http://www.menstennis.org en-us Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:04:21 -0800 http://www.menstennis.org/rod-laver/ Legendary Australian tennis player Rod Laver (Rodney George, also known as "Rocket", on August 9, 1938, in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia) is a former tennis player who was perhaps the World No. 1 player for seven consecutive years, from 1964 to 1970. Rod Laver is the only person to win the Grand Slam twice, first as an amateur in 1962 and second as a professional in 1969. He is the only male player during the open era to have won a calendar year Grand Slam. Laver has been rated as the best male player of all time by several experts and polls.

"Rocket" Rod is universally considered one of the greatest tennis player of the twentieth century, and for good cause. He won 11 Grand Slam singles and was Wimbledon champion four times. In 1971 he became the first professional tennis player to pass the $1 million mark in total earnings.

What is more, a remarkable moment is that the main stadium and centre court of Melbourne Park, where the Australian Open is played in January, is the Rod Laver Arena named in his honor. Winning the Grand Slam is one of the highest distinctions in the world of international tennis. To win it twice is Rod Laver's unsurpassed record to the present time.

To win the Grand Slam, a tennis player must win the singles title in the same calendar year in four of the world's premier tennis tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. None has won it twice, before or since Rod Laver.

As already mentioned, his first international triumph was winning the US Junior Championship at the age of 17. In 1981, Rod Laver was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, in Newport, Rhode Island. Australia Post honored Rod Laver, together with fellow Australian tennis star Margaret Court, with an Australia Post Legends Award which placed his picture on an Australian stamp.

Rod Laver suffered a major stroke in 1998 while being interviewed for an ESPN series on the greatest athletes of the 20th century, but he has apparently made a good recovery with excellent medical care. In 2003, Laver, along with his fellow Australian tennis superstar Margaret Court, was honored with his portrait on a postage stamp by the "Australia Post Australian Legends Award". According to the grapevine, Laver currently resides in Carlsbad, California.

In both his style of play and his earnings as a professional tennis player, Rod George Laver "Rocket" as a result became an ideal model for future players and helped pave the way for tennis game we see today. ]]> Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:26:54 -0800 http://www.menstennis.org/rod-laver/ http://www.menstennis.org/atp-masters-series/ "What is a ATP Masters Series?", would you ask. It is a series of nine tennis tournament events that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe and North America. The tournaments are mandatory for the international top male players on the world's professional tennis circuit. The series constitutes the most prestigious tournaments in men's tennis after the four Grand Slam events.

The series were presented in 1990 with the inception of the ATP Tour. Initially, the events were known as "Championship Series, Single Week" events. In 1996 and until 1999, the series were known as the Mercedes-Benz Super 9. In 2000, the name was changed to the Tennis Masters Series (TMS) and then changed to the present name in 2004.

Results in ATP Masters Series events earn players more world ranking points than regular tournaments, though not as many as Grand Slam events or the year-end Tennis Masters Cup. Up until 2007, most Master Series finals were contested as best of five set matches. At present, all Masters Series events are decided in best of three set matches. For information, Former World No. 1 Andre Agassi holds the record for the most titles with 17.

On August 31, 2007 the ATP declared that major changes will take place in 2009. The Masters Series will be renamed to the “Masters 1000,” with the addition of the number 1000 referring to the amount of ranking points which are won. Contrary to earlier plans, the number of tournaments will not be reduced from nine to eight and the Monte Carlo Masters will remain part of the series although, unlike the other events, it will not have a mandatory player commitment. The Hamburg Masters event will be downgraded and replaced by a new tournament in Shanghai. In 2011 six of the nine “1000” level tournaments will be joint ATP and WTA events. ]]> Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:09:34 -0700 http://www.menstennis.org/atp-masters-series/