Rodney George Laver is an Australian former tennis player. Laver was the world number 1 ranked professional in some sources in 1964, in all sources from 1965 to 1969 and in some sources in 1970, spanning four years before and three years after the start of the Open Era in 1968. He was also ranked the world number 1 amateur in 1961 by Lance Tingay and 1962 by Tingay and Ned Potter. Laver's 198 singles titles are the most in tennis history. This included his all-time men's record of 10 or more titles per year for seven consecutive years (1964–1970). He excelled on all of the court surfaces of his time: grass, clay, hard, carpet, wood.
Kenneth Robert Rosewall is an Australian former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player. He won a record 23 Majors in singles, including eight Grand Slam singles titles and, before the Open Era, a record 15 Pro Slam titles. Rosewall also won a record 24 major men's doubles titles, with nine Grand Slam titles and 15 Pro Slam men's doubles titles. Rosewall had a renowned backhand and enjoyed a long career at the highest levels from the early 1950s to the early 1970s. Rosewall was ranked as the world No. 1 tennis player by multiple sources from 1961 to 1964, multiple sources in 1970 and Rino Tommasi in 1971 and 1972. Rosewall was first ranked in the top 20 in 1952 and last ranked in the top 20 in 1977. Rosewall is the only player to have simultaneously held Pro Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces (1962–1963). At the 1971 Australian Open, he became the first man during the Open Era to win a Grand Slam tournament without dropping a set. Rosewall won world professional championship tours in 1963, 1964, and the WCT titles in 1971 and 1972. A natural left-hander, Rosewall was taught by his father to play right-handed. He developed a powerful, effective backhand but never had anything more than an accurate but relatively soft serve. He was 1.70 m tall, weighed 67 kg (148 lb) and sarcastically was nicknamed "Muscles" by his fellow-players because of his lack of them. He was, however, fast, agile, and tireless, with a deadly volley. Now a father of two and grandfather of five, Rosewall lives in northern Sydney.
Anthony Dalton Roche AO MBE is an Australian former professional tennis player.
The 1969 Wimbledon Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament that was played on outdoor grass courts. It was the second edition of the Wimbledon Championships in the Open Era and the 83rd since its formation. It was held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Wimbledon, London from Monday 23 June until Saturday 5 July 1969. Ann Jones became the first British champion of the open era, the first victor since 1961; Britain would have to wait 8 years, until the 1977 tournament to see another British winner in the singles competition – Virginia Wade. Rod Laver won the men's singles title, his fourth Wimbledon crown after 1961, 1962 and 1968, and went on to win his second Grand Slam after 1962.
The 1969 French Open was a tennis tournament that was held at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris in France from May 26 through June 8, 1969. It was the 73rd edition of the French Open, the 39th to be open to foreign competitors, and the second Grand Slam of the year. Rod Laver won his second Grand Slam title of the year.
The 1970 US Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, Queens, in New York City, United States. The tournament ran from 2 September until 13 September. It was the 90th staging of the US Open, and the fourth Grand Slam tennis event of 1970.
The 1969 US Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the West Side Tennis Club, Forest Hills in New York City, USA. The tournament ran from 28 August until 9 September. It was the 89th staging of the tournament, and the fourth Grand Slam tennis event of 1969.
The 1969 U.S. Professional Indoor was a men's WCT tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was played at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held from February 5 through February 9, 1969. Total attendance for the five-day event was 44,538. First-seeded Rod Laver won the singles title.
The 1970 U.S. Professional Indoor was a WCT tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was played at the Spectrum in Philadelphia in the United States. It was the third edition of the tournament and was held from February 2 through February 8, 1970. First-seeded Rod Laver won his second consecutive singles title at the event.
The 1972 U.S. Professional Indoor was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was played at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States that was part of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the fifth edition of the tournament and was held from February 8 through February 13, 1972. Total attendance for the tournament was 57,282. First-seeded Rod Laver won the singles title, his third at the event after 1969 and 1970.
The 1970 Rothmans Canadian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club in Toronto in Canada that was part of the 1970 Pepsi-Cola Grand Prix. The men's tournament was held from August 12 through August 18, 1970, while the women's tournament was played from August 19 through August 25, 1970.
The 1970 South African Open was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was an independent tournament that was not part of either of the two main tennis circuits; the 1970 Pepsi-Cola Grand Prix circuit and the 1970 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the 67th edition of the tournament and was held from 24 March through 4 April 1970. Owen Williams was the tournament director. Rod Laver and Margaret Court won the singles titles.
The 1968 Pacific Southwest Open was a combined men's and women's professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Los Angeles Tennis Club in Los Angeles, California in the United States. It was the 42nd edition of the tournament, the first of the Open Era, and ran from September 14 through September 22, 1968. Rod Laver won the singles title and the $3,800 first prize.
The 1971 Italian Open was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament that was played by men on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. The men's tournament was part of the World Championship Tennis circuit while the women's tournament was a non-tour event, i.e. not part of the Grand Prix or Virginia Slims circuit. The tournament was held from 3 May through 10 May 1971. The singles titles were won by Rod Laver and Virginia Wade.
The 1970 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Longwood Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. It was classified as a Class 1 category tournament and was part of the 1970 Grand Prix circuit. It was the 43rd edition of the tournament and was held from August 3 through August 9, 1970. Fourth-seeded Tony Roche won the singles title and the accompanying $12,000 first prize money.
The 1969 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships was a men's professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Longwood Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts in the United States. The existing grass courts at Longwood were replaced for the tournament with a slower and higher bouncing green synthetic hardcourt (Uniturf)). It was the 42nd edition of the tournament, the second edition of the Open Era, and was held from July 9 through July 15, 1969. First-seeded Rod Laver won the singles title, his fourth consecutive title at the event and fifth in total, and earned $8,000 first-prize money.
The 1970 New South Wales Open, also known by its sponsored name Dunlop Open, was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts at the White City Stadium in Sydney, Australia. The tournament was held from 16 March through 22 March 1970. It was the 78th edition of the event and the second held in the Open era of tennis. The men's event consisted of a singles and doubles competition while the women only played a singles competition. The singles titles were won by Billie Jean King and Rod Laver who were both seeded first. It was Laver's second singles title after 1961 and he won AUS$5,000 first-prize money.
The 1976 New South Wales Open, also known by its sponsored name Marlboro New South Wales Open, was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts at the White City Stadium in Sydney, Australia. The men's was part of the 1977 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix circuit. It was the 84th edition of the event and was held from 26 December 1976 through 1 January 1977. The singles titles were won by Kerry Reid and 33-year-old Tony Roche. It was Roche's fourth singles title after 1967, 1969 and 1974. Roche won AUS$13,500 first-prize money while Reid's title was rewarded with AUS$5,000 prize money.
The 1969 Wills Open British Covered Court Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the second edition of the British Indoor Championships in the Open era. The tournament took place at the Queens Club and Wembley Arena in London, England and ran from 17 November through 22 November 1969.
The 1970 First National Tennis Classic, also known as the Louisville Open, was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Louisville Tennis Center in Louisville, Kentucky in the United States. It was the inaugural edition of the tournament and was held from July 29 through August 3, 1970. The tournament was part of both the 1970 Grand Prix tennis circuit, categorized in Class 2, as well as the 1970 World Championship Tennis season and had total prize money of $25,000. The singles final was won by Rod Laver who earned $5,000 first-prize money as well as eight ranking points.
Tony Roche [1] 