Full Name: Rodney George Laver
Profession: Tennis Player
Biography: Laver is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all-time and certainly the best left-hander. As the only person to win the coveted Grand Slam twice (1963, 1969), his 200 singles titles are the most in tennis history.
He excelled on all of the court surfaces: grass, clay, hard, carpet and wood/parquet resulting in 11 Grand Slam singles titles, although he was banned from playing those tournaments for the 5 years prior to the Open Era
Whilst on the banned list he won the Pro Grand Slam in 1967 as well as 8 Pro Slam titles. Laver was ranked world No. 1 in 9 different years which is an all-time record. He also contributed to 5 Davis Cup titles for Australia.
“Rod Laver Arena”, centre court for the Australian Open at Melbourne Park is named after him.
Born: August 9, 1938
Birthplace: Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
Age: 85 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Chinese Zodiac: Tiger
Star Sign: Leo
Married Life
- 1966-06-20 Tennis champ Rod Laver (27) weds Mary Benson at St. Luke's Presbyterian Church in San Rafael, California
Historical Events
- 1959-07-03 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: American-based Peruvian Alex Olmedo wins his only Wimbledon title beating Rod Laver of Australia 6-4, 6-3, 6-4
- 1960-02-01 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: In a classic all-Australian final Rod Laver beats Neale Fraser 5-7, 3-6, 6-3, 8-6, 8-6; Laver's first Grand Slam title
- 1960-07-01 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: In an all-Australian final Neale Fraser wins is first and only Wimbledon singles title; beats Rod Laver 6-4, 3-6, 9-7, 7-5
- 1960-09-17 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: In an all-Australian final Neale Fraser wins 2nd straight US title; beats Rod Laver 6-4, 6-4, 9-7
- 1961-01-27 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Roy Emerson beats fellow Australian Rod Laver 1-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 for his first Grand Slam title
- 1961-07-07 75th Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Rod Laver of Australia beats American Chuck McKinley 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 for his 1st of 4 Wimbledon singles titles
- 1961-09-10 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: In an all-Australian final Roy Emerson beats Rod Laver 7-5, 6-3, 6-2; Emerson's second Grand Slam title
- 1962-01-15 50th Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Rod Laver takes the 1st leg of his 1st Grand Slam; beats fellow Queenslander Roy Emerson 8-6, 0-6, 6-4, 6-4
- 1962-06-02 French Championships Men's Tennis: In an all-Australian final Rod Laver beats Roy Emerson 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 9-7, 6-2; 2nd leg of Laver's 1st Grand Slam
- 1962-07-06 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Rod Laver beats fellow Australian Martin Mulligan 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 for the 3rd leg of his first Grand Slam
- 1962-09-10 US National Championship Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Rod Laver completes his first Grand Slam defeating fellow Queenslander Roy Emerson 6-2, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
- 1968-06-09 French Open Men's Tennis: In an all-Australian final Ken Rosewall beats Rod Laver 6-3, 6-1, 2-6, 6-2; first Grand Slam of Open Era allowing professional players to compete
- 1968-07-05 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Rod Laver beats Tony Roche 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to earn first ever prize money (£2,000) offered at Wimbledon
- 1969-01-27 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Rod Laver takes 1st leg of his successful second Grand Slam; beats Andrés Gimeno of Spain 6-3, 6-4, 7-5
- 1969-06-08 French Open Men's Tennis: Rod Laver wins second leg of his 2nd Grand Slam; beats fellow Australian Ken Rosewall 6-4, 6-3, 6-4
- 1969-07-05 Wimbledon Men's Tennis: In an all-Australian final Rod Laver beats John Newcombe 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 for the 3rd leg of his Grand Slam
- 1969-09-09 US Open Men's Tennis, Forest Hills, NY: Rod Laver beats fellow Australian Tony Roche 7-9, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 to claim his record second Grand Slam
- 1970-12-15 Stan Smith and Rod Laver finish with 4-1 records atop inaugural season ending ATP Masters Grand Prix tennis standings in Tokyo, Japan; Smith wins event after beating Laver 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 in the rounds
- 1973-12-01 Davis Cup Men's Tennis, Cleveland, Ohio: Rod Laver and John Newcombe beat American pair Stan Smith and Erik van Dillen 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 to give Australia an unassailable 3-0 lead, (ends 5-0); 23rd Cup title for Australia
- 1973-12-02 Davis Cup Men's Tennis, Cleveland: After clinching a famous victory the previous day, Australians Rod Laver and John Newcombe finish a 5-0 rout of the US with wins over Stan Smith and Tom Gorman
Biographies and Sources
- Rod Laver - International Tennis Hall of Fame
Ann Haydon-Jones
Anna Kournikova
Jim Courier
Petra Kvitová
Sylvia Hanika
Tony Trabert