Rod Laver - As an amateur, Laver was a somewhat flashy player, often a late starter. He had to learn to control his adventurous shotmaking and integrate percentage tennis into his game when he turned professional. In his prime, he could adapt his style to all surfaces and to all conditions. Laver had a great record in five-set-matches, often turning things around with subtle changes of tactics or by simply hitting his way out of danger. When he got into the 'zone,' he went for broke. Then he would, as Heldman explains, 'literally jump and throw his racket at the ball with all the force he could muster, wrist and arm snapping over at the hit.'