The amateur years
Australia · born Rockhampton, Queensland, 1938 · left-handed · four times Wimbledon champion
All playersBack to the rankings
2
Calendar Grand Slams, 1962 and 1969
4
Wimbledon singles titles from six finals
5
Wimbledons missed as a professional, 1963 to 1967
200
Singles titles, amateur and professional
16-4
Davis Cup singles record
Born in Rockhampton, Queensland, in 1938, the son of a cattleman, Laver was coached by Charlie Hollis and then by Harry Hopman, and won the Australian and US junior titles in 1957. As an amateur he won six major singles titles, among them the calendar Grand Slam of 1962, and played on four Australian Davis Cup winning teams in a row from 1959. He turned professional at the end of 1962, which shut him out of the majors for five years, and was the top professional from 1965. When the majors opened in 1968 he won Wimbledon again, and in 1969 he took a second Grand Slam in a season of 106 wins and 16 losses. He finished with 11 major singles titles and 200 singles titles in all, and entered the Hall of Fame in 1981.
| Major singles titles | 9: Wimbledon (1961, 1962, 1968, 1969); Australian (1960, 1962, 1969); US (1962, 1969) |
|---|---|
| Major singles finals lost | 5: Wimbledon 1959, Wimbledon 1960, Australian 1961, US 1960, US 1961 |
| Other grass singles titles | 33: US Pro 4 (1964, 1966, 1967, 1968); WA Pro 3 (1964, 1965, 1966); Eastern Grass Court Championships 2 (1960, 1970); NSW Championships 2 (1961, 1970); Newport Pro 2 (1965, 1967); Queen's 2 (1962, 1970); Queensland Championships 2 (1960, 1961); Victorian Championships 2 (1961, 1962); Victorian Pro 2 (1965, 1966); Forest Hills Pro (1966); Irish Championships (1962); New Zealand Championships (1961); Newport (1960); Pennsylvania Championships (1960); Queensland Pro (1966); SA Championships (1961); SA Pro (1965); Southampton (1960); Tasmanian Championships (1962); Tasmanian Pro (1965); World Pro Championships, All England Club (1967) |
| Major doubles titles | 5 doubles (Wimbledon 1, Australian 4), 2 mixed (Wimbledon 2) |
| Other grass doubles titles | 2: US Pro 2 (1963, 1966) |
| Wimbledon finals won | 1961: beat Chuck McKinley 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 in 53 minutes. 1962: beat Martin Mulligan 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. 1968: beat Tony Roche 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. 1969: beat John Newcombe 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 |
| Wimbledon finals lost | 1959: to Alex Olmedo 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. 1960: to Neale Fraser 6-4, 3-6, 9-7, 7-5 |
| Wimbledon doubles and mixed | Doubles 1971 with Roy Emerson, beating Arthur Ashe and Dennis Ralston in five sets. Mixed 1959 and 1960 with Darlene Hard |
| Wimbledon Pro 1967 | Beat Ken Rosewall 6-2, 6-2, 12-10 in the final of the first professional event on Centre Court |
| US Open 1969, Forest Hills | Beat Tony Roche 7-9, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 on rain-softened grass, wearing spikes from the second set, to complete the second Grand Slam |
| Davis Cup | Four Australian winning teams in a row, 1959 to 1962, and a fifth in 1973; 16 of 20 singles and all four doubles rubbers won |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Mixed doubles | with Darlene Hard |
| 1960 | Mixed doubles | with Darlene Hard |
| 1961 | Men's singles | |
| 1962 | Men's singles | |
| 1968 | Men's singles | |
| 1969 | Men's singles | |
| 1971 | Men's doubles | with Roy Emerson |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1959 | Men's doubles | with Bob Mark |
| 1960 | Men's doubles | with Bob Mark |
| 1960 | Men's singles | |
| 1961 | Men's doubles | with Bob Mark |
| 1962 | Men's singles | |
| 1969 | Men's doubles Australian Open | with Roy Emerson |
| 1969 | Men's singles Australian Open | |
| US Pro Championships | ||
| 1963 | Men's doubles†| with Ken Rosewall |
| 1964 | Men's singles | |
| 1966 | Men's doubles†| with Butch Buchholz |
| 1966 | Men's singles†| |
| 1967 | Men's singles‡ | |
| 1968 | Men's singles | |
| Eastern Grass Court Championships (South Orange) | ||
| 1960 | Men's singles | |
| 1970 | Men's singles | |
| New South Wales Championships | ||
| 1961 | Men's singles | |
| 1970 | Men's singles New South Wales Open | |
| Victorian Championships | ||
| 1961 | Men's singles | |
| 1962 | Men's singles | |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 1962 | Men's singles | |
| 1970 | Men's singles | |
| US Championships | ||
| 1962 | Men's singles | |
| 1969 | Men's singles US Open | |
| Newport, Rhode Island | ||
| 1960 | Men's singles Newport Casino Invitational | |
| Pennsylvania Grass Court Championships (Merion) | ||
| 1960 | Men's singles | |
| Southampton (Meadow Club) | ||
| 1960 | Men's singles Southampton Invitational | |
| Queensland Championships | ||
| 1961 | Men's singles | |
| South Australian Championships | ||
| 1961 | Men's singles | |
| Tasmanian Championships | ||
| 1962 | Men's singles | |
| Bristol (West of England) | ||
| 1971 | Men's singles†Bristol Open | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"I never felt like I was the best, never felt that way. I just happened to have a good year."
The person behind the player.
Australia · 1950s
As a boy Laver was, in his own words, short and skinny, freckle-faced, crooked-nosed, bow-legged and painfully shy, and one of the slower children in his class. Harry Hopman, who drove him through hard training, gave him his nickname as a joke. "He was the Rocket," Hopman said, "because he wasn't."
Source: Tennis.comWimbledon 1962
His second Wimbledon title earned him, as he recalled it, a £15 voucher and a firm handshake. Within months he had signed a $100,000 contract to turn professional, and the Championships were closed to him for the next five years.
Source: TennisheadWimbledon 1967
When he turned professional the All England Club stripped him of his honorary membership and asked him to stop wearing the green and mauve club tie it had given him in place of prize money. Five years later the club staged an eight-man professional event, and Laver won it, beating Ken Rosewall in the final. "We couldn't wait to get back," he said.
Source: Tennis.comWimbledon 1969 · Second round
The defending champion lost the first two sets to Premjit Lall of India, then dropped only three games in the last three, winning 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-0. He then beat Stan Smith in five sets and Arthur Ashe in four, and took the title against John Newcombe, who had beaten him in the Queen's final a few weeks before.
Source: TennisheadForest Hills 1969
Rain delayed the final by a day, and a helicopter hovered over the court to dry it. Laver lost the first set to Tony Roche, then asked the referee, Billy Talbert: "I can't stand up. I'm slipping all over. Can I put spikes on?" Talbert agreed, as it was the last match of the event. Roche played on in ordinary shoes, and Laver won in four sets.
Source: TennisheadForest Hills 1969 · After the final
With the second Grand Slam won, Laver jumped the net. He had tried the same thing in 1957 and had tripped on the tape and fallen. The US Open president, Alastair Martin, said of him: "You're the greatest in the world, perhaps the greatest we've ever seen."
Source: Tennis.comFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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