Claim: Rod Laver won a title.

Rodney George `` Rod '' Laver -LRB- born 9 August 1938 -RRB- is an Australian former tennis player widely regarded as one of the greatest in tennis history . He was the No. 1 ranked professional from 1964 to 1970 , spanning four years before and three years after the start of the Open Era . He also was the No. 1 amateur in 1961 -- 62 according to Lance Tingay .   Laver 's 200 singles titles are the most in tennis history , and he holds the all-time male singles records of 22 titles in a single season -LRB- 1962 -RRB- and seven consecutive years -LRB- 1964 -- 70 -RRB- winning at least 10 titles per season . He excelled on all of the court surfaces of his time : grass , clay , hard , carpet , and wood/parquet .   Despite being banned from playing the Grand Slam tournaments for the five years prior to the Open Era , he still won 11 singles titles . He is the only player to twice achieve the calendar-year Grand Slam , in 1962 -LRB- pre-open era -RRB- and 1969 -LRB- open era -RRB- , and remains the only man to do so during the Open Era . He also won eight Pro Slam titles , including the calendar year Pro `` Grand Slam '' in 1967 , and contributed to five Davis Cup titles for Australia during an age when Davis Cup was deemed as significant as the Grand Slams .