Gonzales–Laver rivalry

Australian tennis player Rod Laver had a rivalry with Pancho Gonzales, whom he played from 1964 to 1970. Laver had a lead of 35–19 or 38–21, depending on the source. [1] [2]

Analysis

Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter, writes that although Laver was "absolutely unbeatable for a year or two late in the 1960s", a "careful comparison" could be made between Laver and the somewhat older Gonzales and that Kramer is "positive that Gonzales could have beaten Laver regularly." [3]

Kramer sees as evidence of Gonzales's superiority over Laver the fact that Gonzales defeated Laver in a U.S.$10,000 winner-take-all, five-set match before 15,000 spectators in New York City's Madison Square Garden in January 1970, when Gonzales was 41 years old and Laver was still considered the World No. 1 player. On the other hand, Gonzales was still a top ten player when this match occurred and Laver subsequently won this event, beating Gonzales in a straight sets semifinal.

During the span of seven years that they faced each other, Laver was 26–32 and Gonzales was 36–42 years old. While the peak of Laver was in the late 1960s, the peak of Gonzales was in the middle 1950s. Gonzales had a great longevity that made possible that this rivalry was competitive. However, the overall record could be biased in favor of Laver because of the difference of 10 years between them.

Head-to-head tallies

The following is a breakdown of their documented head-to-head results:

Player 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 Total
Australia Rod Laver 5 9 2 9 6 5 2 38
United States Pancho Gonzales 8 4 2 2 2 0 3 21

List of matches

No. Date Event Round Surface Winner Score
1 1964 College Park Pro Championships, Maryland Quarter-Final Laver 6–2, 10–8
2 1964 US Pro Indoor, White Plains Quarter-Final Indoor Gonzales 1–6, 6–3, 6–3
3 1964 Masters RR, Los Angeles Round Robin Laver 10–4
4 1964 Masters RR, Los Angeles 3rd Place Gonzales 10–3
5 1964 Schiltz Pro, Milwaukee Semi-Final Gonzales 6–4, 6–4
6 1964-07-06 US Pro Championship, Chestnut Hill Final Grass Laver 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4
7 1964 Pro Tour, Barcelona Round Robin Gonzales 6–3, 8–6
8 1964 Pro Tour, Scarborough Round Robin Gonzales 6–4, 6–2
9 1964 Golden Racquet, Wembley Round 1 Gonzales 8–5
10 1964-07-24 Knokke Le Zoute Final Clay Gonzales 6–3, 8–6
11 1964 Cannes Pro Semi-Final Gonzales 6–1, 4–6, 7–5
12 1964-08-24 Geneva Pro, Geneva Final Clay Laver 4–6, 6–3, 6–1
13 1964 Wembley Pro Championship, London Semi-Final Indoor Laver 6–2, 3–6, 8–6, 6–3
14 1965 NSW Pro Semi-Final Gonzales 6–1, 4–6, 6–3
15 1965 South Australian Pro Final Laver 20–18, 6–4
16 1965-02-01 Western Australian Pro, Perth Final Grass Laver 7–5, 11–9
17 1965-04-19 Oklahoma City Pro, Oklahoma Final Laver 6–3, 6–4
18 1965-04-26 US Pro Indoor, White Plains, New York Final Indoor Laver 6–3, 6–1
19 1965 CBS TV Pro, Dallas Semi-Final Gonzales 8–6, 6–3
20 1965-05-17 Masters Pro, Los Angeles Final Laver 3–6, 6–3, 7–5
21 1965-05-24 Peacock Gap Pro, San Rafael Final Laver 6–1, 6–4
22 1965 Les Stoefen, La Jolla Exhibition Laver 1–6, 8–6, 6–4
23 1965-06-06 Seattle Seafirst Greater Pro, Seattle Final Gonzales 6–3, 6–4
24 1965-06-14 Tahoe Racquet Club Pro, Lake Tahoe Final Laver 6–3, 2–6, 6–4
25 1965 VW Pro, Saint Louis 3rd Place Laver 10–5
26 1965-12 Balboa Bay Exhibition Gonzales 2 sets to 1
27 1966 International Match, Los Angeles Round Robin Laver 10–5
28 1966-03-31 London BBC-2 Trophy, Wembley Final Gonzales 6–3, 5–7, 12–10
29 1966 Forest Hills Pro Round Robin Laver 31–22
30 1966-12-04 Hollywood Pro Challenge Cup Final Clay Gonzales 6–4, 6–2
31 1967 Australian Tour, Toowoomba Round Robin Laver 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
32 1967 Australian Tour, Rockhampton Round Robin Laver 6–3, 8–10, 7–5
33 1967 Australian Tour, Brisbane Round Robin Laver 6–2, 5–7, 9–7
34 1967 Australian Tour, Melbourne Round Robin Gonzales 6–2, 6–4
35 1967 New Zealand Tour, Dunedin Round Robin Laver 6–0, 7–9, 13–11
36 1967 New Zealand Tour, Auckland Round Robin Laver 6–0, 6–3
37 1967 New Zealand Tour, Auckland Round Robin Gonzales 8–6, 4–6, 7–5
38 1967-02-27 U.S. Pro Indoor Championships, New York Final Indoor Laver 7–5, 14–16, 7–5, 6–2
39 1967-03-13 Orlando Pro Final Laver 6–4, 2–6, 6–0
40 1967 Montreal Pro Semi-Final Laver 10–7
41 1967 Colonial Pro, Fort Worth Semi-Final Laver 9–7, 6–3
42 1968-03-21 NTL 4-man event, São Paulo Final Laver
43 1968-03-24 South American Pro, Buenos Aires Final Laver 7–5, 5–7, 6–4
44 1968 Bogota Pro 3rd Place Laver 7–5, 6–8, 7–5
45 1968 Burger King, Hollywood 3rd Place Gonzales 10–2
46 1968 World Pro, Wembley Semi-Final Laver 12–10
47 1968-06-07 French Open Semi-Final Clay Laver 6–3, 6–3, 6–1
48 1968 French Pro Championship Semi-Final Clay Laver 8–6, 6–2, 6–3
49 1968-07-21 Los Angeles NTL Pro Final Gonzales 1–6, 6–3, 6–4
50 1969 Orlando Pro Semi-Final Laver 9–7, 6–2
51 1969 Portland ONS Laver 7–5, 6–8, 8–6
52 1969 Seattle ONS Laver 6–3, 8–6
53 1969–08 Binghampton Pro, New York Round Robin Laver 6–1, 6–2
54 1969-08-18 Baltimore, Maryland Final Grass Laver 6–3, 3–6, 7–5, 4–6, 8–6
55 1970 Championships Classic, New York Round Robin Gonzales 7–5, 3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–2
56 1970–04-06 Cape Town, South Africa tour match Gonzales 6-4, 6-4
57 1970-05-17 WCT Howard Hughes Tennis Championships, Las Vegas Final Hard Gonzales 6–1, 7–5, 5–7, 6–3
58 1970 Championships Classic, New York Semi-Final Laver 6–3, 6–3, 6–1
59 1970 WCT Vancouver Quarter-Final Laver 6–3, 7–5

See also

References

  1. ↑ McCauley, Joe (2003). The History of Professional Tennis.
  2. ↑ Collins, Bud; Laver, Rodney George (1973). The Education of a Tennis Player. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-21533-7.
  3. ↑ Deford, Frank; Kramer, Jack (1979). The Game: My 40 Years in Tennis. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0-399-12336-9.
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