To this day, the final of the 1960 Australian Championships, that was played on February 1 of that year between Rod Laver and Neale Fraser, is considered to be one of the greatest finals in the history of men's singles Grand Slams.
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Rod Laver is a name synonymous in the sporting world with traditionally the first Grand Slam of every season, the Australian Open. The Rod Laver arena is one of the most iconic venues, not just in tennis, but all of sport. But who is Rod Laver? We all have the idea that he was arguably the best tennis players of his time, which would not be an overstatement given his stats. However, that is where the 21st layman’s knowledge starts and ends about the great man. In this article, we will briefly look at who exactly Laver was and then focus on the tournament that began his journey to becoming one of the greatest tennis players of all time and a mammoth icon of Australian sport. So, who is Rod Laver?
Born on August 9, 1938 in Queensland, Australia, Rod Laver is a former professional men’s tennis player from the land down under. He has the best numbers of any man who has ever held a tennis racquet in his country, and is considered to be the greatest men’s single player the nation has ever produced. He is even considered to be the greatest of all time by some, and they would not be entirely wrong. Laver has 11 Grand Slam titles to his name, a feat unheard of during his playing days as a professional (1956-1979). Although his home was Australia, the place where he enjoyed most success was Wimbledon. The Aussie has four Wimbledon titles to his name, three Australian Open crowns, and two French and US Open titles each. But how did it all start?
A highly interesting fact about Laver’s career is that he won his first Grand Slam title even before he turned professional, and that is exactly what we will be talking about today. As per sources, Laver turned professional in the year 1963, but his first success in Grand Slams came three years earlier. The Aussie was an amateur at the time, making the feat truly a thing of beauty and awe. The year was 1960 and the tournament was the Australian Championships (now called the Australian Open).
Laver was already making inroads into the professional tennis world and catching the eyes of his competitors and fans thanks to his impeccable skills on the court. In 1957, Laver had won the junior championships in the US and Australia. Two years later, the talented 21-year-old had reached the final of Wimbledon in the men’s singles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles categories. He won the mixed doubles crown with Darlene Hard. However, the Aussie was yet to win his maiden singles major.
The 1960 season began and as is tradition, the Grand Slam at Australia was the first major tournament of the season. Thanks to his exploits the previous season, a title-less Laver was seeded third in the men’s singles competition. For the then 21-year-old, the tournament was an all-Australian affair as he only faced his countrymen. In the first round, Laver was up against Colin Stubs and recorded a comfortable 6-2, 6-0, 6-1 win which would set the tone of how he would play for the rest of the tournament.
The second round proved to be bit more of a challenge for Laver against Warren Jacques. Despite winning in straight sets, the 11-time champion was pushed to the limit in the first set which saw 20 games. The score at the end of the match was an incredible 11-9, 6-3, 6-3. Then came the business end of the Grand Slam as the quarter-finals got underway. It was from here that Laver truly came into his own and his transformation into one of the greatest tennis players of all time took shape. In the last eight, Laver faced off against Kenneth Norman Fletcher. This time around, the match was not decided in straight sets. The four setter saw Laver edge Fletcher out 6-3, 8-6, 4-6, 6-4. And then there were four.
In the semi-finals, the then 21-year-old faced second seed and one of the greatest players of all time Roy Emerson. It was the first time in the Grand Slam that Laver had been pushed the distance and although most of us did not see the match live, the score tells a story of thrill and excitement. The two players went back and forth. Emerson took the first set with ease, only for Laver to win the next two and establish an unlikely lead. The next set went in favour of the second seed and with the score tied a 2-2, both Aussies gave it their absolute best in the fifth and final set. Laver eventually won the set by a whisker and defeated Emerson by a score of 4-6, 6-1, 9-7, 3-6, 7-5.
And then came the grand final. Third seed Rod Laver against top seed and tournament favourite Neale Fraser. An all-Australian final at the Australian Championships for all the ages. The match was billed as one of the best ever matches of tennis at the tournament, and it completely lived up to the hype. Fraser, who was the superior player at the time, had gotten off to an absolute flyer, winning two sets. With one foot on the top step of the podium, the no. 1 seed possibly never saw the storm that was about to come.
This was where Rod Laver truly became one of the most feared tennis players in the world at the time. From a hefty deficit of two sets, Laver stormed back into the picture, winning the third and fourth sets and made those in attendance go absolutely wild. With a comeback victory in a final on the horizon, Laver upped his game and, despite an immensely strong effort by Fraser, won the final set and the match 5-7, 3-6, 6-3, 8-6, 8-6. Rod Laver had won his first ever major singles title.
To this day, the final of the 1960 Australian Championships, that was played on February 1 of that year between Rod Laver and Neale Fraser, is considered to be one of the greatest finals in the history of men’s singles Grand Slams. It was the match that set the stage for Laver to go ahead and become a trailblazer in the world of tennis and one of the greatest tennis player the world has ever seen.
