Lately I have been conducting a yearlong survey/quiz on  'Who Is The Tennis Best Ever?' To my surprise the leader at present is none other then Rod Laver!

This has me puzzled because why would younger people that read my site vote for someone like Rod Laver who played tennis in the 50's 60's and 70's way before they were  born?

What could be the reasons? That was the question that first pop up in my mind.

Did everybody forget more recent players like Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg or boy wonder Roger Federer? That would be out of the question - too close to forget!

What is it then?

Is it because Rod Laver is the only player in tennis history to have won twice  all four of tennis' Grand Slam singles titles in the same year (Australian Open - French Open - Wimbledon - US Open)  —first as an amateur in 1962, and then again as a professional in 1969?  Also because Rod Laver has won   (39) professional Singles Career Titles starting at age 30 years old (1968)?

The above did not appear to me that it had much relevance, when nowadays reporters and news media icons dare to confuse winning all four Grand Slams in the same calendar year, with winning any four gland slams in a row in different calendar years as an identical feat!  If the experts are confused, imagine how confused the audience is?

Seeing that this would lead me to nowhere and it would be a complete shot in the dark trying to find out why the tennis fan is voting Rodney George Laver to the top? I decided to put forth my two cents on why I think the tennis fans are right and why I consider Laver as the best of all time.

1. Because Rod Laver is the only player in tennis history to have won twice  all four of tennis' Grand Slam singles titles in the same year (Australian Open - French Open - Wimbledon - US Open)  —first as an amateur in 1962, and then again as a professional in 1969. And Rod Laver has won   (39) professional Singles Career Titles starting at age 30 years old (1968)!

2. While the players of today complain at a 'heavy' schedule because some of them have to play  12 or 14 tournaments a year, imagine that Rod Laver played his best peers night in and night out almost year around for several years. No need to tell you who would be mentally tougher or fitter!

3. Injury time outs (many for cramps, which is lack of fitness) and treatments allowed to today, were grounds for elimination in Lavers time. You can easily figure who was physically fitter, Laver!

4. Today a retractable roof and a heat rule is enforced at the Australian open, to protect our 'poodles' from excessive heat, wind, sun glare- you name it!  Rod Laver played with a funny unassuming white hat with cabbage leaves inside of it to stave off the heat (no covered roofs no, heat rules, all best of five sets no tiebreakers)! Laver would have a stew with today's boys cabbage leaves and all!

5.  'Laver's 5-foot-8 1/2, 145 pound body seemed to dangle from a massive left arm that belonged to a gorilla, an arm with which he bludgeoned the ball and was able to impart ferocious topspin.'

http://www.tennisfame.com/enshrinees_atoz.html
 

6. Rod Laver was a longtime protegee and pupil of no other then Mr. Harry Hopman, the only Coach I know who was able to tell you to place the ball on a dime on the line during match-play and you did it! Not only because you trusted him but especially because you had done that thousands of times in practice under his watch! 

Also all the fitness trainers and coaches of today put together would not fill the left heal of Mr. Hopman's shoe, because none of them has the special human drive and motivation, of being capable to instill in a player, the desire on and off the court, to excel, work harder, go behind your own limits as Mr. Hopman was. Why?

There were no tricks or gimmicks about that man, no false flattery, no unnecessary praise, everything was simple but to the point, clear and crystalline as water at the mountain top and that was what players wanted, honesty that made them honest.

7. Rod Laver was and is probably one of the fastest tennis players ever, this is often not mentioned, but, at the age of 14 he was considered as one of the fastest 100 meter junior hurdlers in Australia!  Hurdlers of this level have qualities of great use on a tennis court, starting speed, power, agility, (great) flexibility, jumping ability, fantastic coordinations and enormous velocity.

8. Rod Laver was a hungry man, fighting in a world divided between amateur and professional tennis and he succeeded in both. I doubt whether today's boys would have the mettle to fight off such a character.

9. Rod Laver volleyed and attacked better than anyone I know in the last 40 years in the professional ATP tour. I question if Roger Federer who is heralded as the best player of all time (with a record in an ATP tour of poodles, exception Rafael Nadal who is a true fighter and I respect him for that, would resist Rod Lavers constant pressure at the net and the left hand factor, remember Rod Laver was a lefty! Here I have to elaborate on this point:

- To put this into perspective I simply have to bring forth the fact that a Tim Henman compared to Rod Laver would be the same as comparing  todays Russian Nikolai Valuev with boxing legend Cassius Clay, if you know what I mean. That is why Tim would not have a chance against Laver and Nikolai neither against Cassius Clay (Mohamed Ali).

- Surprise though! Tim Henman has a 6-7 record against Federer.  And if we consider that in the last 2 or 3 years of his career Tim was handicapped by injury and a poor back and had 4 losses against Federer then, perhaps the record could easily have been 10-3 Henman!

Now, if Tim could do so much damage by serving and volleying, attacking and applying constant pressure to the 'best player of all time' Roger Federer,  what would Rod Laver have done to Roger when he was at 30 to 50 percent better then Tim in all departments?

What does this prove? It proves that there were others in the past that were far better players and pedigree than Tim Henman, but with identical games and that could do the same damage to Roger Federer! And I am going just to name a few:

- Roy Emerson, Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe, John McEnroe, Yannick Noah, Pat Cash, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker,  Pete Sampras, Patrick Rafter and even Roscoe Tanner would have been a headache for Roger.

This puts in question all the accolades to Roger Federer as the best player ever and re-inforces my long time held position that if you are born with eyes in the era of the blind (the majority robotic baseline tennis of the last 20 years), you can be king with simple skills of the past; the serve and volley, the slice backhand, the approach shot volley and the drop shot...and Federer is King!

The reality is Rod Laver is by far the best all around player that ever played on this planet and there has still to be born the player that will equal two of his feats, to win all four of the tennis' Grand Slam singles titles twice in the same year!

Consequently, I can safely say that 'Rod Laver would have Made Mince Meat of the Top Tennis Players Today'.

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