Ivan Lendl is considered to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Some tennis fans judged him heartless, unemotional and a bionic player. While others thought of him to be a determined, devoted and a skillful player. But, the eight-time grand slam champion was undisputedly one of the biggest names in the tennis world. The legend rings in his 59th birthday today, here's a look at some of the remarkable milestones in his long-lasting career.
French Open
Ivan Lendl won his first major finals after losing four finals at grand slams. He defeated John McEnroe 3-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 in a long match. He had lost in 5 sets to Bjorn Borg in 1981 French Open finals. Lendl conquered his first grand slam title after turning professional in 1978. He also won the French Open titles in 1986 and 1987.
Dominating US Open
Lendl won three consecutive US Open from 1985 to 1987. He defeated McEnroe 7-6, 6-3, 6-4 to win his first US Open title in 1985. From 1982-89 US Open had a fixed finalist that was Ivan Lendl. There was not even a single US Open during that period where Tennis fans couldn't watch Lendl on one side of the court in the finals of the Championships. The Czech dominated the US Open for 7 long years.
Prime Year's
Besides winning the three US Open from 1985 to 1987, Ivan's match-winning percentage was more than 90%. He is the only male tennis player to win over 90% match for five different years. Lendl reached 10 consecutive majors semifinals from 1985 to 1988, making it a unique record.
Other records
Lendl was undoubtedly one of the best in the 1980s. He played 19 grand slam finals (third best of all-time). Out of 19 finals, he conquered 8 of them while losing 11. The Czech has won an eye-catching 94 ATP titles out of 144 occasions. He also has a breathtaking win-loss record of 1071-243 winning over 82% matches. In majors, Lendl was a finalist or a semifinalist for 47 times. Lendl was the world no. 1 for 270 weeks in the 1980s. He finished his career with 7 year-end titles.
The legend announced his retirement in December 1994. He was 34 at that time and was forced to retire from professional tennis due to chronic back pain. He was introduced into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in the year 2001.
He became Andy Murray's coach at the end of 2011. He helped Scott win two major titles at the US Open 2012 and Wimbledon 2013.
Ivan Lendl might have been unlucky to win some of the major finals especially the Wimbledon but he has achieved so much in his career which makes him one of the greatest of all time.