The EmersonβLaver rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Roy Emerson and Rod Laver. The two Queenslanders first met on the senior amateur tour in 1958 and dominated the amateur circuit until 1962, before Laver went pro. When open tennis arrived in 1968, Emerson went pro and resumed his prolific rivalry with Laver.
The statistics shows a strong dominance of Laver over Emerson, two years his senior. He dominated him in the amateur era and the open era over all surfaces. Emerson spent his best years in the amateur circuit, and during 5 years he could not face Laver.
The following is a breakdown of their documented head-to-head results:
Player | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963β1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 51 |
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0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 |
No. | Date | Event | Round | Surface | Winner | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1958 | Queensland Champs | Quarterfinal | Grass | Laver | 6β3, 6β1, 8β6 |
2 | 1959β09 | Queensland Champs | Semifinal | Grass | Emerson | 7β9, 6β4, 8β6, 10β12, 6β3 |
3 | 1959β11 | New South Wales Champs | Semifinal | Grass | Emerson | 6β0, 3β6, 3β6, 6β4, 6β3 |
4 | 1960β01 | Australian Championships | Semifinal | Grass | Laver | 4β6, 6β1, 9β7, 3β6, 7β5 |
5 | 1960β07 | Wimbledon Championships | Quarterfinal | Grass | Laver | 6β4, 5β7, 6β4, 6β4 |
6 | 1960β10 | Queensland Champs | Semifinal | Grass | Emerson | 6β1, 2β6, 6β2, 7β9, 6β3 |
7 | 1961-01-30 | Australian Championships | Final | Grass | Emerson | 1β6, 6β3, 7β5, 6β4 |
8 | 1961-02-06 | New Zealand Champs | Final | Grass | Laver | 4β6, 6β3, 6β2, 3β6, 7β5 |
9 | 1961-02-20 | Mexican Champs | Final | Emerson | 4β6, 6β4, 6β4, 6β2 | |
10 | 1961-02-26 | Saint Andrews Invitational | Final | Grass | Laver | 4β6, 6β4, 6β3 |
11 | 1961β03 | Altamira Invitational, Caracas | Semifinal | Hard | Laver | 9β7, 2β6, 6β3 |
12 | 1961 | Barranquilla | Semifinal | Laver | 6β3, 6β2, 6β4 | |
13 | 1961-04-10 | River Oaks Champs | Final | Clay | Laver | 7β5, 7β5, 1β6, 6β3 |
14 | 1961-04-29 | British Hard Court | Final | Clay | Emerson | 8β6, 6β4, 6β0 |
15 | 1961-08-20 | Kitzbuhel Alpenland Champs | Final | Clay | Emerson | 6β3, 6β3, 3β6, 0β6, 6β2 |
16 | 1961-08-27 | Poertschach | Final | Clay | Laver | 2β6, 6β3, 7β5 |
17 | 1961-09-09 | U.S. Championships | Final | Grass | Emerson | 7β5, 6β3, 6β2 |
18 | 1961-10-23 | Queensland Hard Court Champs | Final | Clay | Laver | 7β5, 6β3 |
19 | 1961-10-30 | Queensland Champs | Final | Grass | Laver | 4β6, 4β6, 6β0, 8β6, 6β3 |
20 | 1961-12-04 | Victorian Champs | Final | Grass | Laver | 4β6, 8β6, 9β7, 6β3 |
21 | 1961-12-18 | New South Wales Champ | Final | Grass | Laver | 8β6, 6β3, 3β6, 4β6, 6β4 |
22 | 1962β01 | Australian Championships | Final | Grass | Laver | 8β6, 0β6, 6β4, 6β4 |
23 | 1962-03-11 | Montego Bay Champs | Final | Emerson | 8β6, 7β5, 4β6, 3β6, 6β2 | |
24 | 1962-03-19 | Altamira Invitational, Caracas | Final | Hard | Laver | 9β7, 6β2, 6β0 |
25 | 1962-04-01 | Caribe Hilton International, San Juan | Final | Emerson | 7β5, 7β5 | |
26 | 1962-04-08 | Saint Petersburg Invitational | Final | Emerson | 6β1, 6β4, 6β1 | |
27 | 1962-04-09 | River Oaks Champ, Texas | Final | Clay | Laver | 6β1, 7β5, 7β5 |
28 | 1962-05-07 | Italian Champs | Final | Clay | Laver | 6β2, 1β6, 3β6, 6β3, 6β1 |
29 | 1962-05-21 | French Championships | Final | Clay | Laver | 3β6, 2β6, 6β3, 9β7, 6β2 |
30 | 1962-06-18 | Queen's Club Champ | Final | Grass | Laver | 6β4, 7β5 |
31 | 1962-08-27 | U.S. Championships | Final | Grass | Laver | 6β2, 6β4, 5β7, 6β4 |
32 | 1962-09-24 | Pacific Southwest, Los Angeles | Final | Hard | Emerson | 16β14, 6β3 |
33 | 1968β04-13 | Hollywood Pro | Semifinal | Emerson | 6β4, 6β1 | |
34 | 1968-04-18 | Paris Pro NTL | Round 1 | Laver | 7β5, 6β2 | |
35 | 1968-04-21 | Bordeaux | Emerson | 6-4, 6β4 | ||
36 | 1968β05-17 | M.S.G. Pro Champs, New York | Semifinal | Indoor | Laver | 6β2, 6β2 |
37 | 1968β07-19 | NTL Los Angeles | Semifinal | Hard | Laver | 7β5, 6β2 |
38 | 1968-08-03 | Honolulu | One-night stand | Hard (O) | Emerson | 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 |
39 | 1968-08-04 | Honolulu | One-night stand | Hard (O) | Laver | 6-3, 1-6, 14-12 |
40 | 1968-09-30 | Midland Pro | Semifinal | Emerson | 6β4, 6β4 | |
41 | 1968β10-23 | SΓ£o Paulo | Round Robin | Laver | 6β1, 10β8 | |
42 | 1968β10-28 | La Paz | Round Robin | Laver | 6β4, 6β2 | |
43 | 1968-11-01 | Lima | Round Robin | Emerson | 8β6, 6β4 | |
44 | 1968-11-10 | South American Open, Buenos Aires | Final | Clay | Emerson | 9β7, 6β4, 6β4 |
45 | 1968-11-15 | Wembley Pro | Round 1 | Emerson | 6β3, 9β7 | |
46 | 1969β01 | Australian Open | Round 3 | Grass | Laver | 6β2, 6β4, 3β6, 9β7 |
47 | 1969 | Miami | Quarterfinal | Laver | 5β7, 6β3, 6β4 | |
48 | 1969 | Tokyo | Round Robin | Emerson | 6β4, 6β5 | |
49 | 1969-05-12 | M.S.G. Invitational New York | Final | Indoor | Laver | 6β2, 4β6, 6β1 |
50 | 1969β09 | U.S. Open | Quarterfinal | Grass | Laver | 4β6, 8β6, 13β11, 6β4 |
51 | 1969β12 | Basle | One night stand | indoor | Laver | 6β3, 6β8, 6β4, 3β6, 6β2 |
52 | 1969β12 | Madrid Pro | semi-final | indoor | Laver | 10β4 (pro-set) |
53 | 1970 | Philadelphia | Round 3 | Laver | 4β6, 6β3, 6β4 | |
54 | 1970 | Las Vegas | Semifinal | Laver | 6β3, 3β6, 6β2, 3β6, 6β3 | |
55 | 1970 | Saint Louis | Semifinal | Laver | 4β6, 7β5, 6β3 | |
56 | 1970-08-10 | Bretton Woods | Final | Clay | Laver | 6β3, 6β3 |
57 | 1970-08-17 | National Invitation WCT, Fort Worth Texas | Final | Hard | Laver | 6β3, 7β5 |
58 | 1970-09-28 | Rothman's International WCT, Vancouver | Final | Laver | 6β2, 6β1, 6β2 | |
59 | 1971 | Champions Tennis Classic, Philadelphia | Round Robin | Laver | 6β2, 6β3, 7β5 | |
60 | 1971 | Champions Tennis Classic, New Haven | Round Robin | Laver | 6β3, 5β7, 6β3, 3β6, 6β3 | |
61 | 1971-04-03 | Miami | Semifinal | Laver | 2β6, 6β3, 7β5 | |
62 | 1971-08 | Quebec | Quarterfinal | Laver | 3β6, 7β6, 7β6 | |
63 | 1971-08 | Fort Worth | Semifinal | Laver | 6β1, 6β4 | |
64 | 1971-08-25 | Baton Rouge | Final | Laver | 6β7, 7-5, 6-1 | |
65 | 1971 | San Francisco | Round 3 | Laver | 6β7, 6β4, 6β0 | |
66 | 1973β01 | Miami WCT | Quarterfinal | Hard | Laver | 6β4, 3β6, 6β2 |
67 | 1973-01-30 | Richmond WCT | Final | Carpet | Laver | 6β4, 6β3 |
68 | 1973-02-11 | Toronto WCT | Final | Carpet | Laver | 6β3, 6β4 |
69 | 1973 | Brussels WCT | Semifinal | Laver | 4β6, 6β4, 6β1 | |
70 | 1973 | WCT Finals Dallas | Round 1 | Laver | 6β4, 6β2, 6β1 | |
71 | 1975β03 | WCT SΓ£o Paulo | Round 2 | Carpet | Laver | 6β3, 6β2 |
72 | 1975β06-04 | Montreal | Challenge Match | Carpet | Emerson | 6β2, 3-6, 6β2 |