The BIG Question

Rod Laver is a worldwide famous tennis player. He has accomplished many things and is widely known for his tennis achievements. He has not only been an outstanding achiever, but he has also contributed to charity and encourages us to be better people. As well as that, he is very humble and always puts others before himself. He frequently stated that he was honoured to receive a particular award and consistently mentioned his tennis teams during his speeches.  

 

Rod Laver has achieved an extreme amount of things throughout his lifetime. This includes beingnamed ABC Sportsman of the Year, becoming the MBE Queen's Birthday Honours for 'Service to Tennis', being inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, inducted into Sport Australia's Hall of Fame, Bronze sculpture was made of him before being included in the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame, he was awarded the Philippe Chartrier award, he was given Australia's Sport Medal upgraded to Legend of Australian Sport AC (Companion of the Order of Australia), he was granted the Australia Day Honours for his "eminent service to tennis as a player, representative and mentor, at a national and international level, and as a role model for young sportsmen and women". It is fairly clear that Rod has the capability of being notable. 

 

Rod has also achieved more things in his tennis career. This includes winning not one but two Calendar Year Grand Slams, holding a record of winning 200 tournaments, holding the No. 1 world ranking from 1964-70 and his total prize winnings in a 23-year career was half of what the USTA awards the men's and women's US Open champions. Not only this but he has won 11 grand slam singles titles and 8 major doubles titles. He has also a whole tennis stadium and court named after him in Melbourne to show how widely respected he is in Australia. Rod is a hardworking and diligent athlete and his rewards are well deserved. He has left a huge mark in not only Australia but the world. He has set so many records and raised the bar so much and that's the way this world has grown so much. Without Rod, our world would be much different in terms of sport because people would have less to work for and therefore wouldn't improve the sport as much. It's because of Rod that we have noticed change in our society. His outstanding performances has inspired people to chase their dreams and one day accomplish as much as him. 

 

Not only that but Rod has also contributed to charity. In 2014, right after he recovered from his stroke, he attended an exhibition tennis match for charity, hosted by Roger Federer. There they all donated an accumulative amount of one-million dollars for health in South Africa! During this event, Rod rallied with Federer and even Federer admitted that his racquet felt rather heavy during the rallies. This just showed more respect to Laver and how much more of a notable person he is. It also shows the deep appreciation that Federer had for even having the privilege to rally with Rod. 

 

In his life Rod has survived everything his life has thrown at him. One major, fatal injury that he survived was a stroke. He unfortunately vomited mid-sentence during an interview and immediately after fell on the floor, unconscious. He was then soon raced to the UCLA Medical Center. His family wished for his condition to be unreleased and then he soon recovered and went back to playing tennis. He is so persistent never losing his love and passion for tennis. 

 

Rod Laver has greatly impacted my life. He would always encourage us to be better people. He has inspired me to follow my dreams like he did and to concentrate on things I like doing rather than playing some other sport just for the sake of it. During my tennis matches, when I'm down and I feel upset, I like to sit down at the switch-of-ends and think. I like to think about what Laver would do in this situation and once I have that mindset, I know I'm ready to regroup and stay concentrated. "The next point. That's all you must think about". 

 

 I find Rod Laver's life to be exceedingly interesting so I like to aspire to him. I like to be like him to manifest the skill and utilise it in my own matches. I'm also a very competitive player so I like looking at how professional players play and try to learn from them. Rod Laver is definitely the best example because his technique generates the power so then his momentum pushes through his body and he finishes his shot by catching his racquet. I have learnt this skill and technique and I have seen great improvement in my playing. Not only this but I would always keep in mind what he used to say, "When you've got your man down, rub him out". This gave me motivation to try until the very end and to not take it easy when ahead. I really appreciate how much Rod has helped me and I'm sure I'm not the only one thanking him. 

 

Rod Laver is an amazing athlete that has accomplished many things. He has shown the world what it means to be humble and to inspire them to chase their dreams. Rod Laver's childhood story may be vague but his adulthood is shared to many people around the world and to keep their hopes up. He has also contributed to charity for children in South Africa and he is has an exceptionally humble personality. He has done so much to the world by setting the standards and pushing other players to their limits to match his skill. There is one word and one word only to describe Rod Laver: Notable.