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Australian Open Tennis 2011: Rafael Nadal’s Bid For Immortality
Published: January 15, 2011
The only man who's done it in the Open era is widely regarded as one of the best tennis players ever to pick up a racket. I'm naturally talking about the great Rod Laver, who won a Calendar Slam twice, once as an amateur in 1962 and then again as pro in 1969 against the very best players of the era.
To be clear, the 1969 Grand Slam is far more impressive than the 1962. As Laver himself has acknowledged, in 1962 the best players like Pancho Gonzales, Lew Hoad and Ken Rosewall had already turned pro, so he had an easier time piling up the Slams. Over the course of the 60s though, he proved it was no fluke as he dominated the field from 1964 culminating in his 1969 Grand Slam.
Before proceeding to our current contender, Rafael Nadal, let's take a look at which other legends came close.
Who Came Close?
Other legends have come close over the years, but the fact that no one has won it is testament to how hard a feat it is.
Jimmy Connors came close in his famous 1974 season in which he won every one of the Slams, except the French from which he was banned. He would have been the favourite had he been allowed entry. Instead Björn Borg won his maiden Slam just after turning 18 and only a couple of weeks after winning his first title of significance, the Italian Open.
Fast forward ten years and you have John McEnroe in one of the best tennis seasons ever, winning 82 matches and losing only three. One of them being the French Open final to Ivan Lendl after leading him two sets to love, the worst loss of McEnroe's career. He did not, as far as I recall, venture to the Australian Open, but did enjoy one of the most successful tennis seasons ever none the less.
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis
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