For anyone of a certain age, watching Peter McNamara at Wimbledon was a big part of their childhood. The Australian formed half of one of the all-time great doubles partnerships with his old mate, Paul McNamee, and together they won three Grand Slam doubles titles, including twice at Wimbledon, in 1980 and 1982.

A dynamic, athletic and versatile player at home on all surfaces, “Macca” was good enough to be ranked a career-high No.7 in singles in 1983. He beat Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl and won five singles titles. But it was in doubles where McNamara excelled.

In 1979, the pair – who became known as the Super Macs – won the Australian Open but it was at Wimbledon where they really shot to global fame. In 1980, they beat John McEnroe and Peter Fleming in the semi-finals before beating Stan Smith and Bob Lutz for the title. And in 1982, they beat McEnroe and Fleming again, this time in the final.

His playing career was cut short by a knee injury at the age of 28 but he quickly turned his hand to coaching, with equally good effect. He coached Mark Philippoussis, worked with Grigor Dimitrov when he was young, having worked alongside Patrick Mouratoglou at his tennis academy.

As Mouratoglou said on Twitter: “He was very charismatic, totally passionate about his job, and such a great team-mate. He did an incredible job with Grigor Dimitrov helping his transitions to the pros.”

More recently, he worked extensively in China, where he was the coach of Wang Qiang, who made the top 20 before McNamara finally stopped travelling due to the prostate cancer he had been dealing, quietly, with for several years.

Fun to be around, hugely knowledgeable and always happy to stop for a chat, McNamara liked a glass of wine – as Paul McNamee recalled in television interviews in Australia after his death, echoing his earlier words on Twitter. “Hard to believe that after 50 years of friendship Macca is gone... you lived life to the full mate and will be missed by your loved ones and many more...a toast to the great times mate.”

McNamara was an inspiration to the Aussie generations that followed, from The Woodies, Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge, to Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt.

Pat Cash, the 1987 Wimbledon champion who played alongside McNamara in Davis Cups, was a ball-boy for McNamara as a child. “Peter was a hero of mine,” Cash told the ATP's website. "He was someone I looked up to as he was the top Australian at the time. We were so proud that a fellow Melburnian had cracking the Top 10 in 1981.

“As a player he possessed one of the game’s greatest single-handed backhands, which he thumped with incredible power, taking the ball on the rise with consistency and precision. At times it was unplayable, breathtaking and I tried to emulate it. He was truly a forerunner and ahead of the game with this shot, which can be seen today in a player like Roger Federer.”

For all his achievements on the court, the outpouring of support says everything about the man he was. “I’d like to think he knows what people thought of him,” McNamee told Australian TV.

“Macca was one of the most talented players of our era and a fierce competitor,” Peter Fleming told the ATP website. “More importantly, he had a heart of gold, a great friend to a lot of people.”

As Boris Becker said on Twitter: “RIP Peter McNamara. He was one of the good guys in tennis”.

McNamara, who died at home with his family in Germany on Saturday evening at the age of 64, is survived by his wife, Petra and his two children, Justin and Rochelle.