Product Code Database
Rodney George Laver (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former professional tennis player. Laver was ranked as the world number 1 professional player indisputably for five years from 1965 to 1969, and by some sources also in 1964 and 1970. He was also ranked as the number 1 amateur in 1961 and 1962. Laver won 200 singles titles across his amateur and professional careers, the most won by any tennis player.
Laver won 11 Grand Slam tournament singles titles and 8 Pro major titles. He completed the Grand Slam (winning all four majors in a calendar year) in singles twice, in 1962 and 1969; the latter remains the only time a man has done so in the Open Era. He also completed the Pro Slam (winning all three pro majors in one year) in 1967. Laver won titles on all court surfaces of his time (Grass court, Clay court, Hardcourt, Carpet court, Wood court), and he contributed to five Davis Cup titles for Australiaduring a time when the Davis Cup was deemed as significant as the four majors. The Rod Laver Arena (the main show court of the Australian Open) and the Laver Cup tournament are named after him.
Amongst his relatives were the cricketers Frank Laver and Jack Laver.
Laver was both Australian and US Junior champion in 1957. He had his breakthrough on the world stage in 1959, when he reached all three finals at Wimbledon, winning the mixed doubles title with Darlene Hard. As an unseeded player, he lost the singles final to Peruvian Alex Olmedo after surviving an 87-game semifinal against American Barry MacKay (tennis). His first major singles title was the Australian Open in 1960, where he defeated fellow Australian Neale Fraser in a five-set final after coming back from two sets down and saving a Fraser championship point in the fourth set. Laver captured his first Wimbledon singles crown in 1961 beating Chuck McKinley in straight sets in the final, which lasted just 53 minutes (one of the shortest men's singles Wimbledon finals on record). Laver was ranked the world No. 1 amateur in 1961 by Lance Tingay.
In 1962, Laver became the first male player since Don Budge in 1938 to win all four Grand Slam singles titles in the same year. He won an additional 18 titles, for a season total of 22. Among those titles were the Rome Masters and the Hamburg Masters, giving Laver the "clay court triple" of Paris, Rome, and Hamburg that had been achieved previously only by Lew Hoad in 1956. At the Australian championships, Laver beat Roy Emerson in the final. The biggest hurdle to Laver's winning the Grand Slam was the French Open on slow clay, where Laver won three consecutive five-setters beginning with the quarterfinals. In his quarterfinal with Martin Mulligan, Laver saved a matchpoint in the fourth set with a backhand volley after coming to the net behind a second serve. In the final, Laver lost the first two sets and was down 0–3 in the fourth set before coming back to defeat Emerson. At Wimbledon, his progress was much easier. Laver lost only one set the whole tournament, to Manuel Santana in a quarterfinal, who held a set point for a two set lead. In the final, Laver beat Mulligan in 52 minutes (a minute shorter than the previous year's final). At the US Championships, Laver lost only two sets during the tournament and defeated Emerson again in the final. Laver was ranked world number one amateur for 1962 by Tingay, by Ned Potter and by an Ulrich Kaiser panel of 13 experts.
In February 1963, Laver appeared on the panel game show To Tell the Truth, where all four panelists identified him based on his knowledge of the history of tennis.
In the beginning of 1963, Laver was beaten consistently by both Rosewall and Hoad on an Australasian tour. Hoad won the first eight matches against Laver, and Rosewall won 11 out of 13. However, Laver won the best-of-five set matches against Rosewall at Kooyong Stadium and at Adelaide's Memorial Stadium. By the end of the year, with six tournament titles, Laver had become the No. 2 professional player behind Rosewall. The History of Professional Tennis by Joe McCauley : Chapter 27 title, p. 123 : "New pro Laver takes second place to Rosewall" Rod Laver – The red-headed rocket from Rockhampton by Betty Laver p. 61 and 153Butch Buchholz in World Tennis Volume 13 Number 8 (January 1966) p. 38 In the first phase of the World Series tour, Laver finished second, with a 25–16 record. The top two players Rosewall and Laver then played a series of matches against each other to determine the champion. Rosewall won 14–4.
Laver's gross earnings for 1963 were first among the pro players.
In 1964, Laver and Rosewall both won seven important titles (in minor tournaments Laver won four and Rosewall won three), but Laver won 17 of 24 matches against Rosewall and captured the two most prestigious titles, the US Pro Championships over Gonzales and the Wembley Championships over Rosewall. In Tennis Week, Raymond Lee described the Wembley match, where Laver came from 5–3 down in the fifth set to win 8–6, as possibly their best ever and one that changed tennis history. Lee regards this win as the one that began and established Laver's long reign as world number one. The other prestige title, the French pro, was won by Rosewall. Rosewall finished top of the official points table in 1964 and after winning at Wembley, Laver said "I've still plenty of ambitions left and would like to be the world's No. 1. Despite this win, I am not there yet – Ken is." The History of Professional Tennis, by Joe McCauley, page 128
In 1965, Laver was clearly the No. 1 professional player,Earl "Butch" Buchholz in World Tennis Volume 13 Number 8 (January 1966) p. 38 winning 17 titles and 13 of 18 matches against Rosewall. In ten finals, Laver won eight against the still dangerous Gonzales. Laver won the Wembley Pro, beating Gimeno in the final.
In 1966, Laver won 16 events, including the US Pro Championships (beating Rosewall in a five-set final), the Wembley Pro Championship (beating Rosewall easily in the final), and eight other important tournaments.
In 1967, Laver won 19 titles, including the Wimbledon Pro (beating Rosewall in straight sets in the final), the US Pro Championships (beating Gimeno in the final), the Wembley Pro Championships (beating Rosewall in the final), and the French Pro Championship (beating Gimeno in the final), which gave him a clean sweep of the four most important professional titles, a professional Grand Slam. The Wimbledon Pro tournament in 1967 was the only professional event ever staged on Wimbledon's Centre Court before the Open Era began.
In 1969, Laver won all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same calendar year for the second time, sealing the achievement with a four-set win over Roche in the US Open final. He won 18 of the 32 singles tournaments he entered (still the Open Era titles record) and compiled a 106–16 win–loss record. In beating Newcombe in four sets in the Wimbledon final, he captured the title at the All England Club for the fourth consecutive time that he had entered the tournament (and reached the final for the sixth consecutive time as he had 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 Björn Borg. Unlike his first Grand Slam year in 1962, Laver in 1969 played in events open to all the best professional and amateur players of the world. In the year's Grand Slam tournaments, Laver had five five-set-matches, twice coming back from two sets down in early rounds. In the four finals, however, he lost a total of only two sets. His hardest match was a marathon 90-game semifinal against Roche at the Australian Open under tropical hot conditions. Other opponents at the Australian Open included Roy Emerson, Fred Stolle, and Andrés Gimeno. At the French Open, Laver beat Gimeno, Tom Okker, and Rosewall. At Wimbledon, Laver overcame strong challenges from Stan Smith, Cliff Drysdale, Ashe, and Newcombe. At the US Open on slippery grass courts, he defeated Dennis Ralston, Emerson, Ashe, and Roche. Laver proved his versatility by winning the Grand Slam tournaments on grass and clay, plus the two most important hard court titles (South African Open at Ellis Park, Johannesburg and the US Professional Championships at Boston) and the leading indoor tournaments (Philadelphia US Pro Indoor and Wembley British Indoor). Laver ranked No. 1 for 1969 by the panel of 13 international journalists for the 'Martini and Rossi' Award, by Tingay, by Collins, by Tommasi, by Frank Rostron and by World Tennis.
In the early 1970s, Laver lost his grip on the major tournaments. He played only five Grand Slam tournaments from 1970 through 1972. This was partly because of his contracts with NTL and WCT. But on the WCT tours, he remained the leading player and by far the leading prize money winner.
In 1970, Laver won 15 titles and US$201,453 in prize money, including the rich "Tennis Champions Classic" and five other big events (Sydney Dunlop Open, Philadelphia, Wembley, Los Angeles, South African Open). Those were the equivalent of the modern day ATP Masters Series and most had 8 or more of the world's top ranked players participating. With only two majors played by all the best players (Wimbledon and the US Open), there was no clear-cut World No. 1 in 1970. Wimbledon champion Newcombe, US champion Rosewall, and Laver (who won the most titles and had a 3–0 win–loss record against Newcombe and a 5–0 record against Rosewall) were ranked the highest by different journalists and expert panels. The panel of 10 international journalists who voted for the 'Martini and Rossi' Award, ranked Rosewall No. 1 with 97 points over Laver (89 pts) and Newcombe (81 pts). The panel of 12 journalists which made the WCT draw for 1971 ranked Laver 1st, Rosewall 2nd and Newcombe 3rd. Rex Bellamy ranked Laver No. 1, with Rosewall No. 2.The Times (London), 22 December 1970, p. 12 Judith Elian of L'Equipe Magazine (Paris) and Rino Tommasi placed Rosewall No. 1, while Robert Geist co-ranked Rosewall, Laver and Newcombe No. 1. Newcombe later wrote in his autobiography "Newk-Life On and Off the Court" (2002) that the top honour for 1970 belonged to Laver.Newk-Life On and Off the Court, John Newcombe, 2002, p.85 Lance Tingay, John McCauleyMuscles, Ken Rosewall as told to Richard Naughton, 2012, p.208 and Bud Collins. ranked Newcombe ahead of Rosewall and Laver.
In 1971 Laver won seven titles, including the Italian Open in Rome on clay over Jan Kodeš, the reigning French Open champion. Laver successfully defended his title at the "Tennis Champions Classic", winning 13 consecutive winner-take-all matches against top opponents and US$160,000. For the year, Laver won a then-record US$292,717 in tournament prize money and became the first tennis player to surpass US$1 million in career prize money. In 1971 and 1972, Laver finished as the points leader of the WCT tournament series but lost the playoff finals at Dallas to Rosewall. The last match is rated as one of the best of all time and drew a TV audience of over 20 million.
In 1972, Laver cut back his tournament schedule, partly because of back and knee injuries and his tennis camp businesses, but he still won five titles that year. In 1973, Laver won seven titles and successfully participated in the semifinals and final of the Davis Cup, where he won all six of his rubbers for Australia. In 1974 Laver won six titles from 13 tournaments and ended the year as World No. 4 based on the ATP point system. At 36, he was the oldest player during the Open Era to have been included in the year-ending top five.
In 1975, Laver set a record for WCT tournaments by winning four titles and 23 consecutive matches but in 1976, he semi-retired from the main tour, playing only a few selected events. He also signed with World Team Tennis, where he became "Rookie of the Year" at the age of 38 but won five titles overall that season.
Overall, despite turning 30 just months after the Open Era began, Laver had tremendous success, winning 74 singles titles, which remains seventh most of the era. Plus, like most players of his day, he regularly played doubles, winning 37 titles.
Laver's career earnings were approximately $1,540,000.
Against the older Pancho Gonzales, whom he played 1964 to 1970 on the pro tour, Laver had a lead of 43–22.
Laver had another, even longer rivalry with his fellow Queenslander Roy Emerson. They met first on the senior amateur tour in 1958 and dominated the amateur circuit until 1962, before Laver turned pro. When open tennis arrived in 1968, Emerson joined the pro tour, and had many new battles with Laver. Overall the score is 49–18 in favour of Laver, with 7–2 in major Grand Slam tournaments.
Laver had also many battles with Lew Hoad in his first years on the pro circuit 1963–1966. Although he lost the first eight matches in January 1963, Laver later in the year began to turn around their rivalry, and until 1966, he had built a 38–21 lead. Against Arthur Ashe, Laver had a head-to-head lead of 21–3, winning all of the first 18 matches. Ashe's first win came in 1974, when Laver was 35. Another younger rival in the Open Era was John Newcombe, whom Laver led 16–5 in their head-to-head score.
| 1959 Davis Cup | ||||||||||
| SF | 18–20 Jul 1959 | 4–1 | Mexico City | Clay | Singles 2 | Mario Llamas | L | 4–6, 4–6, 3–6 | ||
| Singles 4 | Tony Palafox | W | 6–3, 6–8, 4–6, 7–5, 6–3 | |||||||
| rowspan=2 F | 24–26 Jul 1959 | 5–0 | Montreal | Grass | Singles 2 | Robert Bédard | W | 8–6, 6–3, 6–4 | ||
| Singles 5 | François Godbout | W | 7–9, 6–4, 6–2, 6–1 | |||||||
| F | 31 Jul–2 Aug 1959 | 5–0 | Montreal | Grass | Doubles (Roy Emerson) | Orlando Garrido Reynaldo Garrido | W | 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 | ||
| SF | 7–10 Jul 1959 | 4–1 | Philadelphia | Grass | Singles 1 | Nicola Pietrangeli | W | 6–4, 2–6, 6–3, 6–3 | ||
| Singles 4 | Orlando Sirola | W | 4–6, 6–4, 6–0, 6–3 | |||||||
| F | 14–16 Aug 1959 | 4–1 | Boston | Grass | Singles 1 | Ramanathan Krishnan | L | 1–6, 4–6, 10–8, 4–6 | ||
| Singles 4 | Premjit Lall | W | 6–2, 10–8, 6–4 | |||||||
| F | 28–31 Aug 1959 | 3–2 | New York City | Grass | Singles 1 | Barry MacKay (tennis) | L | 5–7, 4–6, 1–6 | ||
| Singles 4 | Alex Olmedo | L | 7–9, 6–4, 8–10, 10–12 | |||||||
| 1960 Davis Cup | ||||||||||
| F | 26–28 Dec 1960 | 4–1 | Sydney | Grass | Singles 2 | Nicola Pietrangeli | W | 8–6, 6–4, 6–3 | ||
| Singles 4 | Orlando Sirola | W | 9–7, 6–2, 6–3 | |||||||
| 1961 Davis Cup | ||||||||||
| F | 26–28 Dec 1961 | 5–0 | Melbourne | Grass | Singles 2 | Orlando Sirola | W | 6–1, 6–4, 6–3 | ||
| Singles 4 | Nicola Pietrangeli | W | 6–3, 3–6, 4–6, 6–3, 8–6 | |||||||
| 1962 Davis Cup | ||||||||||
| F | 26–28 Dec 1962 | 5–0 | Brisbane | Grass | Singles 1 | Rafael Osuna | W | 6–2, 6–1, 7–5 | ||
| Doubles (Roy Emerson) | Rafael Osuna Tony Palafox | W | 7–5, 6–2, 6–4 | |||||||
| Singles 5 | Tony Palafox | W | 6–1, 4–6, 6–4, 8–6 | |||||||
| 1973 Davis Cup | ||||||||||
| SF | 16–18 Nov 1973 | 4–1 | Melbourne | Grass | Singles 1 | Jan Kodeš | W | 6–3, 7–5, 7–5 | ||
| Doubles (Ken Rosewall) | Jan Kodeš Vladimir Zednik | W | 6–4, 14–12, 7–9, 8–6 | |||||||
| Singles 4 | Jiří Hřebec | W | 6–1, 4–6, 6–4, 8–6 | |||||||
| F | 30 Nov–2 Dec 1973 | 5–0 | Cleveland | Carpet (i) | Singles 2 | Tom Gorman | W | 8–10, 8–6, 6–8, 6–3, 6–1 | ||
| Doubles (John Newcombe) | Stan Smith Erik van Dillen | W | 6–1, 6–2, 6–4 | |||||||
| Singles 5 | Stan Smith | W | 6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 6–2 | |||||||
As an amateur, Laver was a somewhat flashy player, often a late starter. He had to learn to control his adventurous shot-making and integrate percentage tennis into his game when he turned professional. In his prime, he could adapt his style to all surfaces and to all conditions. Laver had a strong record in five-set-matches, often turning things around with subtle changes of tactics.
Laver won six major titles as an amateur, including the Grand Slam (Australian, French, Wimbledon, and US Championships), before turning professional in December 1962. From then until 1968 he was banned from playing in any tournaments except for those on the professional circuit. He won eight Pro major titles (which included the 1967 Professional Grand Slam), along with the Masters Pro, (twice), , and the . After the Open Era began in 1968 Laver won five more major championships, bringing his final total to 11 and comprising his second Grand Slam; the only male singles player to win two Grand Slams and the only male singles player to do so in the Open Era. Laver also won eight major doubles titles.
Laver won titles on all court surfaces of his time (Grass court, Clay court, Hardcourt, Carpet court, Wood court), and he contributed to five Davis Cup titles for Australiaduring a time when the Davis Cup was deemed as significant as the four majors. The Rod Laver Arena (the main show court of the Australian Open) and the Laver Cup tournament are named after him.
Laver was ranked the world No. 1 amateur in 1961 by Lance Tingay and in 1962 by Tingay and Ned Potter. Laver was the number one professional in some rankings in 1964, in all rankings from 1965 to 1969, and in some rankings in 1970. His record 200 career singles titles will likely never be broken. He also holds the record for most titles won in a single year during the amateur era (22 in 1962), during the touring pro era (19 in 1967), and during the Open Era (18 in 1969). (1973). 9780671215330, Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780671215330 His rivalry with Ken Rosewall is among the greatest the sport has ever seen.
Most tennis experts (former players, historians, and the press) have high praise for Laver and his place in history. Dan Maskell, John Barrett, Butch Buchholz, Cliff Drysdale, Joe McCauley, Ted Schroeder, and Tony Trabert rank Laver as the best of all time. Trabert said in January 2008, "I still maintain that Rod Laver is the best player who ever played the game because he's done something no one has ever done in the 120 or 140-year history of our sport: he won the Grand Slam as an amateur and he won the Grand Slam as a pro." Malcolm Knox of the Sydney Morning Herald put Laver and Ken Rosewall in a class of two. Former players Frank Sedgman, Ellsworth Vines, Don Budge, and Sidney Wood, ranked Laver all-time as 3, 4, 5, and 5, respectively.Tennis Myth and Method, Ellsworth Vines & Gene Vier, 1978, Viking Press, p.6 In 1983, Fred Perry ranked Laver No. 1 in the post-World War II greatest players list. Tennis promoter and former Wimbledon champion Jack Kramer ranked Laver outside his six best all-time.Kramer considered the best player ever to have been either Don Budge (for consistent play) or Ellsworth Vines (at the height of his game). The next four best were, chronologically, Bill Tilden, Fred Perry, Bobby Riggs and Pancho Gonzales. After these six came the "second echelon" of Laver, Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, Gottfried von Cramm, Ted Schroeder, Jack Crawford, Pancho Segura, Frank Sedgman, Tony Trabert, John Newcombe, Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors. He felt unable to rank Henri Cochet and René Lacoste accurately but felt they were among the very best.McCauley, Joe (2003). The History of Professional Tennis; (1973). 9780671215330, Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780671215330
In 1986, the US magazine Inside Tennis polled 37 experts, and Laver was ranked first on their list. An Associated Press poll in 2000, had Laver was voted "The Male Tennis Player of the Century". Laver also topped the list of Tennis Week in 2007, where historian Raymond Lee analyzed the all-time best players. In the 2012 Tennis Channel production "100 Greatest of All Time" Laver was ranked No. 2 behind Roger Federer. In July 2017, Federer called Rod Laver the greatest of all time.
Tennis historian and commentator Bud Collins was often undecided between Laver, Bill Tilden, and Pancho Gonzales as far as who was the greatest of all time.The Collins article: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14489546/ But in 1989 he wrote, "I remain unconvinced that there ever was a better player than Rod Laver".
The hall at the Rockhampton Tennis Association's Victoria Park precinct in Wandal where Laver competed until the age of 14 was named the Rod Laver Hall upon its completion in December 1963 in recognition of his Grand Slam win the previous year.
In 1969, Laver was awarded the ABC Sportsman of the Year Award and the BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981. He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985 and upgraded to a Legend of Australian Sport in 2002. He is also an Australian Living Treasure. In 1998, Laver received the Philippe Chatrier Award (the ITF's highest accolade) for his contributions to tennis and in 2000, Centre Court at the National Tennis Centre in Melbourne was renamed Rod Laver Arena.
Laver was named as a Queensland Great in June 2005. In 2009, he was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame. Also in 2009, as part of the Q150 celebrations, Laver was named one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland.
Bronze busts of Laver and Margaret Court by sculptor Barbara McLean were unveiled at Melbourne Park in 1993 upon their induction into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame. Another bronze bust of Laver, also by McLean, was installed on the banks of the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton's Rockhampton City which was unveiled by Laver and Rockhampton City Council deputy mayor Dell Bunt on 7 December 2002. There was some concern raised by the local community when the bust was removed in 2016 during the riverbank redevelopment. However, the bust was re-installed upon the completion of the redevelopment which was officially opened in 2018, with the recreational precinct on the low bank being named Rod Laver Plaza. A bronze statue of Laver by sculptor Lis Johnson was unveiled at Melbourne Park prior to the 2017 Australian Open.
In 1966, Laver married Mary Benson in San Rafael, California. Born Mary Shelby Peterson in Illinois, she was a divorcee with three children and ten years his senior. Together, they had a son named Rick. The family lived at various locations in California including Rancho Mirage, Corona del Mar, a ranch near Santa Barbara and Carlsbad. Mary Laver died in November 2012 at the age of 84 at their home in Carlsbad. Since 2018, he has been living with his partner Susan Johnson, a widow from Florida.
In 1985, Laver's cousin was killed in the crash of Delta Air Lines Flight 191; the latter's son survived the crash.
Laver resides in Carlsbad, California, and attended San Diego Chargers games on occasion. On 1 October 2017, he was inducted into the Southern California Tennis Hall of Fame.
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1R | 1R | 2R | 3R | W | F | W | A | A | A | A | A | A | W | A | 3R | A | A | A | A | A | A | |
| French Open | 1R | A | 2R | 3R | 3R | SF | W | A | A | A | A | A | F | W | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
| Wimbledon | 1R | A | 3R | F | F | W | W | A | A | A | A | A | W | W | 4R | QF | A | A | A | A | A | 2R |
| US Open | 1R | A | 4R | QF | F | F | W | A | A | A | A | A | 4R | W | 4R | A | 4R | 3R | A | 4R | A | A |
| Pro Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Pro | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | F | W | F | W | W | not a Major | |||||||||
| French Pro | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | F | F | F | F | W | not a Major | |||||||||
| Wembley Pro | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | W | W | W | W | not a Major | |||||||||
Notes on sources: John Bercow's book Tennis Maestros: The Twenty Greatest Male Tennis Players of All Time confirms in chapter 9 Rod Laver's titles for the following years 1962 (22), 1965 (17), 1966 (16), 1967 (19), 1970 (15), 1971 (7), 1972 (5), 1973 (7), 1974 (6). The ITF confirms titles in 1975 (5) titles.
| Reference |
|
|
