Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl is a Czech–American former professional tennis player and coach. Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, he was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals for 270 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 four times. Lendl won 94 career singles titles, including eight majors and seven year-end championships. He was runner-up at a further eleven majors, for a total of 19 major finals.
Lendl is the only man in professional tennis history to have a match winning percentage of over 90% in five different years. He leads the head-to-head against his two biggest rivals, with a 22–13 record against Jimmy Connors and a 21–15 record against John McEnroe. Lendl's dominance of his era was most evident at the year-end championships, where he holds a win–loss record of 39–10 and contested the final a record nine consecutive times.
Commonly referred to as the 'Father Of Modern Tennis' and 'The Father Of The Inside-Out Forehand', Lendl pioneered a new style of tennis; his game was built around his forehand, hit hard and with a heavy topspin, and his success is cited as a primary influence in popularizing the now-common playing style of aggressive baseline power tennis. After retirement, he became a tennis coach for several players; in particular, he helped Andy Murray win three majors and reach the world No. 1 ranking.
Early life
Lendl was born into a tennis family in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia. He was the only child of Jiří, a lawyer and former tennis player who was ranked number 15 in Czechoslovakia, and Olga, born Jeništová, who was at one point ranked the number 2 female player in the country. He began playing at the age of three. By the age of 14 he defeated his mother.Lendl first came to the tennis world's attention as a junior player. In 1978, he won the boys' singles titles at the Italian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon and was the world No. 1-ranked junior player.
Professional career
1978–1980
Lendl turned professional in 1978 and ended the year ranked 74. After reaching his first top-level singles final in 1979, he won seven singles titles in 1980, including three tournament wins in three consecutive weeks. At the 1980 US Open, Lendl, seeded 10, allowed seventh seed Harold Solomon just one game in their fourth round match. In the quarter finals, McEnroe's full repertoire of on-court "antics" was on display as he beat Lendl in four sets. This was the first Lendl–McEnroe Grand Slam meeting and Lendl's first Grand Slam quarter final. Lendl was part of Czechoslovakia's Davis Cup winning team that year. However, he stopped playing in the Davis Cup and World Team Cup after he moved to the United States in 1986 because the Czechoslovak Tennis Association viewed him as an "illegal defector" from their country.1981
The success continued in 1981, as he won ten titles. He reached his first Grand Slam final at the French Open in 1981, where he lost in five sets to Björn Borg. At Wimbledon he was "outserved" by Charlie Fancutt in the first round in five sets. At the US Open, Lendl lost in the fourth round in five sets to Vitas Gerulaitis. Gerulaitis often rushed the net to win the first two sets, but reverted to a baseline game in losing the next two and resumed his net rushing tactics in the fifth. He won his first season-ending Masters Grand Prix tour title, coming from 2 sets to 0 and match point down to beat Gerulaitis in five sets in the final. Lendl was part of the Czechoslovak team that won the World Team Cup. He relocated to the United States in 1981, first living at the home of mentor and friend, Wojtek Fibak.1982
In 1982, Lendl won 15 of the 23 singles tournaments he entered and had a 44-match winning streak. Lendl competed on the World Championship Tennis tour, where he won all ten tournaments he entered, including his first WCT Finals, where he defeated John McEnroe in straight sets. Lendl faced McEnroe again in the Masters Grand Prix final and won in straight sets to claim his second season-ending championship. In an era when tournament prize money was rising sharply due to the competition between two circuits, Lendl's title victories quickly made him the highest-earning tennis player of all time. At the French Open, Lendl lost to Mats Wilander in five sets in the fourth round. "I was missing a little the timing on my forehand and it was difficult for me to play without it. I did my best and I was trying hard but I was outplayed" said Lendl afterwards. Lendl reached his first US Open final in 1982, beating McEnroe in the semi finals in straight sets. Lendl was "in peak form, finding the corners and the lines with his ferocious forehand and making infrequent but successful forays to the net". He was defeated in four sets in the final by Jimmy Connors, not being able to cope "with Connors' penetrating, sharply-angled groundstrokes into the corners, or his net-charging attacks".1983
Lendl won another seven tournaments in 1983; however, he had not won any Grand Slam titles in the early years of his career. He lost in the quarter finals of the French Open in four sets to eventual winner Yannick Noah, which "produced some of the best tennis of the tournament" to that point. He lost in the Wimbledon semi finals to John McEnroe in straight sets; "McEnroe's serve, depending more on placement and spin rather than brute strength, was more effective" than Lendl's. He was the runner-up at the US Open. and Australian Open. In July 1983, Lendl played three exhibition matches in Sun City, South Africa, in the apartheid-era bantustan of Bophuthatswana. The Czechoslovak Sport Federation, controlled by the Communist Party, expelled him from the Czechoslovak Davis Cup team and fined him $150,000. Lendl disputed the punishment and the fine.1984
In 1984, Lendl bought his own house in Greenwich, Connecticut. Lendl's first Grand Slam title came at the 1984 French Open, where he defeated McEnroe in a long final. Down two sets to love, Lendl came back to claim the title in five sets. After the match Lendl said "John was playing great in the first two sets. He was hitting corners and lines all the time. Then I think he got a little tired. I was in better shape today and could run all day long". Lendl lost in four sets in the Wimbledon semi finals to Jimmy Connors. McEnroe defeated Lendl in straight sets in the final of the US Open. Playing with a heavily bandaged stomach due to a pulled stomach muscle, Lendl lost in straight sets in the fourth round of the Australian Open to Kevin Curren. He lost to McEnroe in Volvo Masters final.1985
Lendl lost in the final of the 1985 French Open to Mats Wilander. At Wimbledon Lendl lost in the fourth round to Henri Leconte in an event when his serve was "out of sync". He then faced McEnroe again in the final of the US Open, winning in straight sets. He described the victory by saying, "Being that I beat John McEnroe, it's that much sweeter". He had trained and practiced vigorously with new coach Tony Roche since his defeat to McEnroe in the previous year's final. He reached the WCT Finals for the second and last time, defeating Tim Mayotte in three sets. He also won the Masters Grand Prix title for the third time, defeating Boris Becker in straight sets. He was upset by 19-year-old and No. 6 Stefan Edberg in the semifinals of the 1985 Australian Open in an epic match spread over two days.1986
Lendl won the French Open title in 1986, defeating Mikael Pernfors in the final. He reached the Wimbledon final for the first time, winning long five set matches against Tim Mayotte in the quarters and Slobodan Živojinović in the semis, but lost to Boris Becker in straight sets. At the US Open, Lendl defeated Edberg in straight sets in the semi finals and overpowered Miloslav Mecir from the baseline and passed Mecir when he came to the net, winning the final in straight sets. Lendl defeated Becker in straight sets in the season-ending Masters final. "It was Lendl, the teacher, against Becker, the young pupil". Lendl lost only 12 points on his serve in 15 service games.1987
Lendl lost in the 1987 Australian Open semi finals to Pat Cash. He won the French Open, beating Wilander in a four-set final that finished in semi-darkness and pouring rain. At Wimbledon he beat Edberg in the semi finals in four sets before losing in straight sets to Cash in the final. In round one of the US Open, Lendl achieved the first ever men's singles US Open triple bagel win in beating Barry Moir in 71 minutes. In the final, Lendl was suffering from influenza, but outlasted Wilander in a match lasting 4 hours and 47 minutes. Lendl won the Masters Grand Prix championship title in three sets over Wilander. This took him to his fifth and last Grand Prix year-end tour title.In each year from 1985 to 1987, Lendl's match-winning percentage was over 90%. This record was equalled by Roger Federer in 2004–2006, but Lendl remains the only male tennis player with over 90% match wins in five different years. From the 1985 US Open to the 1988 Australian Open, Lendl reached ten consecutive Grand Slam singles semifinals – a record that was broken by Federer at the 2007 Australian Open.
1988
At the 1988 Australian Open, Lendl lost to Cash in the semi-finals in five sets and struggled with the heat in the later stages of the match.At the French Open, Lendl defeated John McEnroe before losing in straight sets to Jonas Svensson in the quarter finals. At Wimbledon, Lendl lost in the semi-finals to Becker in four sets. Lendl reached his only Grand Slam final of the year at the US Open, losing the final to Wilander in five sets in 4 hours 54 minutes.