Australian Rod Laver with the trophy after he had beaten fellow Australian Tony Roche in the final.
These days, more countries have decided to participate in tennis competitions. This means it has also become harder for a single player to win one or more of the 4 Grand Slam contested events every year.
Presently, there are players who have dominated the tennis scene by winning all 4 Grand Slam titles, but not all in the same year. There is, however, a player – Rod Laver – who has done this… twice. Laver has changed our understanding of tennis in so many ways.
Being the son of two tournament lawn tennis players, it seemed inevitable for Rod Laver to become a tennis player too. And that’s exactly what happened. Laver got introduced to tennis at a very young age. Back then, there were even doubts that he wouldn’t be a good tennis player because of his height. But that didn’t stop him from pursuing his dream. Instead, he practiced vigorously in the Australian outback.
It didn’t take long for Laver to draw attention because he was good at the game. The captain of the Australian Davis Cup, Harry Hopman, made Laver a member of the Australian Davis Cup squad when he was just 18 years old.
Rod Laver first joined the tennis tour overseas back in 1956. Even in the early days, he showed a lot of promise in terms of his performances in the tennis circuit. In the year 1956, Laver’s got his first significant success when he won the Australian Doubles Championship with Robert Mark. In the year 1959, he won the Wimbledon Mixed Doubles Finals with Darlene Hard.
In the year 1960, Lager received his first Australian Singles title. Then he won Wimbledon singles four times – in 1962, 1962, 1968, and 1969. He also won the Wimbledon Mixed Doubles 2 times – in 1959 and 1960. In 1962, Laver added to his Grand Slam victories the German and Italian Singles titles.
When it comes to historical figures, Rod Laver is just one example. If you’re interested in tennis or any other sport, you can learn more about these people by reading a good essay or two. Samplius collected a lot of historical figures essay samples for you to read. Through these essays, you can learn about the history of sports like tennis, baseball, basketball, and the like. Just pick your topic and you can start expanding your knowledge by reading different essays.
During Rod Laver’s time, tennis back then had different demands and values. Today, Laver sees it from an immediate and a historical vantage point. For instance, when he won the Wimbledon Singles title over American Chuck McKinley in 1961, they had to swap ends without sitting at the changeover and hit winners at each opportunity.
The stopwatch that Fred Perry had shown That the ball was in play for only 12 minutes. Unfortunately, Laver wasn’t able to bring his parents to the game because he couldn’t afford it. Tennis fans in Australia could only listen to the match over the radio at “Three in the Morning with Fred Perry” on commentary. But even then, people already noticed that Laver was in a league of his own.
If you’re interested in getting tennis scholarships, you can now see how Rod Laver has shaped our understanding of the sport. In fact, many consider him a legend. Laver’s first completed calendar Grand Slam was in the year 1962. So far, he has won a total of 6 Grand Slam titles, which was already the most ever during his time.
In 1968, after taking a break from playing tennis, Laver returned to the circuit and, this time, in the open era. Once again, he won Wimbledon. The following year, he completed his second calendar Grand Slam when he won the French, Wimbledon, US, and Australian Opens!
In the year 1978, with a total of 11 Grand Slam titles, Laver finally retired. To honor him because of his incredible contributions to tennis, Australia named the center court in Melbourne the Rod Laver Arena. Many might not agree but in Australia, Rod Laver is their greatest tennis player ever!
Players who get an advantage over players who have won more titles than anyone else in the history of tennis are very rare. But the man from Down Under, who they nicknamed “The Rocket,” was, after all, the very best player of all.
Author’s Bio
James Collins works for a media agency as their premier writer and editor and is the go-to person for the A-list clients who need high-quality content. He’s also a versatile academic writer and does thesis and essays at a pro-level. His free time is for watching live sports, playing PC games and reading historical fiction novels.
