Ivan Lendl

Born: March 7, 1960 in Ostrava (MoravskoSlezský kraj in Czechoslovakia)
Height: 1.88 m
Plays: Right-handed

He was undoubtedly the best player of the 1980s and an icon of that decade, the prototype of the 21st century athlete who knows how important physical preparation is, though in the early ’80s, it wasn’t certain he would establish himself as the king of tennis. While he was branded a top player at the turn of the ’70s and ’80s, he struggled to confirm his tremendous potential at the majors. At the time, no one knew that the reigning king, Björn Borg, would soon quit the sport. By January 1982, Lendl had already secured two important titles – Davis Cup in 1980 (along with Tomáš Šmíd) and the Masters ’81, as well as captured a title defeating Borg in five sets (Basel ’80) which was very telling about his capabillities; nonetheless he still hadn’t won a major, something essential for cementing his legacy.
Lendl’s path was longer than that of Andre Agassi, who, a decade later, would achieve similar successes at a younger age. Lendl famously lost his first three major finals (French Open ’81, US Open ’82 and ’83) being defeated by the legends of the 70s after balanced matches, with the fourth defeat being particularly surprising: he succumbed the 1983 Australian Open final in straight sets to Mats Wilander, a clay-court specialist, in a match few expected him to lose. When he faced his biggest nemesis of the ’80s, John McEnroe, in the 1984 French Open final, Lendl seemed destined to suffer a fifth defeat in a major final. McEnroe, in incredible form, easily won the first two sets. However, the 24-year-old Lendl, now a seasoned competitor, made a remarkable comeback to win his first Grand Slam title.
That victory was the culmination of the ‘Ivan the Terrible’ form he’d shown at the turn of 1981/82, when he won 44 consecutive matches, most of them indoors, barely sweating with an impassive expression on his face. By 1985, Lendl had truly reached the top of the tennis world, beating McEnroe once again in the spotlight, this time in the US Open final. That victory signified the end of McEnroe’s dominance – shortly after, ‘BigMac’ shockingly withdrew from the tour for seven months, never returning to his peak form.
With McEnroe and Borg both out of the picture, Lendl faced new challengers in the mid 80s: the teenage serve-and-volleyers from Northern Europe, Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker, as well as a bit older than them, baseliner Wilander. These three would become Lendl’s toughest opponents in the late ’80s, replacing the Americans in matches of contrasting game-styles: serve-and-volleyer McEnroe (Edberg, Becker) and baseliner Jimmy Connors (Wilander), who had dominated the first half of the ’80s. Connors had initially won the first eight matches against Lendl, but by 1984, the tables turned. After their final encounter in Tokyo that year, where Connors led their Head-to-Head 13:5, Lendl never lost to him again, winning 17 consecutive matches! Remarkably, Connors came close to victory only once during this streak – at the 1984 Masters, bravely fighting also at Key Biscayne ’87.
Lendl was a pioneer in terms of the off-court preparation. Guided by Dr. Robert Haas, he revamped his diet in the early ’80s, cutting red meat in favor of pasta, soup, vegetables, and water. This change improved his stamina and footwork, allowing him to position himself better for shots. To combat his mental struggles, he worked with psychologist Alexis Castorri, even taking ballet and aerobics classes. With the help of Wojtek Fibak (the Pole at the twilight of his career), Lendl transformed his backhand from a defensive slice into a powerful topspin shot, and modified his service motion, landing on left foot instead of right. Later, he teamed up with former Aussie champion Tony Roche, whose insights, particularly as a left-hander, helped Lendl improve volleying, understand how to better compete against rivals like McEnroe and Connors.
Lendl finished four seasons as the world’s top player, though 1985-87 was the peak of his dominance. He ended 1989 ranked No. 1, though many felt that year belonged to Becker, who won two majors (beating Lendl at Wimbledon – semifinal, and the US Open – final) and led West Germany to a Davis Cup title defence. Had Davis Cup points counted towards rankings (it happened between 2009 and 2015), Becker would have finished the year as No. 1.
One of Lendl’s most impressive achievements came at the 1987 US Open, where he defeated his three toughest rivals of the early/mid ’80s – McEnroe, Connors, and Wilander – in consecutive matches to claim the title. The final against Wilander had an impact on tennis rules because it highlighted the excessive length of matches at the time; after playing four sets (one bagel!) through 4 hours and 47 minutes, officials decided to reduce the time allowed between points from 30 to 20 seconds at Slams starting in 1990…
Like Borg before him, Lendl built his game around powerful serves and forehands. However, unlike Borg, Lendl’s modern equipment allowed him to hit flatter, faster shots. His serve was exceptionally tactical, often varying its pace to keep opponents off balance. Notably, Lendl was notorious for starting matches slowly, often playing at 70-80% of commitment in the first few games before taking control later in the set. His running forehand down the line was a standout shot, arguably the best in tennis history. Opponents frequently attacked Lendl, as they couldn’t match him from the baseline, which gave him ample opportunities to showcase his curved passing shots on the run.
As a player who grew up in the ’70s, Lendl naturally attacked the net on faster surfaces. Indoors, he could dictate points on his own terms, but on grass, he had to adapt by serving and volleying regularly. This wasn’t his strongest area, and while his volleying skills were very good by today’s standards, they weren’t good enough to win him the most prestigious title – Wimbledon. Despite skipping the 1990 clay-court season to focus on grass, and astonishingly winning Queens Club by outplaying McEnroe and Becker, Lendl fell short at Wimbledon, losing in the semifinals to Edberg, a natural grass-court player in peak form.
Even as he aged, Lendl remained dangerous thanks to his obsession to keep the body in shape, but at the beginning of 1993, he was clearly slipping. His biggest rivals of the late ’80s – Becker and Edberg – were still in their primes, while a new generation of American players (Pete Sampras, Jim Courier and Agassi) began to take control; Courier never won a set against Lendl in four meetings though. At the 1990 US Open, Lendl lost to Sampras in the quarterfinals, marking a defining moment in the changing of the guard in tennis. This loss prevented Lendl from playing the US Open final for the ninth consecutive year. Lendl loved playing in New York City; he’d participated in nine consecutive ‘Masters’ finals before Edberg stopped him in the semifinals of 1989. Lendl became a U.S. citizen in 1992, reflecting his desire to distance himself from his Czechoslovak roots and embrace a new identity in a country where he felt he could truly belong. It was too late to play the Davis Cup, at least he briefly represented USA at the Hopman Cup ’94. By that year, Lendl’s major appearances were underwhelming. His last match came at the 1994 US Open, where he lost in the second round to Bernd Karbacher (4-6, 6-7, 0-1 ret.) leaving the court with a back injury after wasting a *5:0 lead in the 2nd set, and nine set points! It was a stark reminder that his body was no longer able to withstand the rigours of the technologically enhanced tour (improved graphite racquets increased the serve speed and also allowed to generate massive top-spins in the early 1990s).
Lendl retired quietly, choosing not to make an official announcement but simply stepping away from the sport. After nearly two decades in the background, he returned to tennis in 2011 as Andy Murray’s coach, helping Murray win two Wimbledon titles and fulfilling, in part, the dream Lendl never achieved as a player.
While Lendl’s lack of a Wimbledon title remains a gap in his otherwise stellar career, his reign in the ’80s was indisputable. Natural movers forwards like McEnroe (1983), Pat Cash (1987), Becker and Edberg may have stopped him at Wimbledon in his top form, but his sheer consistency, fitness, and relentless pursuit of improvement made him one of the greatest players in tennis history, and distinguish grass-court player too.

Career record: 1068–242 [ 320 events ]
Career titles: 94
Highest ranking: No. 1
Best GS results:
Australian Open (champion 1989-90; runner-up 1983 & 91; semifinal 1985, 1987-88; quarterfinal
1992)
Roland Garros (champion 1984, 86-87; runner-up 1981 & 85; quarterfinal 1983 & 88)
Wimbledon (runner-up 1986-87; semifinal 1983-84, 1988-90)
US Open (champion 1985-87; runner-up 1982-84, 88-89; semifinal 1991; quarterfinal 1980, 90 &
92)
Masters champion 1981-82, 1985-87
Davis Cup champion 1980 (contributed in singles & doubles)
World Team Cup champion 1981

Year-end rankings 1978-94: 74 – 20 – 6 – 2 – 3 – 2 – 3 – 1 – 1 – 1 – 2 – 1 – 3 – 5 – 8 – 19 – 54