Todd Martin: Rod Laver

The stars of our sport shared stories about their heroes, both in life and on the court, and how these idols shaped who they are today. For more "My Hero" submissions, click here.

I was introduced to Rod in Palm Springs when I was out there training with Jose Higueras pretty early in my career, maybe a year or two in. Rod was so kind; I think he was my dad’s age, and I was 21 at the time. He asked me to come hit on the red clay.

We hit for 15 minutes. Afterward, we sat down to take a sip of water, and he started asking me about my groundstrokes and my game.

Pointing to where my shots landed, he said, “What do you think of all the ball marks?”

“They’re all spread out,” I replied.

“And what about these?” he said, pointing to his shots. And seventy-five percent or more of those marks were three feet inside he baseline or right down the middle.

It was very telling about how much focus he had. We were just warming up, but he was locked in. It told me what level of focus the greats have—at all times. But it taught me even more about the need to give back, to pay it forward. The example that Rod sets for players, then and now, with his time and generosity, improves the game. It’s played better because of him.

Laver photo from Wikimedia Commons