Tennis Legends - Rod Laver: A tennis icon with a unique place within the annals of history

Rod Laver holds a unique place within the annals of tennis history. He’s the only man to win the calendar year Grand Slam in the Open Era, and the only man or woman to achieve this feat twice. Laver’s tally of eleven Grand Slam singles titles would almost certainly have been closer to 20 if not for a spell in the professional ranks when the Slams were open to only those of amateur status.

Born Rodney George Laver on 9 August, 1938, in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. He was the third child of Roy Laver, a cattleman and butcher, and his wife Melba Roffey. His other relatives included cricketers Frank and Jack Laver. Laver quit school early to focus on his tennis career. He was initially coached by Charlie Hollis and later on worked with the most successful Davis Cup captain ever, Harry Hopman. It was Hopman who christened Laver with the nickname Rocket.

In 1957, Laver pocketed both the Australian and US Open junior crowns. By this stage, Laver was competing in the main draws of Grand Slams. He lost in the opening round of all four majors in 1956 and the first round of the 1957 Australian Open.

The 1959 campaign was the year Laver announced himself on the big stage. At that year's Wimbledon Championships, Laver reached the finals of all three events, singles, mixed and men's doubles, taking the mixed title alongside American Darlene Hard. Laver was beaten in an epic singles final, lasting 87 games, against Peru's Alex Olmedo.

Laver's breakthrough success at Grand Slam level came in a marathon 1960 Australian Open final. He defeated compatriot Neale Fraser in five sets, winning the last two sets by an 8-6 scoreline. Fraser gained revenge by toppling Laver in the Wimbledon and US Championships final later in the year. Laver won a further eight titles after his Melbourne success. This was an era where the majority of tournaments were still being played on grass.

The 1961 season witnessed Laver win 17 titles, a mammoth tally which included a title success on Christmas Day in Manly. The undoubted highlight, though, was his first Wimbledon singles crown. A dominant straight sets win over the American Chuck McKinley gave Laver a second major title. Other significant trophies added this year were a quintet of clay court successes in continental Europe, including the German Championships.

Prior to 1962, the only male player to have completed a calendar year Grand Slam was the USA's Donald Budge in 1938. Laver joined this exclusive club when claiming all four Grand Slam titles in a 1962 season that yielded a gargantuan haul of 22 titles as Laver asserted total dominance.

His Grand Slam sweep began with a four set victory over fellow Aussie Roy Emerson. His countryman would also finish runner-up to Laver at the French and US Championships. The Roland Garros final went five sets. In between these two finals, Laver retained his Wimbledon title via a destruction of Martin Mulligan, losing just a mere five games in the final match.

The allure of earning a great living from tennis proved too difficult for Laver to resist. He opted to make a switch into the professional ranks. His absence from the Grand Slams would last five years. Given his dominance in 1962, presumptions of Laver swelling his Grand Slam tally are extremely fair.

Although Laver was now deprived of adding to his Slam tally, Queensland's finest continued to accrue titles on a frequent basis on the professional scene. His first season produced six titles.

The 1964 campaign saw Laver win his first Pro Major titles. The US Professional and London Professional titles were secured amongst eleven tournament victories. The calibre of players competing in the professional game were often superior to those at the business end of the traditional majors. Laver was competing against other Grand Slam champions such as Ken Rosewall, Lew Hoad and Alex Olmedo.

Laver accumulated 17 titles in a 1965 season highlighted by a third Pro Major success at the London Professional Championships. The silverware continued to flow in the 1966 campaign when he triumphed in 16 finals, including a pair of Pro Majors at the US and London Professional Championships.

In his final year on the breakaway Pro Tour, Laver won all three pro majors. To achieve this feat underlined no matter the field, Laver was very much the standout player of 1960s tennis. He defended both the US and London titles, and claimed his first French Professional Championships title. This triumvirate of pro majors enhanced Laver's tally to eight during a five year stint that came to an end once the game was declared open in 1968, allowing everyone to compete in the long established Grand Slams.

On his return to the Slams, Laver reached the French Open final but lost to Ken Rosewall. He went one better at Wimbledon, comfortably beating Tony Roche in three sets to win a seventh Grand Slam singles title. It was one of ten titles in the first year of Open Era tennis.

The 1969 season would represent the zenith of Laver's already illustrious career. The Queenslander had already achieved a calendar year Grand Slam in the amateur era and then claimed all three in a season of competition on the separate pro tour. For Laver to replicate the feat in the Open Era when all the top players were together, makes it arguably the greatest accomplishment in the history of men's tennis.

His Grand Slam year began with a home triumph at the Australian Open, beating Andres Gimeno in the final. A second French Open title materialised in the summer. He beat great rival Ken Rosewall in straight sets. A few weeks later Laver was celebrating a fourth Wimbledon success, following a four set victory over John Newcombe. Tennis immortality was completed at the US Open. A four set victory over Australian Tony Roche gave Laver a second calendar year Grand Slam, a feat unequalled across the sport.

A total of 18 titles in the 1969 season underlined Laver's dominance. It was surprising in the 1970 campaign that Laver, despite 15 titles being won, the Australian failed to reach any of the Grand Slam finals. In fact, Laver never did again. He finished with 11 Grand Slam singles titles from 17 finals.

1970 would prove to be the last of Laver’s campaigns to see him double figures for titles won. He secured five titles in 1971, all won Stateside. A further seven followed in 1973 and six in 1974. Five trophies were amassed in 1975 before a triumph in January 1976 at an indoor event in Detroit meant Laver finished with 200 career singles titles. This haul is unsurpassed by any man or woman. 75 of these were garnered during the Open Era. Laver officially retired in 1979.

Either side of his spell away from the Grand Slams, Laver enjoyed great success in doubles. He won six men’s Grand Slam doubles titles from 12 finals. The first three, from 1959-61, all came in Australia alongside Bob Mark. Then later in 1961, he teamed up with Roy Emerson at the French Championships. After the Open Era had commenced, Laver reconnected with Emerson to win the doubles events at the 1969 Australian Open and the Wimbledon Championships of 1971.

Laver appeared in five Grand Slam mixed doubles finals, with all of them coming in the amateur. He triumphed in three of them, partnered by Darlene Hard, at the Wimbledon Championships in 1959 and 1960. They also took the French Championships title in 1961.

Australia dominated the Davis Cup across the 1950s and 1960s. Laver was part of numerous winning squads. The ‘Rocket’ featured in the glories of 1959-62 and 1973. He'd have won more if not for a switch to the pro ranks.

Laver still possesses a multitude of records in the sport. Some have already been mentioned, but other notable ones include playing a record 288 singles finals. He stands alone for indoor titles won, having claimed 55 in total. He is the only player to win at least five titles in sixteen consecutive seasons, and the sole competitor to win a minimum of ten titles in seven consecutive seasons.

In 2000 the main showcourt at the Australian Open was named in his honour. The Rod Laver Arena has now become one of the sport's great cathedrals.

The very exclusive Companion of the Order of Australia was bestowed upon him in 2016.

Laver was named BBC Overseas Sports Personality of the Year in 1969. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981. Laver is also a member of the Australian Sports Hall of Fame, being upgraded in 2002 to a Legend of Australian Sport. He is certified as an Australian Living Treasure. The highly revered Philippe Chatrier Award was given to him in 1998.

A bronze bust was erected outside Melbourne Park (complex of the Australian Open) in 1993. In his native Rockhampton, Laver has been honoured in various ways, including having a plaza named after him.

Laver suffered a stroke in 1998 while being interviewed by ESPN for a sports series about sport in the 20th century. He made a full recovery after a month in hospital.

A tournament known as the Laver Cup is now held in his honour each year, moving location each time. It's a team event that the top players have embraced. Roger Federer, who has described Laver as the greatest, has been a vocal supporter of the competition and chose the event for his last ever match.

He married Mary Benson in 1966. She was ten years his senior and already had three children. They would have a son together, Rick. Mary passed away in 2012. He eventually found love again with Susan Johnson and they currently reside in Carlsbad, California.

Rod’s cousin Ian was killed in the Delta Airlines Flight 191 disaster in 1985 but his son Richard survived.

Rod Laver remains very much part of the GOAT debate, even if some tend to overlook him given the number of majors racked up by Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. However, if you combine his majors in the amateur game, pro tour and Open Era, Laver's 19 stacks up pretty well with the 21st century greats. While Laver has something over the other three, he won the calendar year Grand Slam twice and more overall tournaments than anyone in history.