World Beaters Down Under

When Australia began its defense of the Davis Cup last week in Sydney, the headlines belonged to the emotional antics of the pair of challenging Italians, Orlando Sirola and Nicola Pietrangeli, who had knocked out the U.S. team. Then onto the court for Australia walked a pair of lefthanders who never weep and never giggle, shudder at the idea of throwing a racket or a tantrum. All Neale Fraser, 27, and Rod ("Rocket") Laver, 22, ever seem to do is win--and last week they defended the Davis Cup with a brand of tennis that has become indisputably the best in the amateur world.

Aside from their records, U.S. sports fans know little about the Aussie champions, but Fraser and Laver are heroes Down Under. Son of a Victoria judge, Neale Fraser began to play at eleven ("Mum gave us rackets to keep us off the streets"), was finally able to persuade his skeptical parents that he should concentrate on tennis instead of following the family tradition of becoming a lawyer or a doctor.

Mother Hen. For years Fraser's trophy case was stocked with little more than a few mugs and a kimono from Japan, but in 1959, when the last of his Aussie rivals turned pro, he finally came into his own.

Fraser led his team to a Davis Cup victory over the U.S. is the current U.S. and Wimbledon Singles champion. Though he has never let training interfere with his smoking or partying, on the court Fraser has no real weakness except a tendency to let his mind wander. Before each match Fraser is carefully coaxed to the proper mental pitch by famed Aussie Davis Cup Captain Harry Hopman.

Short (5 ft. 8 in.), wiry Rod Laver was born into a ranching family in Queensland that was so daft over tennis that it moved into the town of Rockhampton to find some stiff competition for the kids. Playing in every tournament in sight, the family (father, mother and three sons) became known as the Laver All-Stars, and young Rod picked up the nickname of "The Rockhampton Rocket." A blushingly shy redhead, Laver has been thrown off stride by the nagging irritations of a match, is now carefully mother-henned during play by Hopman. In action, Laver is a remarkably coordinated shotmaker with surprising power for his size, relies on a rare overspin on his backhand shots to put away the big points.

Desperate Racket. Against the Italians last week, Fraser and Laver were devastating. In the opening singles match, Fraser blasted the bravely grinning Sirola off the court. 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. Next, Laver deftly whizzed shots past the desperate racket of Pietrangeli to win as he pleased, 8-6, 6-4, 6-3. The following day, Fraser and slick Roy Emerson, 24, won the third and deciding match by briskly disposing of the Italians in the doubles. 10-8, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4. By the third day, the Aussies had routed the Italians four matches to one (Pietrangeli finally beat a hobbled Fraser), taken the Davis Cup for the second year in a row (and the ninth time in the last eleven years), and completed an overwhelming display of controlled power.

Long before they routed the Italians, Fraser and Laver had received fat offers from Pro Promoter Jack Kramer. To date both players have insisted that they will not turn pro. If they stay true to their word, Neale Fraser and Rod Laver now stand so far above their rivals that they might very well rule world amateur tennis for years to come.

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