Rod Laver is an icon of tennis, a player who revolutionised the game during the 1960s.
The Australian, a winner of 11 Grand Slam singles titles, is the only male player in tennis history to win all four major titles in a calendar year.
Remarkably, Laver achieved the feat twice, doing so in 1964 and 1969.
Laver, who has a court at the Australian Open named after him, played in an era alongside the likes of Roy Emerson and Arthur Ashe, using wooden tennis rackets and white tennis balls.
Laver was one of the greatest players of his generation, but was humble enough to admit in 2014 that the standard was not as high in his era as it is today.
Rod Laver said modern tennis players have an advantage due to the development of tennis rackets
In an interview with The Guardian in 2014, Laver praised the quality of tennis players in the modern era, while also acknowledging that it would be difficult to judge how he would fare in the modern era
“It’s really hard to put yourself in that position,” he said
“Yes I hit with heavy top-spin but when you look at the little rackets I played with, the Maxply Dunlop, you had to hit the very centre all the time. I had my share of miss-hits. I was accused of hitting them off the wood, winners over their head, drop shots, whatever, and I’d say ‘Well that’s the way it is, guys!’
“At the same time, the tennis is twice as good [today], the points they play. Just watching Murray returning serves at 125 miles an hour the other day, he was just pushing them back all the time. You’ve got to be more of an athlete probably today. We were pretty darn good – fit and ready to play – but today’s level is different.
“Those ground strokes are ever so much faster, coming back at you at a pretty good speed. Footwork-wise, you’ve got to be ready to hit that next shot. It’s a tough time. Plus, the guys are 6ft 3in to 6ft 6in – and that’s the norm. There are some big differences.”
Another difference is the quality of equipment being used in Laver’s era compared to the modern day.
Players in Laver’s era used wooden rackets, while modern players use rackets made from graphite and carbon fibre.
Laver noted this factor, adding: “But you get one of those big-headed rackets, it’s so easy to play with them. Just beyond the end of my career, I started playing with one of these rackets and I thought ‘Jeez, I can get back on Tour again!’ It was huge.
“If you were smashing, you couldn’t put the ball away with a Dunlop, but these metal and composite rackets, you have so much more speed, easier to volley, get the depth on ground strokes without any effort. And that’s where I see today’s players having an advantage over those of us who used wooden rackets.”
Rod Laver’s final Grand Slam triumph
Rod Laver went into the 1969 US Open as the world number one player.
The Australian has won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon, and was looking to win all four Slams in a calendar year for the second time in his career.
Laver swept through the first three rounds, winning all three matches in straight sets. In the fourth round, he came through a tight five-set contest against Richard Ralston.
Laver then knocked out compatriot Roy Emerson and American legend Arthur Ashe in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.
In the final, Laver defeated fellow Australian Tony Roche 7-9 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
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