H2H data updated: 2026-09-01 00:00 UTC

Cliff Drysdale vs Rod Laver H2H: 4-13

Rod Laver holds a 13–4 lead over Cliff Drysdale in their ATP head-to-head. Across 17 main-draw meetings, Rod Laver leads 6–1 on carpet and 3–1 on hard courts. Most recently, Cliff Drysdale won the 1976 Rome Wct round of 16 6-4 6-3.

Want to explore more matchups? Advanced rivalry search lets you browse current and historical rivalries, unbeaten records, or every matchup for a player.

Cliff Drysdale

RSA Age 85 Right-Handed 188 cm / 6'2"

H2H

4 – 13

17 main draw meetings

Rod Laver

AUS Age 88 Left-Handed 175 cm / 5'9"

H2H Match Log

Player	Score	Player	Match Data	Date	Round	Tournament	Category	Surface
Cliff Drysdale	6-4 6-3	Rod Laver	Match data	Feb 21, 1976*	R16	Rome Wct	ATP 250	Clay
Rod Laver	6-4 6-4	Cliff Drysdale	Match data	Jan 24, 1974*	R32	Philadelphia Wct	ATP 250	Carpet
Rod Laver	6-3 6-2	Cliff Drysdale	Match data	Apr 14, 1973*	QF	Brussels Wct	ATP 250	Carpet
Rod Laver	6-2 6-1	Cliff Drysdale	Match data	Mar 24, 1973*	SF	Atlanta Wct	ATP 250	Clay
Rod Laver	6-2 6-3	Cliff Drysdale	Match data	Apr 21, 1972*	SF	Quebec Wct	ATP 250	Carpet
Rod Laver	2-6 6-3 7-5 6-3	Cliff Drysdale	Match data	Feb 12, 1972*	F	Richmond Wct	ATP 250	Carpet
Rod Laver	3-6 6-4 6-2	Cliff Drysdale	Match data	Nov 6, 1971*	QF	Wembley	ATP 250	Hard
Rod Laver	6-3 7-6	Cliff Drysdale	Match data	Aug 6, 1971*	SF	Quebec Wct	ATP 250	Carpet
Cliff Drysdale	6-2 6-4 3-6 6-4	Rod Laver	Match data	Apr 10, 1971*	F	Miami Open	ATP 250	Hard
Rod Laver	6-4 6-4	Cliff Drysdale	Match data	Nov 21, 1970*	SF	Wembley	ATP 250	Carpet
Rod Laver	3-6 12-10 6-1	Cliff Drysdale	Match data	Aug 18, 1970*	SF	Canadian Open	ATP 250	Clay
Rod Laver	6-3 6-0 6-1	Cliff Drysdale	Match data	Aug 14, 1970*	SF	U.S. Pro Tennis Championships	ATP 250	Hard
Rod Laver	7-5 6-2	Cliff Drysdale	Match data	Jun 13, 1970*	QF	Bristol	ATP 250	Grass
Cliff Drysdale	4-5 (ret.)	Rod Laver	Match data	Apr 25, 1970*	R16	Dallas	ATP 250	Carpet
Rod Laver	6-4 6-2 6-3	Cliff Drysdale	Match data	Jul 4, 1969*	QF	Wimbledon	Grand Slam	Grass
Rod Laver	6-1 1-6 6-1 6-2	Cliff Drysdale	Match data	Apr 9, 1969*	SF	South African Open	ATP 250	Hard
Cliff Drysdale	4-6 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-1	Rod Laver	Match data	Sep 7, 1968*	R16	US Open	Grand Slam	Grass

Estimated match date where the exact historical date is unavailable. Arrows show an edition's recorded category and documented modern equivalent; unresolved editions keep their recorded category. Asterisked totals include editions mapped from documented historical predecessor categories. Mapping details.

Career Comparison

Player	Current	Peak	Pts	Elo	W	L	Win %	GS	1000 including documented historical predecessor categories	Finals	500 including documented historical predecessor categories	250 including documented historical predecessor categories	Titles
Cliff Drysdale	#423	#13	0	2,135	397	251	61.3%	0	0	0	0	6	6
Rod Laver	#662	#3	0	2,303	570	145	79.7%	5	0	0	0	64	69

Career Progression by Age

Seasons are aligned by the age each player spent most of that calendar year. GS and Titles are cumulative career totals through that season.

Age	Cliff Drysdale							Rod Laver
Age	Yr	W-L	Win %	Rank	Elo	GS	Titles	Yr	W-L	Win %	Rank	Elo	GS	Titles
27	1968	53–37	58.9%	—	1,674	0	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
28	1969	33–20	62.3%	—	1,782	0	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
29	1970	45–25	64.3%	—	1,911	0	1	1968	73–19	79.3%	—	1,879	1	10
30	1971	76–29	72.4%	—	1,992	0	4	1969	97–14	87.4%	—	2,162	5	26
31	1972	51–29	63.8%	—	1,937	0	4	1970	89–15	85.6%	—	2,216	5	39
32	1973	31–23	57.4%	#23	1,882	0	4	1971	85–20	81.0%	—	2,158	5	46
33	1974	24–12	66.7%	#18	1,900	0	5	1972	50–16	75.8%	—	2,018	5	51
34	1975	30–19	61.2%	#36	1,816	0	5	1973	67–16	80.7%	#8	2,103	5	58
35	1976	17–13	56.7%	#25	1,831	0	5	1974	42–9	82.4%	#4	2,124	5	64
36	1977	17–17	50.0%	#27	1,880	0	5	1975	49–12	80.3%	#10	2,100	5	69
37	1978	14–13	51.9%	#47	1,869	0	6	1976	9–11	45.0%	#73	2,006	5	69
38	1979	5–12	29.4%	#217	1,715	0	6	1977	5–9	35.7%	#106	1,937	5	69
39	1980	1–2	33.3%	#423	1,712	0	6	1978	4–3	57.1%	#216	1,926	5	69
40	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1979	0–1	0.0%	#662	1,909	5	69

Surface Results by Age

Seasons are aligned by the age each player spent most of that calendar year. Results cover completed main-draw matches. Bold green marks the higher win percentage when both players have at least 5 matches on that surface at the aligned age.

Age	Cliff Drysdale																	Rod Laver
	Yr	Hard				Clay				Grass				Carpet				Yr	Hard				Clay				Grass				Carpet
	Yr	W	L	M	Win %	W	L	M	Win %	W	L	M	Win %	W	L	M	Win %	Yr	W	L	M	Win %	W	L	M	Win %	W	L	M	Win %	W	L	M	Win %
27	1968	6	10	16	37.5%	12	4	16	75.0%	13	6	19	68.4%	22	17	39	56.4%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
28	1969	8	3	11	72.7%	19	9	28	67.9%	6	4	10	60.0%	0	4	4	0.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
29	1970	16	8	24	66.7%	8	4	12	66.7%	14	7	21	66.7%	7	6	13	53.8%	1968	16	6	22	72.7%	31	9	40	77.5%	17	2	19	89.5%	9	2	11	81.8%
30	1971	25	8	33	75.8%	20	7	27	74.1%	11	3	14	78.6%	20	11	31	64.5%	1969	21	4	25	84.0%	12	4	16	75.0%	34	3	37	91.9%	30	3	33	90.9%
31	1972	18	8	26	69.2%	9	5	14	64.3%	3	1	4	75.0%	21	15	36	58.3%	1970	33	3	36	91.7%	8	2	10	80.0%	21	4	25	84.0%	27	6	33	81.8%
32	1973	9	7	16	56.3%	12	6	18	66.7%	4	3	7	57.1%	6	7	13	46.2%	1971	27	4	31	87.1%	14	6	20	70.0%	10	3	13	76.9%	34	7	41	82.9%
33	1974	9	4	13	69.2%	2	1	3	66.7%	2	1	3	66.7%	11	6	17	64.7%	1972	8	6	14	57.1%	9	4	13	69.2%	3	1	4	75.0%	30	5	35	85.7%
34	1975	6	4	10	60.0%	11	7	18	61.1%	—	—	—	—	13	8	21	61.9%	1973	18	3	21	85.7%	19	6	25	76.0%	2	1	3	66.7%	28	6	34	82.4%
35	1976	5	3	8	62.5%	4	3	7	57.1%	1	1	2	50.0%	7	6	13	53.8%	1974	12	2	14	85.7%	15	0	15	100.0%	—	—	—	—	15	7	22	68.2%
36	1977	5	5	10	50.0%	0	1	1	0.0%	2	1	3	66.7%	10	10	20	50.0%	1975	19	2	21	90.5%	21	7	28	75.0%	—	—	—	—	9	3	12	75.0%
37	1978	1	3	4	25.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	13	10	23	56.5%	1976	4	3	7	57.1%	0	3	3	0.0%	—	—	—	—	5	5	10	50.0%
38	1979	3	5	8	37.5%	1	1	2	50.0%	1	2	3	33.3%	0	4	4	0.0%	1977	2	2	4	50.0%	—	—	—	—	1	2	3	33.3%	2	5	7	28.6%
39	1980	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	2	50.0%	0	1	1	0.0%	1978	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4	3	7	57.1%
40	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1979	0	1	1	0.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Career	—	111	68	179	62.0%	98	48	146	67.1%	58	30	88	65.9%	130	105	235	55.3%	—	160	36	196	81.6%	129	41	170	75.9%	88	16	104	84.6%	193	52	245	78.8%

Advanced Statistics Comparison by Age

Seasons are aligned by the age each player spent most of that calendar year. Metrics are precomputed from eligible main-draw results; point-stat values use the available detailed sample. Bold green marks the stronger value when both underlying samples are sufficient. Lower is better for Schedule because a negative value means a tougher schedule. Career Schedule is normalized per 100 matches.

Age	Cliff Drysdale																Rod Laver
Age	Yr	Elo	P+	Serve+	Return+	PD	TPW%	Hard Elo	Clay Elo	Grass Elo	Set Win %	Set Margin	Dec. Set	Tiebreak	Pressure+	Schedule	Yr	Elo	P+	Serve+	Return+	PD	TPW%	Hard Elo	Clay Elo	Grass Elo	Set Win %	Set Margin	Dec. Set	Tiebreak	Pressure+	Schedule
27	1968	1675	114.3	—	—	—	—	-176	+56	+81	58.1%	+0.92	13–19 (41%)	—	—	+0.91	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
28	1969	1782	128.9	—	—	—	—	-122	+107	-9	59.8%	+0.44	8–7 (53%)	—	—	-0.64	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
29	1970	1912	140.6	—	—	—	—	+41	-52	-103	60.3%	+0.51	10–8 (56%)	6–2 (75%)	—	-4.84	1968	1880	130.3	—	—	—	—	+4	-6	+3	74.4%	+1.65	15–6 (71%)	—	—	-0.21
30	1971	1992	155.5	—	—	—	—	+24	+4	-33	65.8%	+0.98	23–14 (62%)	20–17 (54%)	—	-7.28	1969	2162	149.8	—	—	—	—	+114	-174	+143	76.7%	+1.93	22–7 (76%)	—	—	-1.40
31	1972	1938	158.1	—	—	—	—	+12	+53	+26	60.4%	+0.73	9–7 (56%)	7–14 (33%)	—	-6.24	1970	2216	155.8	—	—	—	—	+205	-202	+12	76.8%	+1.87	21–6 (78%)	6–2 (75%)	—	-1.22
32	1973	1882	141.7	—	—	—	—	+19	+74	+25	58.7%	+0.63	6–2 (75%)	6–6 (50%)	—	-2.42	1971	2158	162.7	—	—	—	—	+163	-164	0	71.8%	+1.59	26–7 (79%)	11–14 (44%)	—	-5.72
33	1974	1900	147.0	—	—	—	—	+26	+50	+12	64.3%	+1.12	4–3 (57%)	0–1	—	-2.22	1972	2019	162.7	—	—	—	—	+114	-24	+111	69.6%	+1.41	13–11 (54%)	7–10 (41%)	—	-3.85
34	1975	1817	135.6	—	—	—	—	+37	+49	—	57.9%	+0.41	11–8 (58%)	8–4 (67%)	—	+0.26	1973	2104	156.6	—	—	—	—	+129	-106	-11	73.5%	+1.55	18–7 (72%)	17–10 (63%)	—	-2.12
35	1976	1832	148.0	—	—	—	—	+51	+32	—	52.2%	+0.36	5–2 (71%)	4–6 (40%)	—	-1.10	1974	2124	154.6	—	—	—	—	+39	+3	—	73.2%	+1.66	12–3 (80%)	6–3 (67%)	—	-0.96
36	1977	1880	157.3	—	—	—	—	+19	—	+12	48.2%	-0.18	7–3 (70%)	7–3 (70%)	—	-4.71	1975	2100	163.1	—	—	—	—	+102	-5	—	71.6%	+1.53	16–7 (70%)	14–11 (56%)	—	-2.95
37	1978	1869	151.0	—	—	—	—	-9	—	—	50.0%	+0.36	5–3 (63%)	1–7 (13%)	—	-2.21	1976	2006	156.1	—	—	—	—	+89	+19	—	46.0%	-0.38	2–3 (40%)	6–2 (75%)	—	-2.11
38	1979	1715	125.5	—	—	—	—	+36	—	+122	32.4%	-0.73	0–2	2–4 (33%)	—	-1.22	1977	1937	147.8	—	—	—	—	+74	—	+86	44.4%	-0.42	1–4 (20%)	—	—	-2.94
39	1980	1712	110.1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	36.4%	-1.45	1–1	2–0	—	-0.40	1978	1926	125.9	—	—	—	—	+46	—	—	50.0%	0.00	2–0	1–1	—	-0.22
40	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1979	1910	103.6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	33.3%	-2.33	0–1	1–0	—	-0.31
Career	—	2135	149.3	—	—	—	—	-8	+47	-5	58.6%	+0.60	102–79 (56%)	63–64 (50%)	100.2	-5.02	—	2304	159.0	—	—	—	—	+120	-67	+61	72.3%	+1.57	148–62 (70%)	69–53 (57%)	102.7	-3.39

Career Rivalries

Each player's five most-played main-draw opponents. The current matchup is highlighted when it appears in a player's top five.

Cliff Drysdale's most-played ATP rivals
Opponent	W	L	M	Last Played	H2H
Nikola Pilic	17	4	21	Mar 30, 1974	H2H
John Newcombe	5	14	19	Mar 26, 1976	H2H
Tony Roche	12	7	19	Mar 13, 1976	H2H
Tom Okker	7	11	18	Jan 16, 1977	H2H
Marty Riessen	10	8	18	Sep 30, 1976	H2H

Rod Laver's most-played ATP rivals
Opponent	W	L	M	Last Played	H2H
Roy Emerson	26	6	32	Mar 14, 1975	H2H
Ken Rosewall	24	7	31	Apr 10, 1976	H2H
Tom Okker	22	3	25	May 18, 1974	H2H
Fred Stolle	20	4	24	Apr 12, 1974	H2H
Arthur Ashe	19	2	21	Feb 28, 1976	H2H