Tennis’ greatest male players of all times: (Part One) Rod Laver – Tennis Special
Tennis has witnessed some great players over the decades but only few have come who made a major impact on the history of the sport. With due respect to all the tennis legends, I would say that there is no single player to be regarded
as the ‘Greatest of All Times’ (GOAT) champion. The galaxy of tennis has so many bright stars that it is really difficult to distinguish between the shiniest one.
A number of legendary male tennis players have rocked the world with their particular style of play and laid unmatchable records in their own era. Tennis has evolved a great deal till day and it is argued by some critics that it
is not a good idea to compare the tennis legends with the professionals playing today. Well, it is quite wise actually. The pace of the game, court surface, racket quality, the equipment, media, technology and countless other factors in today’s time has been
far different than it used to be 30 years back. However, the class and achievements of some legends are so huge that even the top professional performers today are not able to match them. We will be having a review of such tennis heroes who are rated among
the all-time greatest players.
Rod Laver – Australia
Having one of the most illustrious professional careers, the Aussie tennis great, Rod Laver, is still remembered for his feats in the world of tennis. Turning pro in 1962, the crafty left-hander holds the record of winning the
most number of singles titles in the history of the sport, reaching a staggering count of 200. Laver might not have been as resilient as Rafael Nadal is today, but his elegant shot making is still admired by a huge number of critics.
Laver was among the few male tennis players who posses one-handed back-hand stroke in their arsenal of skills. Perhaps, it is one of the factors that critics rate Laver higher than Nadal, who is also a left-handed player but uses
both his hands to execute a back-hand stroke.
The Aussie legend has so many achievements in his career but his double Grand Slam is said to be his greatest feat. Laver is the only tennis player in the history of the sport to register a Grand Slam on two different occasions,
once in 1962 and then in 1969. He won all the four Major events being played in a professional circuit twice to set a record which no player has been able to break after those many years.
Laver won a total of 11 Grand Slam tournaments, six of which were registered in the Open Era. His expertise on all the court surfaces (clay, grass and hard court) was equally good and perfectly suits his playing style. The legendary
Australian is known to be one of the greatest players his country has produced and the glorious Melbourne Arena, which hosts the season-opening Grand Slam Australian Open, is associated to his name and is called the Rod Laver Arena.
Class of a player is something which prevails forever and Laver had plenty of it to be remembered for a long time.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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