Attitude has served Rodney George Laver very, very well.

Take the 1969 French Open. He faced stiff competition on the slow red clay from tennis greats Stan Smith, Andres Gimeno, Tom Okker and Ken Rosewall. Some saw Laver as a has-been who couldn't repeat his Roland Garros title of 1962.

"The consensus was that I wasn't going to beat any of those guys," Laver told Tennis Week in 2003. "But all I needed was incentive, so I said to myself, 'Hey, you guys, I am not out of this bloody thing.' "

His attitude helped him stay focused on his game strategy: play hard and fast. And it led to his triumph over Rosewall in the final.

"I probably played my best-ever sustained clay court tennis against Rosewall and won in straight sets," Laver said. "I remember thinking, 'I lost to this little bugger here last year. It's my turn. I am going to win this one.' "

Laver didn't ease up after the victory. He ramped up the attitude — and his practice. Why? "I knew that the next week someone would be gunning for me," he said.

Laver was ready for all comers. He'd also won Wimbledon and the Australian Open that year, and he was determined to add the 1969 U.S. Open to his trophy collection.

He did, and made history: Laver became the only tennis player to twice win all four Grand Slam singles titles in the same year.

Laver, now 68, is considered by many to be the greatest all-around tennis player in history. Ranked No. 1 in the world for five years, he nailed the Grand Slam as an amateur, in 1962, before his pro rampage seven years later.

A tennis pioneer known as a fierce competitor and loyal friend, Laver's also an innovator who popularized the use of the forehand and backhand topspin. In 1971, he became the first tennis player to make more than $1 million. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981.

Nicknamed the "Rockhampton Rocket" or simply "Rocket" for the speed with which he hit the ball, Laver inspired generations of tennis players and fans with his serve-and-volley game backed up by strong ground strokes.

His greatest strengths were strategy and versatility — to the point of adjusting his style to that of his opponents.

Laver was "technically faultless, from his richly varied serve to his feather-light touch on drop volleys, plus a backhand drive carrying destructive topspin when needed or controlling slice when the situation demanded it," Wimbledon commentator Dan Maskell once said.

"He is competent on low balls, handling them with underspin for control, but he will cream any ball at waist level or higher," wrote Julius Heldman in "The Style of Rod Laver." Because Laver hit with such speed, opponents could rarely lob back. And "when forced to retreat, he could come up with a vicious counterpunch," Heldman wrote.

Blazing Power

Laver exercised daily off the court, paying special attention to his left forearm. It paid off. "The strength of that wrist and forearm gave him blazing power without loss of control, even when he was on the run and at full stretch," wrote Rex Bellamy in "Love Thirty: Three Decades of Champions."

With a medium build, Laver didn't have the raw muscle power of larger athletes. So he worked on his technique. To complement his speed, he developed quick shoulder turns and deadly accurate swings. He practiced his backhand relentlessly until he could hit it on the run. It became one of his clutch moves.

Laver's hustle for every point became his hallmark. "He has made himself want to hit every ball regardless of the circumstances," said a fellow tennis pro.

A native of Rockhampton, Queensland, in Australia, Laver knew early on what he wanted to do with his life. The third of three brothers who played tennis, Laver practiced constantly, listening carefully to critiques. He dropped out of school at 15 to pursue the sport as an amateur.

To pay his tournament entry fees and feed himself, he worked mornings with other tennis players stringing rackets and packing tennis balls. In the afternoons, he practiced.

In addition to his speed, Laver distinguished himself as a man of character on and off the court. He treated all courteously. He congratulated and thanked his opponents after matches, and went out for a post-match beer with friends and foes alike. It earned him great respect.

"When Rod played, no matter who he faced, no matter what the round, the players were all out there to watch him," noted former tennis pro and ESPN commentator Cliff Drysdale. "He epitomized that you don't have to be a jerk to be a champion. Rod is a gentle giant who spoke only with his racket."

While he hated to lose, Laver saw failure as a mask for opportunity.

"After the match is over, you can't bring a match back, but you can learn from it," he said in his autobiography, "The Education of a Tennis Player," with Bud Wilson.

Bringing Change

Laver captured his first Australian Championship in 1960 and built on that achievement with his first Wimbledon singles title in 1961. The next year came his first Grand Slam sweep, echoing the 1938 achievement of fellow pro Don Budge.

After that grand season of 1962, Laver decided he had to go pro to make a living. Unfortunately, under rules then in place, that meant he couldn't play in Grand Slam tournaments. Many experts agree that he probably would have won far more Grand Slam titles if he'd been able to compete.

His decision, however, signaled a change in tennis. Five years later, references to "amateur" and "professional" were deleted from the sport. In 1967, Laver won a record 18 titles.

Laver continued honing his skill even after he retired from the men's tour. He helped establish the Legends Tour in the 1980s and was a senior competitor until the mid-1990s.

He suffered a stroke in 1998. In his never-say-die fashion, Laver started the recovery process with a vengeance. He kept up a vigorous schedule of physical, occupational and speech therapy with the help of his wife, Mary, and son, Rick.

"You just have to believe you can do something about getting back on your feet again," he told Tennis Week's Steve Flink.

"Right after Rocket had the stroke, I spoke to him as soon as he could talk," fellow player Earl "Butch" Buchholz told Flink. "And he said, 'Butch, I am not going to miss our Saturday morning doubles match.' Rod worked for months to be sure he could be ready to play. We still have that match every year, and Rod still has it on the court."

Today, Laver plays golf several times a week and works for a sports marketing company and several corporations as a tennis ambassador. He practices for three or four days before attending a tournament. And despite continued recognition, he remains humble.

"If you ask Laver to name the best player he ever saw, he'd say Lew Hoad," said friend and fellow tennis champ Fred Stolle.

Laver's attitude is gracious when it comes to new greatness, too.

"Oh, I would be honored to even be compared to Roger (Federer)," Laver said during this year's U.S. Open. "Roger could be the greatest tennis player of all time. "

BY JOANNE VON ALROTH