Laver achieved the calendar Grand Slam twice, in 1969 as a professional and the first in 1962 as an amateur, which the Australian Open organisers were commemorating this year.
Rod Laver remembers when players played for peanuts, linesmen fell asleep and balls failed to bounce on patchy grasscourts, and while tennis has changed completely since he won his first grand slam 50 years ago, it has been only for the better.
"The whole cycle has changed for the good," the 73-year-old Australian told reporters on a rooftop garden overlooking outer courts at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
"Tennis (today) is just unbelievable."
Laver achieved the calendar Grand Slam twice, in 1969 as a professional and the first in 1962 as an amateur, which the Australian Open organisers were commemorating this year.
"Sometimes you think, 'boy, 50 years is a long time ago'. I was just honoured to be able to pull it off," he said.
"You don't start off trying to win the Grand Slam. You're just very happy to play the matches, tournaments and the thrill of going to the French Championships, Wimbledon, US Open.
"It was amateur tennis. No one was really high on I've got to win this tournament for my career. There was no career, because you're playing amateur tennis.
"There was no money in it."
A tremendous serve volleyer, Laver chuckled as he remembered the quality of some of the courts when he was playing in the early 1960s, while some of the officiating was also patchy.
"It was a serve and volley game back in those years because not too many of the grass courts you would say were up to par with Wimbledon," he added with a grin.
"You let the ball bounce, and it may not bounce. That's where the serve and volley routine came into play.
"Wimbledon, you had to be a certain age before you could get into Wimbledon to be a linesman (and) you look back and the linesman is asleep.
"Again, it was amateur tennis. That was just a thrill for everybody to be part of Wimbledon and be able to be there.
"Now it's a totally different world."
Laver turned professional after his 1962 grand slam, and was subsequently barred from the grand slam tournaments before the sport was declared open in 1968. He then promptly won his second grand slam in '69 and began to reap the benefits of a more organised calendar under the World Championship of Tennis.
"(Sports entrepreneur) Lamar Hunt was very big in football in the US, then soccer and he wanted to do something with tennis," Laver said.
"He said, 'hey, I got $1 million. I want to get a promoter. You could play 50 tournaments, $20,000 in total purse. Find the tournaments, find your best 32 players that you can sign up'.
"It was a different world. To play for $10,000 in those WCT matches, that was big money in our world.
"(Now) being able to see the winner is going to walk away with $2 million, is great for the sport."
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