Word: laver
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...certain code of behavior emphasizing patience, dignity, generosity, and courage. Stan Smith possessed these qualities during his brief reign at the top of the world rankings. Arthur Ashe rarely questioned a call and certainly never called an umpire a "fool" before thousands of fans. Further back, men like Laver and Rosewall exemplified these virtues, as did the countless female champions of the century. Today, the dominant force in men's tennis--Bjorn Borg--carries himself with the pride of a man who never has to whine for a point...
Borg need only win four early-round matches to eclipse Laver's mark of 31 consecutive match victories in Wimbledon play...
...Twice Laver won the French Open, Wimbledon, the U.S. and Australian Opens in the same year. Don Budge, Maureen Connolly and Margaret Court won the grand slam once. "Though tennis was first played by ecclesiastical students in the 15th century, the game quickly became so identified with French royalty that Shakespeare contrived for a British king to threaten the French crown with a tennis metaphor. In Henry V, King Henry warns the French Ambassador: "When he have match'd our rackets to these balls,/ We will in France, by God's grace, play a set/ Shall strike his father...
...Laver was an expert practitioner during his prime in the '60s, and nearly every how-to book on tennis has many words on the subject. But most observers think Borg has mastered topspin as has no player since French noblemen developed the game in the Middle Ages.* As a result, he plays more of that crucial space above the net than anyone in the history of the game. Says Tennis Coach Vic Braden: "Bjorn can make the ball drop so fast it will untie your shoelaces. If you want to get back far enough to take it on the bounce...
...will to keep going has helped make Borg the best tennis player of his generation. But is he the greatest of all time? No one, of course, will ever know how many Wimbledon titles Laver might have won had not the rules against professional players of that era exiled him from the tournament for five years. Nor can it be said how Fred Perry, Big Bill Tilden, Jack Kramer, Pancho Gonzalez and Don Budge might have fared against Borg. But the quality of his competition suggests he may be the best ever. Undoubtedly, more fine players contest tournaments today than...