In an interview to Tages Anzeiger, the Australian legend commented on the differences between past and modern tennis. When we were playing tennis it was a different world, Laver admitted.
Now players are much more followed. I got four rackets that lasted for a year. A string set was enough for Wimbledon. If you hit the ball in the middle of the racket, its pretty enough. And when the strings were moving, sometimes I fixed them with a bandage And then the shoes! Every six months there was a new pair for me, he laughed.
When I seen how many players use a pair for every match today, I ask myself if they run so much or if their shoes are not that good anymore. Laver thinks that he took the right decision in turning from amateur to professional: I could not allow myself to stay as an amateur.
At the beginning of the professional level, I was struggling. They were much better. My idols were Lew Hoad, Pancho Gonzalez and Ken Rosewall. They gave me tough lessons. I lost to Hoad 13 times in a row. I was much better than my days as an amateur.
It was the first time that all the four Grand Slams were open to professionals, and I told my wife that I wanted to face everyone. She said, Go forward, its your career. When I was in Australia, she called me from our house in California and she told me she was pregnant.
The birth was planned for the last day of US Open, which I think could bring me luck. First tennis – then family. Laver is looking forward to attending the in Geneva from 20 to 22 September.
He praised role into it: Roger is a historian. He wanted that all the results of the previous generations would not stay on the shadow and they discovered that my name was strong enough to represent all the former champions.
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