Rod Laver answers fan questions on Twitter

Published Sep 21, 2018

I'm taking over @LaverCup Twitter right now. Ask a question and I'll do my best to respond before it's time to smarten up for the #LaverCup gala tonight. pic.twitter.com/oA5UmQ0eeY
— Rod Laver (@rodlaver) September 20, 2018

One of the stated purposes of the Laver Cup is to honor tennis great Rod Laver. Fittingly, on the eve of his tournament, the Rocket himself took to Twitter to answer questions from fans.

In the session, called #AskLaver, he shed wisdom on a wide range of tennis topics, such as ...

How the up-and-comers can turn into stars:

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Good players are coming out of the ranks now, it’s a matter of how keen they are. It doesn’t matter where you are playing and how big the audience is, you’ve got to improve on your own. Work out what your weaknesses are and improve them. @rid2ho #AskLaver https://t.co/ZU3yHYlYGF
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 20, 2018

How it felt to win the calendar-year Grand Slam (he actually won it twice, in 1962 and '69):

.@rodlaver: It was a thrill to be successful. I had said to my wife, I just want to enter – it’s Open now – I can play all 4 of them. @HuangShi98 #AskLaver https://t.co/uxLt1eVMdA
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 20, 2018

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The level of his Ping-Pong skills:

.@rodlaver: I can play okay, but that’s a long time ago now. I played table tennis when I was younger and worked with Dunlop. We had a table up in the eating area of the office. @ItsJustMimi #AskLaver https://t.co/JzpzDc2ITT
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 20, 2018

Who would win between him and Roger Federer:

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.@rodlaver: I had a little wooden racket and Federer plays with large-headed racket. That’s a huge difference. You’re limited with what you can do with a smaller racket. It’s almost an impossible question to answer because of the technology. @antoniogoran #AskLaver https://t.co/ooALt5brf3
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 20, 2018

And, interestingly, where he stands on potential rule changes. It turns out Laver is for the shot clock but against eliminating let calls.

.@rodlaver Yes I do, but it’s a hard one to call because it’s at the umpire’s discretion when to start the clock. If you're receiving serve and the other guy is bouncing the ball and has gone way beyond the clock it’s off-putting. The rule needs to be refined @lyn_knott #AskLaver https://t.co/knxQwS0F9y
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 20, 2018

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.@RodLaver: They are trying to introduce different things like no let cords. I disagree with that. @TarcisioColares #AskLaver https://t.co/uV76xaXu1T
— Laver Cup (@LaverCup) September 20, 2018

The Laver Cup runs Friday through Sunday, starting with a 2 p.m. Eastern singles match between Grigor Dimitrov and Frances Tiafoe.

Rod Laver answers fan questions on Twitter

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