Rod Laver will reconnect with his home state during his book tour. Source: AP
ROD Laver will have his first family Christmas in Queensland in 40 years as the reconnection of the tennis great with his old state deepens.
ROD Laver will have his first family Christmas in Queensland in 40 years as the reconnection of the tennis great with his old state deepens.
Laver, 75, flies into Brisbane this morning for two days of promotions for his new biography A Memoir.
The only player to win the Grand Slam twice will be back in Melbourne in early December at a function to honour Laver and his 1973 Davis Cup winning teammates John Newcombe, Ken Rosewall and Mal Anderson on the 40th anniversary of the win.
The "Rockhampton Rocket" told The Courier-Mail on Wednesday he will stay on to have Christmas in Gladstone with his brother Trevor, sister-in-law Betty, sister Lois Wise, her husband Vic and their families.
Then he will return south to watch Roger Federer play at the Brisbane International.
A resident of California, Laver rarely visited Australia in the 1980s.
His wife Mary, who died last November, accompanied him on some of his later trips to Australia.
In a memorable 1999 visit to Brisbane, he was honoured as the No.1 in The Courier-Mail's list of the top 100 Queensland athletes of the 20th century. The list was later adopted as core inductees of QSport's Queensland sporting Hall of Fame.
His next visit to Queensland was in 2011, when Laver was inducted as one of 11 legends into the Hall of Fame.
"I'm honoured that I feel like I can get back to Brisbane and be in Australia a lot more often," said Laver, whose visit will be marked by a lunch today at Brisbane City Hall, supported by QSport, Channel 7 and The Courier-Mail.
"It's been a welcome change by getting back here more often.
"My plan is to stay on for Christmas in Gladstone, which will be my first in probably 40 years. All of us are looking forward to the family reunion.
"I am looking to come back to Brisbane when the tournament is on (from December 29). I believe Federer is playing and I'd like to come down and watch some of the tennis. I would stay with Jim Shepherd, with whom I stayed for many years, out at Moorooka. The trips bring back wonderful memories."
Laver's Christmas in Gladstone will probably revive the old debate about what should be regarded as his home town, so it's one to ask the man himself.
"It was Rockhampton to begin with. We did move to Gladstone when my two brothers had a sports store and when I got to 16 and 17 and travelled overseas," he said on Wednesday.
"I was in the army when I was 18 and back on the tennis tour from 19 and I was travelling around the world. It's been a wonderful life and a great experience.
"I was mainly in Rockhampton when I was involved in The Courier-Mail coaching program in Brisbane (firstly, as a 14-year-old) for about two and a half weeks, practising and playing with 15 or 20 players from around Queensland. We got instruction from (Australian Davis Cup captain) Harry Hopman."
Laver will discuss and sign copies of his biography Rod Laver: A Memoir at two appearances in Brisbane on Friday.
He will be at the Grand View Hotel in Cleveland from noon (contact Dymocks Carindale, 3843 1143) and from 6.30pm at Brisbane Church of England Grammar School (contact Riverbend Books, 3899 8555).
30 Oct, 2013
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Source: http://www.news.com.au/sport/tennis/rod-laver-embarks-on-a-whirlwind-tour-to-promote-his-book-a-memoir-before-returning-to-his-roots/story-fndkzym4-1226750013411?from=public_rss
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