Each endured early disappointments that subsequently triggered notable upgrades. In the 1936 U.S. final, Budge served for the title versus Perry at 5-3 in the fifth, only to lose it 10-8, a frustrating loss Budge attributed to a lack of fitness, exacerbated by his penchant for milk shakes. Immediately after that, like Djokovic over a decade ago, Budge cut out sweets and upped his off-court training regimen, highlighted by extensive runs through the Berkeley hills. Laver lost his first two Wimbledon singles finals, outplayed both times by Alex Olmedo in ’59 and Neale Fraser the next year. Djokovic labored four years as number three in the world behind Federer and Rafael Nadal before earning the number one ranking in 2011.
But as body and mind sharpened, Budge and Laver also began to revolutionize the way tennis was played. At the start of 1937, Budge watched a match (as chair umpire, no less) between Perry and Ellsworth Vines. He came away struck by Perry’s ability to hit the ball early and Vines’ firepower. Budge wondered: What if you could do both? How oppressive would that be? By the end of 1937, he’d won Wimbledon, the US Championships and also been the star of the U.S. Davis Cup team’s first championship run in eleven years. The cornerstone of Budge’s game was a lethal one-handed backhand drive. Modeled after his left-handed baseball swing, this was tennis’ first significant topspin backhand, as forceful in its time as Djokovic’s laser-sharp two-hander.
In his youth, Laver was told by his coach, Charlie Hollis, that to become the first lefty to be number one in the world, he’d need to go where no lefties had gone before and master a topspin backhand, a stroke Laver modeled after the Budge drive. Laver won the first of our Wimbledon singles titles in 1961. By 1962, he was even better, the backhand yet one of his many weapons. As Jules Heldman wrote in World Tennis about Laver’s ’62 semifinal win over Rafael Osuna, “It was murder. In the last game, Rafe bravely served and ran for the net. Rod cracked a backhand back full speed, free swing – so hard that Rafe’s racket wavered in his hand. Not so amazing, perhaps, but the same scene was repeated four points in a row. Rod literally knocked Osuna down with four successive returns of serve, and Osuna was one of the quickest and best racket handlers who ever played.”
Vision and ambition also propelled these men. At the end of 1937, Budge was the world’s best amateur, but rejected a $50,000 offer to turn pro. Instead, he confided to a small group of friends his ambition to sweep the titles of Australia, France, Great Britain and the United States. Despite Crawford’s one-time foray, they weren’t called the majors then. But Budge saw their importance, taking a three-week boat trip to Australia on his way to the title there. Upon beating his best friend and doubles partner, Gene Mako, in the finals of the U.S. Championships, Budge told the world that he indeed had completed tennis’ first Grand Slam. By the end of the year, he’d signed a pro contract for $75,000.
Laver’s ’62 sweep came as an amateur. But he was also well aware that as impressive as it was to win those four titles, he was not necessarily best player on the planet in 1962 and he’d next have to prove himself as a pro. Such veterans as Ken Rosewall, Lew Hoad and Pancho Gonzales all had plenty to say about the young contender, beating Laver many times in ’63 and even beyond. By 1965, though, Laver was the man to beat in pro tennis.