Rod Laver

Rodney George "Rod" Laver (born August 9 1938, in Rockhampton, Australia) is
a former World No. 1 tennis player from Australia.
For this achievement, Laver is considered by many
tennis fans to be the greatest individual player
of all time.

Laver was a young boy when he left school to
pursue a career in tennis that would end up
lasting 23 years. Laver's first major singles
title was the Australian Open in 1960, where he beat fellow
Australian Neale Fraser in a titanic five-set
final. He then captured his first Wimbledon singles crown in 1961. In
1962, he became only the second male player after
Don Budge in 1938 to win all four of the Grand
Slam titles in the same year.

At the time, the Grand Slam events were only open
to amateur players, who were given (under the
table) little more than cost of living money for
their appearances in tournaments.

Laver turned professional after completing Grand
Slam in 1962. He quickly established himself among
the leading professional players, delighting
crowds with duels against Pancho Gonzales and Ken
Rosewall. During the next seven years, Laver won
the US
Professional Singles Championship five times,
including four in a row from 1966-1969.

With the dawn of the Tennis Open Era in
1968, professional players were once again allowed
to compete in the Grand Slam events. Laver became
Wimbeldon's first Open Era champion in 1968,
beating fellow-Australian Tony Roche in straight
sets in the final.

In 1969, Laver achived the Grand Slam for a second
time, sealing the achievement with a four-set win
over Roche in the US Open
final. He had an incredible record that year,
winning 17 of the 32 singles touarnments he
entered and compiling a 106-16 win-loss record. In
beating John Newcombe in four sets in the
Wimbeldon final, he captured the title at the All
England Club for the fourth consecutive time that
he'd entered the championship (and reached the
final for the sixth consecutive time as he'd been
runner-up in 1959 and 1960). He set a record of 31
consecutive match victories at Wimbledon between
1961 and 1970, which lasted until 1980 when it was
eclipsed by Bjorn Borg. Unlike his first Grand
Slam year in 1962, in 1969 Laver was playing in
events open to all players in the professional and
amateur ranks, and thus winning tournaments that
involved all of the best players in the world.

In 1971, Laver won a then-record US$292,717 in
tournament prize money. The figure enabled him to
become the first tennis player to surpass US$1
million in prize money.

Laver helped Australia win the Davis Cup four
consecutive times from 1959-62. In 1973,
professionals were permitted to play in the Davis
Cup for the first time, and Laver was on a winning
team for the fifth time, claiming two singles and
a doubles rubber in the final as Australia beat
the United States 5-0.

Laver was officially ranked the World No. 1 player
in 1961, 1962, 1968 and 1969. He retired from the
professional tennis tour in 1974. He was still
ranked in the Top 10 at the time of his
retirement.

Laver's 11 Grand Slam singles titles currently
place him tied for third place on the all-time
list, along with Borg. Only Pete Sampras and Roy
Emerson have won more Grand Slam singles titles.
Laver would almost certainly have won more than
the 11 Grand Slam singles titles he did had he not
been barred from entering the Slams from 1963-67,
due to his professional status. Laver also won
eight Grand Slam doubles titles.

While there are other players who could also
validly have a claim to the title of the greatest
male tennis player of all time, few would argue
that Laver is, at the very least, among the best
six or seven men ever to play tennis. Many fans
consider him to be the greatest as he is the only
play (male or female) to have achieved the Grand
Slam twice.

Laver was inducted into the International Tennis
Hall of Fame in 1981.

In July 1998, Laver suffered a major stroke while
being interviewed by ESPN for a series on greatest
athletes of the 20th Century. Characteristically,
tennis played an important role in his recovery.

In 2000, the centre court at Melbourne Park, which
today hosts the Australian Open, was named the Rod
Laver Arena is named in his honour.

In 2003, Laver, along with fellow Australian
tennis superstar Margaret Smith Court, was
honoured with his portrait on a List of people on
stamps of Australia|postage stamp by the
"Australia Post Australian Legends Award".


== Grand Slam singles finals ==

=== Wins (11) ===

Year Championship Opponent in
Final Score in Final
1960 Australian Championships Neale Fraser
5-7, 3-6, 6-3, 8-6, 8-6
1961 Wimbledon Charles
McKinley 6-3, 6-1, 6-4
1962 Australian Championships Roy Emerson
8-6, 0-6, 6-4, 6-4
1962 French Championships Roy Emerson
3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 9-7, 6-2
1962 Wimbledon Martin
Mulligan 6-2, 6-2, 6-1
1962 US Championships Roy Emerson
6-2, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
Open Era
1968 Wimbledon Tony Roche
6-3, 6-4, 6-2
1969 Australian Open Andres Gimeno
6-3, 6-4, 7-5
1969 French Open Ken Rosewall
6-4, 6-3, 6-4
1969 Wimbledon John Newcombe
6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
1969 US Open Tony Roche
7-9, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2

=== Runner-ups (6) ===

Year Championship Opponent in
Final Score in Final
1959 Wimbledon Alex Olmedo
6-4, 6-3, 6-4
1960 Wimbledon Neale Fraser
6-4, 3-6, 9-7, 7-5
1960 US Championships Neale Fraser
6-4, 6-4, 9-7
1961 Australian Championships Roy Emerson
1-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4
1961 US Championships Roy Emerson
7-5, 6-3, 6-2
Open Era
1968 French Open Ken Rosewall
6-3, 6-1, 2-6, 6-2