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.
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.
The 1968 Wimbledon Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament was held from Monday 24 June until Saturday 6 July 1968. It was the 82nd staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam tennis event of 1968.
The 1970 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament was held from Monday 22 June until Saturday 4 July 1970. It was the 84th staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam tennis event of 1970.
The 1971 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament was held from Monday 21 June until Saturday 3 July 1971. It was the 85th staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam tennis event of 1971. John Newcombe and Evonne Goolagong won the singles titles.
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 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 1980 U.S. Pro Indoor was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts that was part of World Championship Tennis (WCT) category of tournaments of the 1980 Volvo Grand Prix circuit. It was played at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States and was held from January 21 through January 27, 1980. First-seeded Jimmy Connors won the singles title after a final that lasted three hours and 30 minutes and earned $40,000 first-prize money. It was his fourth singles title at the tournament which equalled the record held by Rod Laver.
The 1981 World Championship Tennis Finals was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 11th edition of the WCT Finals and was part of the 1981 Volvo Grand Prix. The tournament was played at the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas in the United States and was held from April 27 through May 3, 1981. The winners of the eight WCT tournaments that were part of the 1981 Grand Prix circuit qualified for the tournament augmented by the next best performers in the WCT points standings. Guillermo Vilas qualified by winning the last tournament held just before the WCT Finals, the River Oaks Tournament in Houston, but was unavailable to play. Jimmy Connors withdrew before the tournament due to gastroenteritis and Yannick Noah could not participate due to a shoulder injury. They were replaced by Sandy Mayer and Sam Giammalva respectively. First-seeded John McEnroe won the title and $100,000 prize money.
The 1973 Australian Indoor Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia. It was part of the 1973 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix as a Group B category tournament. It was the inaugural edition of the tournament and was held from 4 November through 11 November 1973. Rod Laver won the singles title and the accompanying $10,000 first-prize money.
The 1977 Custom Credit Australian Indoor Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney in Australia and was part of the 1977 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix. The tournament was held from 17 October through 23 October 1977. First-seeded Jimmy Connors won the singles title.
The 1970 Queen's Club Championships, also known by its sponsored name Rothmans Open London Grass Court Championships, was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on grass courts at the Queen's Club in London in the United Kingdom. It was a non-tour event, i.e. not part of the 1970 Pepsi-Cola Grand Prix or 1970 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the 71st edition of the tournament and was held from 15 June through 20 June 1970. First-seeded Rod Laver and Margaret Court won the singles titles. In the final Court was 2–6, 0–5 and 0–15 down against Winnie Shaw but recovered by winning 14 of the last 17 games.
The 1971 Queen's Club Championships, also known as the Rothmans London Grass Court Championships, was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on grass courts at the Queen's Club in London in the United Kingdom that was part of the 1971 Pepsi-Cola Grand Prix. It was the 72nd edition of the tournament and was held from 14 June until 19 June 1971. Stan Smith and Margaret Court won the singles titles.
The 1972 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit held that year and organized by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF). It consisted of 33 Grand Prix tournaments in different categories including three of the four Grand Slam tournaments and was followed by a season-ending Masters tournament. The circuit ran from February through November.
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 1973 Aryamehr Cup was a men's professional tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Imperial Country Club in Tehran in Iran. The event was part of the 1973 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix as a Group A category event. It was the second edition of the tournament was held from 22 October through 28 October 1973. Raúl Ramírez won the singles title and the trophy and first–prize cheque for $9,000 was presented by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
The 1970 Embassy British Indoor Championships was a combined men's and women's Grand Prix tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 3rd edition of the British Indoor Championships in the Open era. The tournament took place at the Wembley Arena in London in England and ran from 16 November until 21 November 1970.
The 1969 New South Wales Open was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on grass courts at the White City Stadium in Sydney, Australia. The tournament was held from 13 January through 19 January 1969. It was the 77th edition of the event and the first one in the Open era of tennis. The singles titles were won by Margaret Court and fourth-seeded Tony Roche. It was Roche's second singles title after 1967 and he won AUS$3,594 first-prize money. Court earned AUS$1,537 for her singles win which was her sixth singles title at the tournament.
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 1972 Fidelity WCT Tournament, also known as the Richmond WCT, was a men's professional tennis tournament that was part of the Group A of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was held on indoor carpet courts at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia in the United States. It was the seventh edition of the tournament and was held from February 2 through February 6, 1972. First-seeded Rod Laver won the singles title and earned $10,000 first-prize money.
John Newcombe [1] 
Rosie Casals 