Rod Laver won tennis's Grand Slam twice, with five banned years between
In 1962 Rod Laver swept all four major tennis titles as an amateur. Then he turned professional, which barred him from those events until the Open Era began in 1968. The next year, back in the majors, he swept all four again, and no man has managed a calendar Grand Slam since.
Born in Rockhampton, Queensland, in 1938, the son of a cattleman and butcher, Laver left school as a teenager to chase tennis. Davis Cup captain Harry Hopman, who coached him, nicknamed him Rocket. His breakthrough came at Wimbledon in 1959, when as an unseeded player he reached all three finals and survived an 87-game semi-final. His first Wimbledon singles title in 1961 took just 53 minutes, among the quickest men's finals on record.
The 1962 sweep made him the first man since Don Budge in 1938 to win all four majors in a year, and the French Championships nearly stopped him: he had to win three straight five-set matches on the slow clay. After helping Australia win the Davis Cup that December he turned professional, and the early months were humbling. Lew Hoad beat him in their first eight meetings and Ken Rosewall won 11 of 13. By 1965 Laver was clearly the world's best professional, and in 1967 he took all four leading pro titles, including the only professional event held on Wimbledon's Centre Court before the Open Era.
When the sport opened up in 1968, Laver became the first Open Era Wimbledon champion. His 1969 season was staggering: all four majors, 18 of 32 tournaments entered, still an Open Era record, and 106 wins against 16 losses. At Wimbledon he strung together 31 consecutive match wins between 1961 and 1970, a record that stood until Björn Borg passed it in 1980.
Across amateur and professional careers he won 200 singles titles, more than any other player, and is the only player to win on every court surface of his era, from grass and clay to wood. Melbourne's main Australian Open court bears his name.
Source: Rod Laver
