Laver Poised for a Happy Return One Year After Suffering Stroke

In a sense, Australian tennis legend Rod Laver will have come full circle when he is celebrated as the tournament honoree July 26 by the Mercedes-Benz Cup event at UCLA and the ATP Tour recognizes the 30th anniversary of his second Grand Slam.

It was during a special event on the first night of the tournament last July 27 when news filtered through the grounds that Laver had suffered a moderate stroke earlier in the day. Laver had been in the midst of a 45-minute interview with ESPN at a Westwood hotel when the stroke hit him, and the proximity to the UCLA Medical Center may have saved his life.

Laver was released from the hospital less than a month later. More recently, in June at Roland Garros, he presented Andre Agassi with the French Open champion’s trophy, and Agassi paid homage to Laver, bowing to him.

On Wednesday, the 60-year-old Laver spoke about his remarkable progress.

“Actually, I’m pretty much doing everything,” he said. “I’m not playing [tennis] as well as I used to. At the moment, it seems to be getting better every month. Every month I notice a bit of a difference. I am playing a fair amount of tennis. I try to play two or three times a week.

“I play for about an hour. I don’t play sets necessarily, but I rally and I move around, because that’s what I think is the most important part, to get the memory back into your basic area, so you can maneuver.

“My right side was the part that was hurt. It’s not as easy to move around. I’ve got to think about the movement. It’s not something that’s natural. I’ve got that side of it that I’m working on. I feel pretty good about it. My tennis side is my left side, so playing-wise, I can play easily, but I just can’t get to as many balls as I used to.”

Laver won his Grand Slams--sweeping all four majors--in 1962 and 1969. In addition to tennis, he has resumed playing golf.

“I feel I haven’t got any problems competing on a golf course,” he said. “I was very fortunate at UCLA to have great doctors and they got to me very quickly. I just feel like it happened to me after my career, which I guess I should be blessed with anyway.”

He was asked if he felt any trepidation about returning to UCLA a week from Monday, when Pete Sampras is scheduled to present him with the award commemorating the 30th anniversary of his second Grand Slam.

“I don’t feel that type of pressure, returning to the scene of the crime,” Laver said, chuckling. “I feel good about what the doctors and I have put together through the year. I just remember the tennis tournament as being a tremendous event, and I’m just very, very happy to be honored this particular year.”