of all the players i got to see at their peak, laver may be the only complete player, in that he had no weakness.

rosewall and connors had weak serves, borg no net game, mcenroe horrible ground strokes, lendl no net game, agassis no net game, sampras weak backhand.

the only player who had much of a chance of beating laver was rosewall. kenny lasted longer, but at their peaks, rod was probably more devastating.

not one but two grand slams!

The best ever. Laver did not rely on any particular area such as serve,volley,forhand,backhand because he had it all. Rod Laver was a total complete player.Laver was also a master on all surfaces grass,clay,harcourt,carpet as proof to his amazing 2 "grand slams".Rod could of easily been top of the singles GS victories above Pete if not for his restriction for 6 years as a Pro. Rod also won countless GS in doubles and mixed doubles add to this he was a very humble,modest personality.

won The Grand Slam Twice, enough said

Has to be the greatest. Two Grand Slams separated by 7 years!
He could not compete in the grand slams for six years (probably his peak)as he turned professional. Had he been able to compete for those years he would have won around 20 grand slam titles.

Rod Laver is the best player of all time. He had briliant shots and was a finess player.

Certainly the best backhand.

is not the best one!

A complete player who was without a weakness and who could have played on any surface.

good for that time, but....

the most over-rated guy ever. Guys get real. The local hack at the Y can beat this guy. I saw him get pummeled about 15 years ago by this over weight hack at the long boat Key Tennis club. He looked ridiculous.

I think he was the greatest male tennis player ever. I was always amazed how his tennis arm looked like The Incredible Hulk while his other arm was kind of slender. When tennis enjoyed its greatest popularity in the early 1970s, Laver was kind of like Tiger Woods: when he was playing, his matches would draw big numbers. He was the grandmaster of the serve and smash game. If he had the benefit of large-headed lightweight rackets, he would probably have 25 aces a match.

He played his best tennis when he was banned from the grand slams and at the age of close to forty played Borg who could not run down his winners. In the 1973 Davis Cup he anhialated the world no.1 Stan Smith in singles and doubles.

rocket rod rips records round ringed roses

Although my personal sympathies lean towards Bjorn Borg (c'ause I am also a base-liner), although I admire Sampras, still Rod Laver's achievement is unparalleled in tennis. And I admire his modesty maybe more than his awesome sportsman career.

gds

"The Rocket" won 11 grand slam events, and twice won The Grand Slam (in 1962 and 1969), so it might seem overly generous to wish more glory on this Aussie great. Actually, it's worse than it seems; I wish Laver had won not one, but three more slam events. The reason is simple: I think Laver was the greatest male tennis champion of all time, and I wish the record books affirmed that. I know it seems rotten to wish that my countryman Pete Sampras was "just" tied for first in grand slam wins. It certainly is no reflection of how I think about Pete, an amazing player and a wholly admirable citizen of the tennis world (too bad he's a Republican, though). But there would be no shame in sharing the podium with Laver. Laver, like Rosewall, lost some of his best tennis years to the pro circuit. Had he been independently wealthy, so that he could have spent his entire career playing slams, he would almost certainly have the record, and would probably challenge the number of slams amassed by the greatest female champions. I think that his second Grand Slam -- at 31 years of age, playing against all of the best competition in the world -- is the most remarkable achievement in the history of men's tennis, edging out Don Budge's '38 Grand Slam (which required a long sea journey down to Australia), and equaled on the women's side only by Steffi Graf's "Golden Slam" (The Grand Slam plus the Olympic gold medal) in 1988.

In two words: the best.

Had it not been for his 5 year absence from major competition, he would surely have put the record for grand slam wins out of reach - even with that gaps, he managed 11 titles!! A great player on every surface, no blemishes on his record (unlike Sampras, who never won at Roland Garros) - in terms of his dominance over his peers, he remains unquestionably the best!

Absolutely awesome Aussie! his style, his grace, his flair - perfect!

I've been watching and playing seriuosly since tennis became a pro sport in 1968. I seen and even played with several of the players mentioned on this site. No matter what time period Rocket Rod Laver would rank as the best. Its like comparing in football Emmitt Smith as the best runner compared to Jim Brown. I believe both of these two athletes of the 60's would fair very well against today's athletes. The Rocket won 2 grand slams. Do you know of another tennis player that's achived this feat.

The best player of his era, but he would not be anywhere near the players of today.

Having been a tennis fanatic since my College days in Boston during the early 70's, I've had the honor of watching old school players to the new "heavy" hitters and would have to rate Mr. Laver as one of the best all-around Dudes in the game. Period. He had all the shots and I had the pleasure of hangin' with him on occassion. Some of my fondest memories. A true Gentleman and could hit that fuzzy yellow ball very well. The new power game is boring to watch except for my man Andre. Rod Laver might well be the finest all court player in history. Plus we both enjoyed an occasionable beer. I wish the powers that be would slow the ball or the surface down a bit. 20 aces in one match is way too overkill. Peace.