Rod Laver
Tennis Player
First Of All
Age 75
He went to International Tennis and hall of fame in 1981 and also went to Australian
Tennis and hall of fame in 1993
Information
He was the only player to win Grand Slam twice 1962 and 1969 Wimbledon champion 4 times, 1st to earn $1 million in prize money and also won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. He left school at age 15 to pursue tennis, in 1962 became the first male grand-slam winner in tennis since Don Budge in 1938. Noted for his extraordinarily powerful serve, Rod Laver turned professional in 1962 and he won the grand slam again in 1969 also the only person ever to do so twice. In 1971 he became the first professional tennis player to pass the $1 million mark in total earnings.
Personal Life and Family
In 1964, Rod Laver met his wife, Mary at a fellow tennis game giant Jack Kramer's country club in Los Angeles. They later got married in the year 1966.
In July 1998, Rod Laver was taping an interview for ESPN at a Los Angeles hotel when he suddenly had a major stroke. Then he spent 13 days in intensive care unit. He began physical therapy two weeks after and had to relearn how to speak, walk, write, and even dress himself. Slowly, he learnt how to use the right side of his body. He was working again after about 7 weeks.
During May 1999, Rod Laver's recovery was thorough enough to allow him to play again where he won the French Open.
Childhood
His father Roy was a cattle rancher while his mother, Melba Roffey was a tennis player. He was so interested in the tennis since he saw his mother play it. His mother was a tennis player herself, which meant that he had begun to play the game when he was very small and at a very young age.
It is very interesting to note that every home the family lived in had a tennis court on the premises. Subsequently, he started to train for tennis under Charlie Hollis in Queensland and later under the Australian Davis Cup team captain Harry Hopman. He was the one who gave Rod Laver the nickname 'Rocket'.