Today in History: Rod Laver completes the tennis Grand Slam with US Open title
He became the third ever and the second since Don Budge in 1938 to win the tennis Grand Slam.
On this day, Rod Laver defeated fellow Australian, Roy Emerson, in four sets to win the 1962 US Open. With the victory, Laver became the first man to win the tennis “Grand Slam” – four major tournaments in the same year – since Don Budge in 1938.
Having already won the first three major tennis championships of the year – the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon – the 1,76m tall, 24-year-old Laver had a lot to be confident about as he entered the 1962 US Open final. He started off strong, winning four straight points to break Emerson’s serve and win the first game.
Laver went on to dominate the first set and control the second, making up for an uncharacteristically inconsistent first serve with strong play at the net and booming topspin forehands. Emerson finally found his stride in the third set, which he won 7–5, and with the crowd on his side, struggled mightily in the fourth.
But, after Emerson broke Laver’s serve, Laver immediately broke back and finished off the hard-fought match 6–4 in the fourth set to bring home the US Open title and the coveted Grand Slam. Laver turned professional the next year, which meant he could no longer compete in the Open championships, which were then amateurs-only.
In 1968, Wimbledon and the other grand slam tournaments ended their amateurs-only policy and allowed professionals to compete, marking the beginning of the “Open Era” in tennis. In 1969, Laver became the first man to win the Grand Slam twice.
He won a total of 11 Grand Slam events in his career, in addition to 47 other singles tournaments. He was the first tennis player ever to earn $1 million on the court. Had the Open era existed between 1962 and 1968, Laver would probably hold more grand slam singles titles than any other player.
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