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Gonzales–Laver rivalry

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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 9 7 2 43
United States Pancho Gonzales 7 4 4 2 2 0 3 22

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

  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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