Roy Emerson held the record for the most Grand Slam singles titles won, 12, before he was surpassed by Pete Sampras.

Born on November 3rd 1936, the Australian's record is enhanced considerably by the fact he was also a superb doubles player who also won 16 Grand Slams as one half of a men's partnership.

However, Emerson is not as revered as contemporaries such as Rod Laver, for most of his victories came towards the end of the period when the Grand Slams were open only to amateur players and many of his peers had joined the professional ranks.

All 12 of Roy Emerson's Grand Slam triumphs came between 1961 and 1967, and half of them were in Australia, where he accounted for compatriot Fred Stolle in the 1964 and 1965 finals.

Stolle was the opponent in five of Emerson's 'major' final wins in succession, including his two Wimbledon victories. His other four Grand Slams were shared equally between the US and French Championships.

In the early part of the 1960s Emerson's great rival was Laver. While he got the better of him in two 1961 Grand Slam finals, Laver took his revenge in three others the following year. Roy Emerson's last two Australian wins were at the expense of Arthur Ashe.

A supremely fit player, Roy Emerson had stamina in abundance and was able to adapt his natural serve-and-volley game to all surfaces.

He stayed in the world's top 20 until winding down his career in the mid-1970s and ended with 105 career titles.