Australian Open in Melbourne and posed for photos with winner\u00a0Novak Djokovic after the final.<\/p>\n

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