I was surprised when Roger Federer told me about Laver Cup, says Rod
Rod Laver described his feelings when he was told that Roger Federer and his agent Tony Godsick were thinking about creating the Laver Cup. The Australian legend, speaking to Tennis.com, said: "It's a huge honor. It's a different type of competition, unique and team play. It's a bit surprising to hear all the reaction from the audience. I was told with surprise. I knew Roger Federer was involved. Open Era has been around for more than 40 years but before that, amateur tennis had huge names. And he thought that it was a shame to forget that part of tennis, our records. Roger Federer is the best player in the world. I have had a good career but nothing matches up with what he has done."
Can a player achieve the Calendar Grand Slam again? "It's possible. Djokovic was the defending champion in all the four. It's about the bad part of the game too, injuries and fitness."
In a press conference earlier this year, Laver said: "I think the '62 slam was because it hadn't been done. I think the '69 slam was certainly a players' game. That gave me the satisfaction, '69, that I could do it with all the players at the tournament. Because when we played -- well, you all probably know, Wimbledon was the reason why Open Tennis came about, because of Herman David, the chairman, said, We want you pros to play an eight-game pro set, win an eight-game tournament two weeks after 1967. They said then 1968 you're welcome to play in our tournaments. We are not going to say amateurs. We are just going to say players. Then I think Wimbledon, the French, all of them all got together and said, Well, let's go open. They are the ones that didn't need Open Tennis. They were always totally sold out. It's a great feeling to be able to all compete again. My success, you know, maybe a light shown down on me that said, You're in this game for a reason. So compete hard and play hard, and I think that showed up in '69."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2PoCQVc
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