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'Rod Laver's memoir is the inspiring story of how a diminutive, left-handed, red-headed country boy from Rockhampton became one of Australia's greatest every sporting champions. Rod was a dominant force in world tennis for almost two decades, playing and defeating some of the greatest players of the twentieth century. In 1962, Rod became the second man to win the Grand Slam - that is, winning the Australian, French, Wimbledon and US titles in a single calendar year. In 1969 he won it again, becoming the only player ever to win the Grand Slam twice. His book is a wonderfully nostalgic journey into Australia's sporting past, from the early days of growing up in a Queensland country town in the 1950s, to breaking into the amateur circuit, to the extraordinary highs of Grand Slam victories. Away from on-court triumphs, Rod also movingly writes about the life-changing stroke he suffered in 1998, and of his beloved wife of more than 40 years, Mary, who died in 2012 after a long illness. Filled with anecdotes about the great players and great matches, set against the backdrop of a tennis world changing from rigid amateurism to the professional game we recognize today, Rod's book is a warm, insightful and fascinating account of a great sportsman and a great Australian.' (Publisher's blurb)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Rocket Forgotten Pioneer of Tennis
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 19 October vol. 19 October no. 2013; (p. 102) -
In Short : Non-Fiction
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 14-15 December 2013; (p. 32) The Age , 14 December 2013; (p. 26)
— Review of Rod Laver : A Memoir 2013 single work autobiography ; Tall Ships and Tall Tales : A Life of Dancing with History 2013 single work autobiography
-
In Short : Non-Fiction
2013
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 14-15 December 2013; (p. 32) The Age , 14 December 2013; (p. 26)
— Review of Rod Laver : A Memoir 2013 single work autobiography ; Tall Ships and Tall Tales : A Life of Dancing with History 2013 single work autobiography -
Rocket Forgotten Pioneer of Tennis
2013
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 19 October vol. 19 October no. 2013; (p. 102)