Proposal

Dear Mrs. Marquez, 

 

Do you know anyone who has a tennis tournament named after him, a record of being the second person to achieve a calendar year Grand Slam (When someone wins all four majors in a year) and won the Companion of the Order of Australia? Let me tell you: Rod Laver. As you may know, Rod Laver is a very well respected tennis player. He has won many awards and is also known as 'Rocket' by his tennis coach for having grit, determination and work ethic. Despite all his achievements, it was being a part of a team and the honour of representing others and his nation that he spoke about. He is humble, inspirational and an extraordinary achiever. 

 

First and foremost, "Why would he be notable if he's only a tennis player?" Well he's not just any ordinary tennis player. He was former world number 1 and has achieved many great things. One of these is a calendar year Grand Slam which means that he had to win 4 grand slams (majors) in a year. The 4 majors are the Australian Open (Grass courts), the French Open (Clay courts), Wimbledon (Grass courts) and the US Open (Grass courts). Today, both the Australian and Us Open are played on hard courts. Winning all four majors in the same year is a feat. Rod Laver also went on to do the impossible for the second time. He did it in both 1962 and 1969. In fact, he is the only person ever in tennis history to achieve this.  

 

Rod Laver is also a very motivational speaker. "The time your game is most vulnerable is when you're ahead, never let up.” He really goes deep in thought to inspire many youngsters to never give up and not to be too content when ahead. “When you've got your man down, rub him out.” Tennis is a strategic game that involves not only physical sustainability, but the mental strength. Rod Laver understands this and advises younger players to never get upset when losing and never be too complacent when winning. Put the hammer down. 

 

Furthermore, Rod has represented Australia in many tournaments. One of them is the Davis Cup (The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format). "The biggest thrill was to represent my country in Davis Cup and I regard that as the pinnacle of my career, something I look back on with great pride," Laver said in his autobiography. So you can see, he's quite the humble player! 

 

Rod has inspired me to work harder in whatever I do to achieve my goals like he did. He inspires me to push me to my limits and always try to get better. So as you can see, Rod laver is not only a tennis star but an inspirational player too.