The legendary Ken Rosewall and Rod Laver have been celebrated at Tennis Australia’s Legends of Garden barbecue in London final evening.
London, Nice Britain, 6 July 2024 | Leigh Rogers
Ken Rosewall was the visitor of honour at Tennis Australia’s annual Legends of Garden barbecue in London final evening.
The 89-year-old has travelled over to Wimbledon for the primary time in seven years, to mark 70 years since reaching his first singles remaining on the prestigious grass-court match.
It’s also the fiftieth anniversary of his sixteenth and remaining Grand Slam singles remaining look, when he completed runner-up to American Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon in 1974.
When requested the way it felt to be again in London, Rosewall quipped: “Not too good”
“Once I left it was the center of winter at dwelling and 25 levels,” the Brisbane-based Rosewall stated. “And right here we’re in the midst of summer season and it’s 15 levels.”
But the moist and chilly climate didn’t dampen spirits on the Legends of Garden occasion. The much-loved Wimbledon custom unites members of the Australian tennis neighborhood in London, who collect for a yard barbecue.
Throughout a particular presentation, Rosewall mirrored on the various totally different modifications within the sport through the years and shared a narrative detailing the largest prize cash he ever obtained was $50,000.
“I assumed I’d died and gone to heaven,” he stated. “Now I want I used to be a qualifier.”
There’s no room for regrets although, with a proud Rosewall declaring: “If I had the possibility, I’d do it yet again.”
The eight-time Grand Slam singles champion was joined by the legendary Rod Laver, who spoke about their rivalry and the challenges of competing towards a detailed good friend to a captivated viewers.
“Muscle groups and I performed many occasions and I discovered a lesson each time I went on the market with him,” Laver associated.
Ken Rosewall and Rod Laver at Tennis Australia’s Legends of Garden barbecue in London. Image: Getty Photographs
Rennae Stubbs, who gained the Wimbledon ladies’s doubles title 20 years in the past, and Sam Stosur, the Wimbledon combined doubles champion 10 years in the past, have been additionally recognised on the night.
Different attendees included Wimbledon 2002 males’s singles champion Lleyton Hewitt, Wimbledon 2023 quad wheelchair singles finalist Heath Davidson and two-time Wimbledon doubles champion Liz Smylie.
Discover your strategy to play: Go to play.tennis.com.au to get out on courtroom and have some enjoyable!
