Rosewall is one of the finest tennis players of all time.

The Australian, who turns 82 today, won eight Grand Slam singles titles and made the then-record 35 major final appearances.

Rosewall, who also won nine major doubles titles, enjoyed a successful career in the early 1950s to 1970s. The left-hander had a powerful backhand but a surprisingly soft serve. He was, however, agile and had a lethal volley.

Rosewall rose to the top of the rankings and remained there for large parts of the early 1960s. He was ranked among the top 20 players in the world, amateur or professional, every year from 1952 to 1977.

His finest moment, arguably, came at the 1971 Australian Open when he became the first male player during the Open Era to win a Grand Slam without dropping a set.

More sporting birthdays on this day:

1974: Orlando Cabrera, Colombian-American ex-baseball player. Won the World Series with Boston Red Sox (42).

1981: Mitchell Johnson, retired Australian cricketer, who was a fast bowler and World Cup winner (35).

1987: Danny Cipriani, English rugby player who is an England and Wasps fly-half/fullback (29).

1989: Stevan Jovetic, professional footballer, who is a striker for Montenegro and Inter Milan (27).