Laver, Rodney G.
Tennis
b. Aug. 9, 1938, Rockhampton, Australia
Only five tennis players have ever won all four grand slam singles championships--the Australian, French, U. S., and Wimbledon titles--in a single year. Laver is the only person to do it twice, in 1962 and 1969.
Nicknamed "Rocket" because of the speed with which he hit the ball, the left-handed Laver popularized the forehand top-spin drive. Not many players used it before he came along, but Laver's success persuaded many others to begin using it. (A top-spin shot tends to rise somewhat at first, making it more likely to clear the net, but it then drops rapidly and takes a long, skidding bounce when it hits the court.)
Laver's first major title was the Australian Open in 1960, and he won at Wimbledon the following year. After his first grand slam, he became a professional, which prevented him from playing in the major tournaments, since they were open only to amateur players at that time.
During the next seven years, Laver won the U. S. professional singles title five times, including four in a row from 1966 through 1969.
In 1968, the traditional tournaments were opened to professionals. Laver became Wimbledon's first open champion that year and he compiled an incredible record in 1969, winning 17 of 32 singles championships and compiling a 106-16 match record. That was the year of his second grand slam. His 1969 victory at Wimbledon was his fourth straight in tournaments that he'd entered there.
Laver's game began to slip a bit after that season, but he was ranked in the top five for the next three years. He retired after his ranking dropped to eighth in 1974. His 11 grand slam victories ties him for third with Bjorn Borg on the all-time list. He undoubtedly would have won more if major tournaments had been open to professionals from 1963 through 1967.