He had tried his hand at boxing and toyed with the idea of playing Australian football, but earned his living as an apprentice carpenter – hence his nickname “Nails”. The pseudonym was peculiarly apt: Carmichael seemed as hard as the nails he hammered into timber floors and what he lacked in tennis finesse he made up for in mental toughness.The high-profile Australian players of that era travelled in official teams under Harry Hopman and had all expenses paid. He gave other players, to whom he was not contracted, valuable tips. Many knew him as a crusty, though colourful, character famous for long-winded jokes, quirky behaviour in restaurants and infuriating slowness on golf coursesCarmichael was a club player of average ability when, in 1963 at the age of 22, he chanced his arm on the international circuit. Most agree that they learnt lessons about life as well as tennis.

He demanded that his players fight to the last breath and, that if they lost, they should lose “like an Australian”, looking the winner in the eye and proffering a firm handshake.In 1999 Carmichael helped India’s Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi to win three grand slam doubles titles. It was the final paradox in the story of a down-to-earth man of many contradictions. Rising above difficult circumstances, this son of a Scottish-born working man made himself a professional player of high calibre by hard work. Uncoached, he learned from watching others.Carmichael claimed that in a playing career spanning two decades he beat, either in singles or doubles, every notable player of his time, from Pancho Gonzales and Bj?Borg to Ken Rosewall and Jimmy Connors.

In 1970, his best year, he counted among his scalps Rosewall, Arthur Ashe and Manuel Santana; reached the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon singles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles; and finished 10th in the grand prix.His deeds were dwarfed, however, by his immense influence on the character of subsequent generations of Australian players. From 1980, as a coach, he guided players such as Darren Cahill, Mark Kratzmann, Patrick Rafter and Wally Masur in their formative years. But the crowds were back in force this year, and it seemed that Williams’s resurgence gave a bright outlook for the future. He was already making plans for the 20th festival when he was taken ill and died from an acute viral infection.Steve Voce. Bob Carmichael was one of Australia’s best-loved sportsmen, despite never having won a grand slam title or represented his country at tennis. Among the hundreds of mourners at his funeral were the Australian Davis Cup team, former Wimbledon champions, leading coaches and administrators, club players and fans.