Word: laver
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...challenging Italians, Orlando Sirola and Nicola Pietrangeli, who had knocked out the U.S. team. Then onto the court for Australia walked a pair of lefthanders who never weep and never giggle, shudder at the idea of throwing a racket or a tantrum. All Neale Fraser, 27, and Rod ("Rocket") Laver, 22, ever seem to do is win-and last week they defended the Davis Cup with a brand of tennis that has become indisputably the best in the amateur world...
Aside from their records, U.S. sports fans know little about the Aussie champions, but Fraser and Laver are heroes Down Under. Son of a Victoria judge, Neale Fraser began to play at eleven ("Mum gave us rackets to keep us off the streets"), was finally able to persuade his skeptical parents that he should concentrate on tennis instead of following the family tradition of becoming a lawyer or a doctor...
Short (5 ft. 8 in.), wiry Rod Laver was born into a ranching family in Queensland that was so daft over tennis that it moved into the town of Rockhampton to find some stiff competition for the kids. Playing in every tournament in sight, the family (father, mother and three sons) became known as the Laver All-Stars, and young Rod picked up the nickname of "The Rockhampton Rocket." A blushingly shy redhead, Laver has been thrown off stride by the nagging irritations of a match, is now carefully mother-henned during play by Hopman. In action, Laver...
Desperate Racket. Against the Italians last week, Fraser and Laver were devastating. In the opening singles match, Fraser blasted the bravely grinning Sirola off the court. 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. Next, Laver deftly whizzed shots past the desperate racket of Pietrangeli to win as he pleased, 8-6, 6-4, 6-3. The following day, Fraser and slick Roy Emerson, 24, won the third and deciding match by briskly disposing of the Italians in the doubles. 10-8, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4. By the third day, the Aussies had routed the Italians four matches...
...Australia turned the finals of the U.S. national doubles championship in Chestnut Hill, Mass, into an intramural match as Neale Fraser and Roy Emerson defeated Rod Laver and Bob Mark by the score...