Laver-Rosewall_rivalry

Laver–Rosewall rivalry

Laver–Rosewall rivalry

Famous tennis rivalry

The Laver–Rosewall rivalry was a tennis rivalry in the 1960s and 1970s between Australian players Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall, widely regarded as two of the greatest tennis players of all time.[1] In 1956 both players toured in the amateur circuit but never faced each other. Rosewall turned professional in January 1957 and the two did not meet until January 1963 when Laver turned pro. They played many times until 1977 when both semi-retired from the main tour.[2]

Rod Laver
* World No1
* 11 Grand Slam singles titles
* 8 Pro Major singles titles
* 200 singles titles
Ken Rosewall
* World No1
* 8 Grand Slam singles titles
* 15 Pro Major singles titles
* 133 singles titles

Analysis

Including tournaments and single-night events, they played at least 165 matches with Laver leading 90–75.

Their meetings took place in the span 1963–77. They met in 13 individual years in that span, and in 9 of those 13 Laver had an edge, which can be explained considering that Laver faced an already declining Rosewall: in their first meeting ever, Rosewall was already 28 years of age.[lower-alpha 1]

After their 1969 Roland Garros final, Laver said, "Ken has consistently been my toughest opponent, on any surface, and we've played each other, I don't know, well over 200 times."[3]

Head-to-head tallies

Ken [Rosewall] pushed me around for about 20 years.

— Rod Laver, in 2012

The following is a breakdown of their documented head-to-head results:[4]

More information Player, Total ...

Results per court surface

  • Grass courts: Laver 18–13
  • Hard courts: Laver 21–13 (18–12 on outdoor hard courts and 3–1 on indoor hard courts)
  • Clay courts: Laver 13–11
  • Indoor courts (carpet, wood, canvas – not including indoor hard courts and clay courts): Rosewall 39–34

List of all matches

Legend:
Rod Laver wins
Ken Rosewall wins
More information No., Winner ...

(*) most probably canvas. During the World Tour in 63, they used their portable canvas surface.

(**) most probably hard, but not yet confirmed.

Other matches:

  • 1964, 30 January – Brisbane tour match. Rain stopped match when Laver was ahead 4–6, 8–6, 1–0.
  • 1965, 24 January – Manly Tour. Rain stopped match when Rosewall was ahead 6–2, 3–2.
  • 1966, October–November – Tour in Nairobi, Entebbe, Accra and Lagos.
  • 1967, August – Italian Tour, four cities with the pro troupe.
  • 1967, October – Spain Tour with Laver, Rosewall, Gimeno and Stolle.

See also

Notes

  1. Jack Kramer claimed in "Tennis de France N°174 Octobre 1967" that Rosewall's peak career was in 1961–1962.
  2. Fourth match on the NZ Tour. Two matches were played between Auckland and Palmerston North, two between Palmerston North and Hamilton.
  3. Rosewall won 6–3, 7–5 or 6–3, 7–6. They may have played a final game to finish the set off.
  4. Not to be confused with: South African Pro – Johannesburg.
  5. Not to be confused with: U.S. Pro.
  6. Not to be confused with: French Pro.
  7. Tournament played on AstroTurf carpet surface on Center Court and on cement on the secondary court.
  8. Last four days of the tournament held indoors at Los Angeles Sports Arena.
  9. Tournament started on Supreme Court carpet surface. Because of extreme heat, they changed to plexipave hardcourt.

References

  1. [1]
    Conner, Floyd (2002). Tennis's Most Wanted : the top 10 book of baseline blunders, clay court wonders, and lucky lobs (1st ed.). Washington, D.C.: Brassey's, Inc. p. 224. ISBN 978-1574883633.
  2. [2]
    Eben Harrell (8 September 2010). "Top 10 Tennis Rivalries". Time.
  3. [3]
    Dick Roraback (9 June 1969). "Rod and Ken: Still Another Point of View". International Herald Tribune (European Edition). p. 13.
  4. [4]
    Bud Collins (29 January 2006). "A rivalry for the ages". The Age.
  5. [5]
    "Laver 'Crushed' In 65 Minutes – Grand Slam Champion Beaten By Rosewall". The Canberra Times. 7 January 1963. p. 16 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. [6]
    "Laver Downs Ken Rosewall". The Canberra Times. 21 January 1963. p. 20 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. [7]
    "Laver Down Before £850 Gate". The Canberra Times. 22 January 1963. p. 20 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. [8]
    "Rosewall Wins Pro. Title". The Canberra Times. 18 June 1963. p. 28 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. [9]
    "Laver loses to Rosewall". The Canberra Times. 2 July 1963. p. 24 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. [10]
    "Hoad Wins". The Canberra Times. 4 November 1963. p. 20 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. [11]
    "Laver in Form". The Canberra Times. 6 January 1964. p. 16 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. [12]
    "Rosewall down to Laver". The Canberra Times. 15 February 1965. p. 14 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. [13]
    "Professional tennis to Ken Rose wall". The Canberra Times. 28 March 1966. p. 23 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. [14]
    "Laver hits top again". The Canberra Times. 19 July 1966. p. 16 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. [15]
    "Layer outclasses Rosewall with swift efficiency". The Canberra Times. 19 September 1966. p. 13 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. [16]
    Clive Girton (23 September 1966). "After a tennis day to remember, I have officially retired!". Port Talbot Guardian. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com. His "twin", Ken Rosewall, was well beaten by fellow countryman Rod (Rocket) Laver and as in the previous match between Hoad and the American Earl (Butch) Bucholz, there was a tremendous contrast in styles.
  17. [17]
    "Rosewall's singles title". The Canberra Times. 5 October 1966. p. 29 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. [18]
    "Wimbledon pro title to Laver". The Canberra Times. 30 August 1967. p. 36 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. [19]
    "Tennis thriller – Layer wins 'greatest game ever'". The Canberra Times. 23 March 1970. p. 20 – via National Library of Australia.

Sources
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