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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
5 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 43 |
![]() |
7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 22 |
- All matches: Laver 43–22
- All finals: Laver 14–7
- Grand Slams: Laver 1–0
- Pro Slams: Laver 2–0
List of matches
No. | Date | Event | Round | Surface | Winner | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1964-05-21 | College Park Pro Championships, Maryland | quarter-final | Indoor | Laver | 6–2, 10–8 |
2 | 1964-05-29 | U.S. Pro Indoor, White Plains, NY | quarter-final | Indoor | Gonzales | 1–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
3 | 1964-06-03 | Masters Pro, Los Angeles | Round Robin | Hard | Laver | 10–4 |
4 | 1964-06-08 | Masters Pro, Los Angeles | 3rd Place | Hard | Gonzales | 10–8 |
5 | 1964-06-26 | Schiltz Pro, Milwaukee | semi-final | Outdoor | Gonzales | 6–4, 6–4 |
6 | 1964-07-13 | US Pro Championship, Chestnut Hill | Final | Grass | Laver | 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4 |
7 | 1964-07-16 | Pro Tour, Scarborough | Tour | Gonzales | 6–4, 6–2 | |
8 | 1964-07-21 | Golden Racquet, Wembley | semi-final | Wood (i) | Gonzales | 8–5 |
9 | 1964-07-23 | Knokke Le Zoute Pro | Final | Clay | Gonzales | 6–3, 8–6 |
10 | 1964-08-15 | Cannes Pro | semi-final | Wood (i) | Gonzales | 6–1, 4–6, 7–5 |
11 | 1964-08-24 | Geneva Pro, Geneva | Final | Clay | Laver | 4–6, 6–3, 6–1 |
12 | 1964-09-17 | Wembley Pro Championship, London | semi-final | Wood (i) | Laver | 6–2, 3–6, 8–6, 6–3 |
13 | 1965-01-22 | NSW Pro, Sydney | semi-final | Grass | Gonzales | 6–1, 4–6, 6–3 |
14 | 1965-01-29 | South Australian Pro, Adelaide | semi-final | Grass | Laver | 20–18, 6–4 |
15 | 1965-02-06 | Western Australian Pro, Perth | Final | Grass | Laver | 7–5, 11–9 |
16 | 1965-04-20 | CBS TV Pro, Dallas | semi-final | Clay | Gonzales | 8–6, 6–3 |
17 | 1965-04-25 | Oklahoma City Pro, Oklahoma | Final | Hard | Laver | 6–3, 6–4 |
18 | 1965-05-02 | U.S. Pro Indoor, New York | Final | Carpet (i) | Laver | 6–3, 6–1 |
19 | 1965-05-24 | Masters Pro, Los Angeles | Final | Hard | Laver | 3–6, 6–3, 7–5 |
20 | 1965-05-31 | Peacock Gap Pro, San Rafael | Final | Hard | Laver | 6–1, 6–4 |
21 | 1965-06-06 | Seattle Seafirst Greater Pro, Seattle | Final | Hard | Gonzales | 6–3, 6–4 |
22 | 1965-06-16 | Les Stoefen Day, La Jolla | Exhibition | Hard | Laver | 1–6, 8–6, 6–4 |
23 | 1965-06-20 | Tahoe Racquet Club Pro, Lake Tahoe | Final | Hard | Laver | 6–3, 2–6, 6–4 |
24 | 1965-07-04 | Saint Louis Pro | 3rd Place | Clay | Laver | 10–8 |
25 | 1965-11-21 | Balboa Bay | Exhibition | Hard | Gonzales | 6–4, 4–6, 6–4 |
26 | 1966-03-14 | International Match, Los Angeles | Round Robin | Carpet (i) | Laver | 10–5 |
27 | 1966-03-18 | International Match, Chicago | Round Robin | Carpet (i) | Gonzales | 7–5 |
28 | 1966-03-31 | London BBC-2 Trophy, Wembley | Final | Wood (i) | Gonzales | 6–3, 5–7, 12–10 |
29 | 1966-06-12 | Forest Hills Pro | Round Robin | Grass | Laver | 31–23 |
30 | 1966-12-04 | Hollywood Pro Challenge Cup | Final | Clay | Gonzales | 6–4, 6–2 |
31 | 1966-12-11 | Orlando Pro | Final | Clay | Gonzales | 6–3, 6–0 |
32 | 1967-01-31 | Australian Tour, Toowoomba | Tour | Laver | 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 | |
33 | 1967-02-06 | Australian Tour, Rockhampton | Tour | Laver | 6–3, 8–10, 7–5 | |
34 | 1967-02-08 | Australian Tour, Brisbane | Tour | Laver | 6–2, 5–7, 9–7 | |
35 | 1967-02-19 | Australian Tour, Melbourne | Tour | Grass | Gonzales | 6–2, 6–4 |
36 | 1967-02-22 | New Zealand Tour, Dunedin | Tour | Indoor | Laver | 6–0, 7–9, 13–11 |
37 | 1967-02-24 | New Zealand Tour, Wanganui | Tour | Indoor | Laver | 6–0, 6–3 |
38 | 1967-02-26 | New Zealand Tour, Auckland | Tour | Grass | Gonzales | 8–6, 4–6, 7–5 |
39 | 1967-03-05 | U.S. Pro Indoor, New York | Final | Carpet (i) | Laver | 7–5, 14–16, 7–5, 6–2 |
40 | 1967-03-19 | Orlando Pro | Final | Clay | Laver | 6–4, 2–6, 6–0 |
41 | 1967-03-31 | Montreal Pro | semi-final | Carpet (i) | Laver | 10–7 |
42 | 1967-08-13 | Colonial Pro, Fort Worth | semi-final | Hard | Laver | 9–7, 6–3 |
43 | 1968-03-20 | São Paulo Pro | 4-man RR | Laver | 7–5, 5–7, 6–4 | |
44 | 1968-03-24 | Buenos Aires Pro | Final | Clay | Laver | 6–3, 6–3 |
45 | 1968 | Bogota Pro | 3rd Place | Laver | 7–5, 6–8, 7–5 | |
46 | 1968-04-14 | Hollywood Pro Challenge Cup | 3rd Place | Clay | Gonzales | 10–3 |
47 | 1968-04-17 | London BBC-2 Trophy | semi-final | Wood (i) | Laver | 12–10 |
48 | 1968-04-20 | Paris Indoor | 3rd place | Laver | 6–4, 14–12 | |
49 | 1968-04-22 | Toulouse | Tour | Laver | 4–6, 9–7, 7–5 | |
50 | 1968-06-08 | French Open | semi-final | Clay | Laver | 6–3, 6–3, 6–1 |
51 | 1968-07-12 | French Pro Championship | semi-final | Clay | Laver | 8–6, 6–2, 6–3 |
52 | 1968-07-19 | Los Angeles NTL Pro | Final | Carpet (i) | Gonzales | 1–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
53 | 1968-08-12 | McAllen, TX | One-Night Stand | Hard (O) | Laver | 4–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
54 | 1969-02-10 | Orlando Pro | semi-final | Clay | Laver | 9–7, 6–2 |
55 | 1969-02-27 | Portland | One-Night Stand | Carpet (i) | Laver | 7–5, 6–8, 8–6 |
56 | 1969-02-28 | Seattle | One-Night Stand | Laver | 6–3, 8–6 | |
57 | 1969-03-21 | Honolulu | One-Night Stand | Carpet (i) | Laver | 2–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
58 | 1969-03-22 | Honolulu | One-Night Stand | Carpet (i) | Laver | 4–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
59 | 1969-08-10 | Binghamton Pro, New York | 4-man RR | Clay | Laver | 6–1, 6–2 |
60 | 1969-08-24 | Baltimore, Maryland | Final | Grass | Laver | 6–3, 3–6, 7–5, 4–6, 8–6 |
61 | 1970-01-23 | Tennis Champions Classic, New York | Round Robin | Carpet (i) | Gonzales | 7–5, 3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
62 | 1970–04-06 | Cape Town, South Africa | One-Night Stand | Gonzales | 6–4, 6–4 | |
63 | 1970-05-17 | WCT Howard Hughes Tennis Championships, Las Vegas | Final | Hard | Gonzales | 6–1, 7–5, 5–7, 6–3 |
64 | 1970-06-02 | Tennis Champions Classic, New York | semi-final | Carpet (i) | Laver | 6–3, 6–3, 6–1 |
65 | 1970-10-01 | WCT Vancouver | quarter-final | Carpet (i) | Laver | 6–3, 7–5 |
See also
References
- ^ McCauley, Joe (2003). The History of Professional Tennis.
- ^ Collins, Bud; Laver, Rodney George (1973). The Education of a Tennis Player. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-21533-7.
- ^ Deford, Frank; Kramer, Jack (1979). The Game: My 40 Years in Tennis. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0-399-12336-9.