It occurred to me that it would benefit me to play without emotion – well, without emotion others could see, anyway. Card players profited from having a poker face so opponents wouldn’t know how good or bad their hand was, and I figured a deadpan expression would work in tennis, too. Rod Laver Read Quote
Looking back, in comparison, there wasn’t that much that you could do with a wooden racket. In my day, the matches were certainly much less demanding physically. Rod Laver Read Quote
I competed hard in the heat of the battle, and there were a few occasions where I played my best in the top matches. As for the best ever? I don’t think so. Rod Laver Read Quote
Forty years ago, the players were like a travelling circus – we went everywhere together and were pretty good friends. Rod Laver Read Quote
Yes, I hit with heavy top-spin, but when you look at the little rackets I played with, the Maxply Dunlop, you had to hit the very centre all the time. I had my share of miss-hits. Rod Laver Read Quote
I don’t know much about Mauresmo apart from the fact she played great tennis. Is she a good technician? I don’t know those parameters. Rod Laver Read Quote
