Just like a tennis ball pulverized by one of Rod Laver’s blistering forehands, time flies.
“I’ll be darned,’’ Laver said. “You’re going back a few years, mate.”
While the US Open to crowned new champions this past weekend, it also saluted a significant milestone of one of tennis’ greatest legends: Rodney George Laver.
It was 50 years ago that Laver played his final US Open match in Queens at its former home, the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills.
Unfortunately, the “Rocket” was grounded in the fourth round in 1975, by one of tennis’ greatest legends: Bjorn Rune Borg.
Yep, two of the game’s most iconic names, and a pair that combined for 22 majors and helped introduce the sport to millions globally, had a go before Laver said goodbye.
“Gosh, 50 years ago,’’ said Laver, the only men’s singles player to win two Grand Slams. “That’s amazing. Sometimes I look at the pictures and say, ‘That was really me?’’’
You mean that red-headed, freckled, left-handed demon attacking from one end of the court to the other like a Tasmanian Devil, the one with bushy sideburns who would never surrender before objecting his opponents to kick serves, top-spin forehands, powerful one-handed backhands and volleys that were cut, sliced and punished?
Yeah, that guy. The one who won two of the most famous US Opens singles titles ever in 1962 and 1969, when he tied a bow around something that hasn’t been done since then by a man. Laver claimed the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open in a calendar year—twice.
Laver, who turned a spry 87 last month, accomplished the Grand Slam as an amateur, as a professional and always with a touch of class, grace, humility and panache.
If there was ever a better player than Laver, well, that’s up for debate.
If there was ever a kinder gentleman than Laver, well, that isn’t.
Borg said as much years ago.
“Rod Laver was my childhood idol, but the first time I saw him in person was at 1971 Wimbledon, when he lost to Tom Gorman,’’ Borg said. “Before that, I had watched him on TV, but his only influence on me was how he behaved on court, not his strokes. I admired his concentration and straight face. He never got upset.”
The No. 5-seeded Borg, in the prime of his spectacular but meteoric career, was favored over Laver in his last US Open singles match on Sept. 1, 1975.
Although it’s baffling to ever consider Laver, the No. 9 seed, being an underdog once he laced his size 10.5 shoes bearing his name and finding the court.
Laver, of course, would never give up, but to be fair, he was surrendering 18 years when the 37-year-old Aussie and Borg, 18, eyed the pre-match coin flip.
A heady opponent, Borg, but in typical Laver fashion, he shrugged whenever meeting the Swede who rarely missed.
“We had a good time, and we were good friends,’’ Laver said. “But he made you work. There were no easy points… you had to earn any points you got.”
That was an especially tall task when battling Borg, a six-time Roland Garros champion, on his beloved clay surface. During the final three years at Forest Hills, from 1975-77, the US Open turned away from grass and embraced green-colored, Har-Tru clay courts.
“Back in those years, it was a clay tournament,’’ said Laver, who was still a Top-10 player at age 37. “I don’t know why they did it that way. I don’t know what the problem was playing on grass. But that was a decision from another level.”
Hard to imagine elevating higher than tennis heaven, and that’s a good way to describe a Laver-Borg pairing. It was poetry to watch and symbolic with a torch being passed from one generational icon to another in the only time they squared off in a Grand Slam event.
For just over two hours, two men considered tennis gods displayed their prowess with a variety of skillful shots and fancy footwork.
To arrange his fourth-round match with Borg, Laver defeated Juan Gisbert, 7-5, 6-4, Alavaro Fillol, 7-6, 6-4, and John Andrews, 7-5, 5-7, 7-6.
Borg’s path found him defeating Sandy Mayer, 6-2, 6-2, Mike Estep, 6-3, 6-4, and Ross Case, 6-4, 6-1.
Laver’s scouting report on Borg?
“He passed OK,’’ Laver said with a smile and zero regrets from attacking the net. “But the ball was hit so much higher because of his topspin. I just had to wait a second to see where he was hitting it, and it was so high that I would say, ‘I can get to that,’ and then I would move. It was wait and see.’’
All these years later, Laver can still pinpoint Borg’s arsenal.
“He had a lot more topspin than I did, especially on the forehand,’’ Laver said. “The double-handed backhand was a little flatter, but it had topspin, too. But generally, it had more weight in it. It was a heavier ball.”
Borg had the upper-hand that day, 6-1, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, and soon Laver was bidding adieu to a location where his joyful memories considerably outweighed his US Open swan song.
“Oh yeah, that was it,’’ Laver said. “I was hardly playing at all after that, and I thought, ‘Why am I doing this to get beaten again?’ So I decided to hang it up.’’
But not before a doubles pairing of future Hall of Famers that deserved to be hung in the Louvre. Raise your hand if knowing that before Laver tapped out at Forest Hills, he had a doubles partner in Borg.
For the first and only time in their stellar careers, they joined forces at the 1975 US Open. Talk about an unseeded power couple.
“We were just both looking for a partner, that was what that was,’’ Laver said. “We both had a couple of red shirts, so we said, 'That should do it.' We were the team in red, I do remember that.”
Laver-Borg is a combination that will never be forgotten, even if their time together was fairly brief.
They defeated Rick Fagel and Peter Fishbach in the opening round, 6-3, 6-3, and Arthur Ashe and Dennis Ralston, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. The dream team was then eliminated by Phil Dent and Bill Lloyd, 6-1, 6-4.
“That seems ancient, years ago,’’ Laver said.
That is a trek in the time machine, but the recollections hold true of these two tennis savants and their thrilling matchups.
They played each other eight times and, no, it wasn’t enough for tennis fans.
Borg held the edge, 6-2, as he won the first time they met (Barcelona, 1974) and in their final five meetings, including the last one in Las Vegas in 1978.
“I could generally handle him,’’ Laver said. “But put him on clay, and I would have to battle a little bit. I could attack the net, or I just stayed back and gave it a good whack and hope it lands in.”
In their only singles final pairing, Laver prevailed on clay at the 1974 Houston WCT event, 7-6 (5), 6-2.
“I do remember that one,’’ Laver said. “We played a lot of tennis in that one.”
Laver’s playing days are behind him, but his affection for the sport has never waivered. While he didn’t attend this year’s US Open, he is found in his easy chair in Carlsbad, Calif., not far from the La Costa Resort’s center court named for him, watching the sport he adores.
Next up is the Laver Cup, an annual exhibition orchestrated by Roger Federer, which features the world’s top players in a weekend format. San Francisco is the host city later this month, and yes, Laver’s heart hasn’t left his cherished game of tennis.
“Roger was instrumental in putting this together,’’ Laver said. “He said, ‘Can we use your name?’ and I said, ‘But what’s wrong with your name? Why don’t you put your name on it?’ But he didn’t want to do that.
“It was nice of him, and I’m very much honored that he did it. He felt that it was a feature that was important, and it would help it grow.”
Tennis sprouted because of players like Laver, as they provided the shoulders that the current competitors stand on. Without those men and women being trailblazers, it’s doubtful this year’s US Open would have a $90 million prize purse, with each singles winner receiving $5 million.
Laver’s haul in 1969, the last year he won it?
This isn’t a typo: $16,000, then the largest prize ever in tennis.
“It’s amazing what the US Open has become and the crowds it is getting,’’ Laver said. “They are filling up a lot of seats.”
Oh, to be courtside when Laver and Borg exchanged handshakes a half-century ago. Two men with an indelible presence that helped propel tennis to the massive popularity it enjoys today.
“They have to be happy with the results at the US Open,’’ Laver said. “It’s amazing and hard to believe.”
The US Open possesses a rich past that includes Laver and Borg sharing a court, 50 years ago, with a historic pairing for the ages. Even if the age gap was considerable between them, which only added to its lore.
