'Just a hair better'
Laver remains in serious condition after stroke
Posted: Wednesday July 29, 1998 04:49 PM
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The stroke caused Laver to become weak on his right side, but he is not paralyzed AP |
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Rod Laver, the only tennis player to win two Grand Slams, remained in serious condition Wednesday, two days after a stroke that impaired his speech.
Laver, who turns 60 on August 9, was in the intensive care unit at UCLA Medical Center, where he is expected to remain for a week to 10 days.
"He's still having some difficulty speaking. It may be just a hair better," said Dr. Neil Martin, co-director of the hospital's stroke center. "There may be a little bit of improvement of the movement in his right arm, which is encouraging."
The stroke caused Laver to become weak on his right side, but he is not paralyzed.
"He's going to have a substantial job in front of him as far as physical therapy," Martin said. "We're talking months of therapy."
The Australian, who lives in Newport Beach, was stricken Monday while being interviewed for a television show.
Nicknamed "Rocket" for his powerful ground strokes, Laver is the only player to have won two Grand Slams -- the Australian, French and U.S. championships and Wimbledon -- in one calendar year, accomplishing the feat as an amateur in 1962 and again seven years later.
He was the world's No. 1 player in 1961, 1962, 1968 and 1969, and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981.
Laver won 11 Grand Slam singles titles, one fewer than career leader Roy Emerson. Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras have also won 11 Grand Slam events.
Laver won Wimbledon four times, the Australian crown three times and the U.S. and French titles twice each. He also won nine Grand Slam doubles championships.
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