# Gonzales–Laver rivalry

The Gonzales–Laver rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Pancho Gonzales and Rod Laver, widely regarded as two of the greatest tennis players of all time. They played against each other from 1964 to 1970, and Laver led their head-to-head rivalry 43-22.

## Analysis

Jack Kramer writes that Laver was "absolutely unbeatable for a year or two late in the 1960s", but a "careful comparison" could be made between Laver and the somewhat older Gonzales and that Kramer is "positive that Gonzales could have beaten Laver regularly."
Kramer sees as evidence of Gonzales's superiority over Laver the fact that Gonzales defeated Laver in a U.S.$10,000 winner-take-all, five-set match before 15,000 spectators in New York City's Madison Square Garden in January 1970 when Gonzales was age 41 and Laver was still considered the world No. 1 player. However, Gonzales was still a top 10 player when this match occurred, and Laver won this event, beating Gonzales in the semifinals.

## Head-to-head tallies

The following is a breakdown of their documented head-to-head results:
| Player | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | Total |
| Rod Laver | 5 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 43 |
| Pancho Gonzales | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 22 |
* All matches: Laver 43–22
* All finals: Laver 14–7
* Grand Slams: Laver 1–0
* Pro Slams: Laver 2–0

## List of matches

| No. | Date | Event | Round | Surface | Winner | Score |
| 1 | 1964-05-21 | College Park Pro Championships, Maryland | quarter-final | Indoor | Laver | 6–2, 10–8 |
| 2 | 1964-05-29 | U.S. Pro Indoor, White Plains, NY | quarter-final | Indoor | Gonzales | 1–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
| 3 | 1964-06-03 | Masters Pro, Los Angeles | Round Robin | Hard | Laver | 10–4 |
| 4 | 1964-06-08 | Masters Pro, Los Angeles | 3rd Place | Hard | Gonzales | 10–8 |
| 5 | 1964-06-26 | Schiltz Pro, Milwaukee | Semifinal | Outdoor | Gonzales | 6–4, 6–4 |
| 6 | 1964-07-13 | US Pro Championship, Chestnut Hill | Final | Grass | Laver | 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4 |
| 7 | 1964-07-16 | Pro Tour, Scarborough | Tour | | Gonzales | 6–4, 6–2 |
| 8 | 1964-07-21 | Golden Racquet, Wembley | Semifinal | Wood (i) | Gonzales | 8–5 |
| 9 | 1964-07-23 | Knokke Le Zoute Pro | Final | Clay | Gonzales | 6–3, 8–6 |
| 10 | 1964-08-15 | Cannes Pro | Semifinal | Wood (i) | Gonzales | 6–1, 4–6, 7–5 |
| 11 | 1964-08-24 | Geneva Pro, Geneva | Final | Clay | Laver | 4–6, 6–3, 6–1 |
| 12 | 1964-09-17 | Wembley Pro Championship, London | Semifinal | Wood (i) | Laver | 6–2, 3–6, 8–6, 6–3 |
| 13 | 1965-01-22 | NSW Pro, Sydney | Semifinal | Grass | Gonzales | 6–1, 4–6, 6–3 |
| 14 | 1965-01-29 | South Australian Pro, Adelaide | Semifinal | Grass | Laver | 20–18, 6–4 |
| 15 | 1965-02-06 | Western Australian Pro, Perth | Final | Grass | Laver | 7–5, 11–9 |
| 16 | 1965-04-20 | CBS TV Pro, Dallas | Semifinal | Clay | Gonzales | 8–6, 6–3 |
| 17 | 1965-04-25 | Oklahoma City Pro, Oklahoma | Final | Hard | Laver | 6–3, 6–4 |
| 18 | 1965-05-02 | U.S. Pro Indoor, New York | Final | Carpet (i) | Laver | 6–3, 6–1 |
| 19 | 1965-05-24 | Masters Pro, Los Angeles | Final | Hard | Laver | 3–6, 6–3, 7–5 |
| 20 | 1965-05-31 | Peacock Gap Pro, San Rafael | Final | Hard | Laver | 6–1, 6–4 |
| 21 | 1965-06-06 | Seattle Seafirst Greater Pro, Seattle | Final | Hard | Gonzales | 6–3, 6–4 |
| 22 | 1965-06-16 | Les Stoefen Day, La Jolla | Exhibition | Hard | Laver | 1–6, 8–6, 6–4 |
| 23 | 1965-06-20 | Tahoe Racquet Club Pro, Lake Tahoe | Final | Hard | Laver | 6–3, 2–6, 6–4 |
| 24 | 1965-07-04 | Saint Louis Pro | 3rd Place | Clay | Laver | 10–8 |
| 25 | 1965-11-21 | Balboa Bay | Exhibition | Hard | Gonzales | 6–4, 4–6, 6–4 |
| 26 | 1966-03-14 | International Match, Los Angeles | Round Robin | Carpet (i) | Laver | 10–5 |
| 27 | 1966-03-18 | International Match, Chicago | Round Robin | Carpet (i) | Gonzales | 7–5 |
| 28 | 1966-03-31 | London BBC-2 Trophy, Wembley | Final | Wood (i) | Gonzales | 6–3, 5–7, 12–10 |
| 29 | 1966-06-12 | Forest Hills Pro | Round Robin | Grass | Laver | 31–23 |
| 30 | 1966-12-04 | Hollywood Pro Challenge Cup | Final | Clay | Gonzales | 6–4, 6–2 |
| 31 | 1966-12-11 | Orlando Pro | Final | Clay | Gonzales | 6–3, 6–0 |
| 32 | 1967-01-31 | Australian Tour, Toowoomba | Tour | | Laver | 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| 33 | 1967-02-06 | Australian Tour, Rockhampton | Tour | | Laver | 6–3, 8–10, 7–5 |
| 34 | 1967-02-08 | Australian Tour, Brisbane | Tour | | Laver | 6–2, 5–7, 9–7 |
| 35 | 1967-02-19 | Australian Tour, Melbourne | Tour | Grass | Gonzales | 6–2, 6–4 |
| 36 | 1967-02-22 | New Zealand Tour, Dunedin | Tour | Indoor | Laver | 6–0, 7–9, 13–11 |
| 37 | 1967-02-24 | New Zealand Tour, Wanganui | Tour | Indoor | Laver | 6–0, 6–3 |
| 38 | 1967-02-26 | New Zealand Tour, Auckland | Tour | Grass | Gonzales | 8–6, 4–6, 7–5 |
| 39 | 1967-03-05 | U.S. Pro Indoor, New York | Final | Carpet (i) | Laver | 7–5, 14–16, 7–5, 6–2 |
| 40 | 1967-03-19 | Orlando Pro | Final | Clay | Laver | 6–4, 2–6, 6–0 |
| 41 | 1967-03-31 | Montreal Pro | Semifinal | Carpet (i) | Laver | 10–7 |
| 42 | 1967-08-13 | Colonial Pro, Fort Worth | Semifinal | Hard | Laver | 9–7, 6–3 |
| 43 | 1968-03-20 | São Paulo Pro | 4-man RR | | Laver | 7–5, 5–7, 6–4 |
| 44 | 1968-03-24 | Buenos Aires Pro | Final | Clay | Laver | 6–3, 6–3 |
| 45 | 1968 | Bogota Pro | 3rd Place | | Laver | 7–5, 6–8, 7–5 |
| 46 | 1968-04-14 | Hollywood Pro Challenge Cup | 3rd Place | Clay | Gonzales | 10–3 |
| 47 | 1968-04-17 | London BBC-2 Trophy | Semifinal | Wood (i) | Laver | 12–10 |
| 48 | 1968-04-20 | Paris Indoor | 3rd place | | Laver | 6–4, 14–12 |
| 49 | 1968-04-22 | Toulouse | Tour | | Laver | 4–6, 9–7, 7–5 |
| 50 | 1968-06-08 | French Open | Semifinal | Clay | Laver | 6–3, 6–3, 6–1 |
| 51 | 1968-07-12 | French Pro Championship | Semifinal | Clay | Laver | 8–6, 6–2, 6–3 |
| 52 | 1968-07-19 | Los Angeles NTL Pro | Final | Carpet (i) | Gonzales | 1–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| 53 | 1968-08-12 | McAllen, TX | One-Night Stand | Hard (O) | Laver | 4–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
| 54 | 1969-02-10 | Orlando Pro | Semifinal | Clay | Laver | 9–7, 6–2 |
| 55 | 1969-02-27 | Portland | One-Night Stand | Carpet (i) | Laver | 7–5, 6–8, 8–6 |
| 56 | 1969-02-28 | Seattle | One-Night Stand | | Laver | 6–3, 8–6 |
| 57 | 1969-03-21 | Honolulu | One-Night Stand | Carpet (i) | Laver | 2–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| 58 | 1969-03-22 | Honolulu | One-Night Stand | Carpet (i) | Laver | 4–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
| 59 | 1969-08-10 | Binghamton Pro, New York | 4-man RR | Clay | Laver | 6–1, 6–2 |
| 60 | 1969-08-24 | Baltimore, Maryland | Final | Grass | Laver | 6–3, 3–6, 7–5, 4–6, 8–6 |
| 61 | 1970-01-23 | Tennis Champions Classic, New York | Round Robin | Carpet (i) | Gonzales | 7–5, 3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| 62 | 1970–04-06 | Cape Town, South Africa | One-Night Stand | | Gonzales | 6–4, 6–4 |
| 63 | 1970-05-17 | WCT Howard Hughes Tennis Championships, Las Vegas | Final | Hard | Gonzales | 6–1, 7–5, 5–7, 6–3 |
| 64 | 1970-06-02 | Tennis Champions Classic, New York | Semifinal | Carpet (i) | Laver | 6–3, 6–3, 6–1 |
| 65 | 1970-10-01 | WCT Vancouver | quarter-final | Carpet (i) | Laver | 6–3, 7–5 |