| Ivan Lendl winner
of 94 singles titles (including 8 Gram Slam
titles)
Ivan Lendl was born in Ostrava,
Czechoslovakia, on March 7, 1960. Both of his
parents were top tennis players in
Czechoslovakia; in fact, his mother was at one
point ranked Number 2 woman player in the
country. Ivan first came to the tennis world's
attention in his own right as an outstanding
junior player. In 1978, he won the boy's singles
titles at both the French Open and Wimbledon, and
was ranked the Number 1 Junior Player in the
world that same year. He then left the amateur
circuit and turned professional.
Chronology of His
Professional Career
| 1979 |
Reached
his first top-level singles final. |
| 1980 |
Compiled
a 7-0 record in singles and 3-0 in
doubles to lead the Czechoslovakian team
to a Davis Cup win (the only
Czechoslovakian Davis Cup triumph).
Won 7 singles titles.
Won 3 tournaments in successive weeks
on three different surfaces -- the only
player in the open era to accomplish this
feat. |
| 1981 |
Part of
the Czechoslovakian team which won the
World Team Cup.
Made it to the finals of the French Open
(his first Grand Slam final); lost to
Bjorn Borg.
Won the year-end Masters championship.
Won 10 singles titles. |
| 1982 |
Made it
to the finals of the U.S. Open; lost to
Jimmy Connors.
Won the year-end Masters championship.
Won 15 of 23 singles tournaments
entered, compiling a record of 107-9,
including a 44-match streak. |
| 1983 |
Made it
to the finals of the Australian Open;
lost to Mats Wilander.
Made it to the finals of the U.S. Open;
lost to Jimmy Connors.
Won 7 tournaments.
Ranked Number 1 in the world on
February 8. |
| 1984 |
Won the
French Open, defeating John McEnroe in
the final round (his first Grand Slam
win).
Made it to the finals of the U.S. Open;
lost to John McEnroe. |
| 1985 |
Made it
to the finals of the French Open; lost to
Mats Wilander.
Won the U.S. Open by defeating John
McEnroe in the final round.
Won the year-end Masters championship.
Captured 11 singles crowns in 17
tournament appearances. |
| 1986 |
Won the
French Open by defeating Mikael Pernfors
in the final round..
Made it to the finals at Wimbledon; lost
to Boris Becker.
Won the U.S. Open by defeating Miloslav
Mecir in the final round.
Won the year-end Masters championship.
Ranked Number 20 doubles player on
May 12, 1986. |
| 1987 |
Won the
French Open by defeating Mats Wilander in
the final round..
Made it to the finals at Wimbledon; lost
to Pat Cash.
Won the U.S. Open by defeating Mats
Wilander in the final round.
Won the year-end Masters championship. |
| 1988 |
Made it
to the finals of the U.S. Open; lost to
Mats Wilander. |
| 1989 |
Won the
Australian Open by defeating Miloslav
Mecir in the final round.
Made it to the finals of the U.S. Open;
lost to Boris Becker.
Won 10 titles out of 17. |
| 1990 |
Won the
Australian Open by defeating Stefan
Edberg in the final round. |
| 1991 |
Made it
to the finals of the Australian Open;
lost to Boris Becker. |
| 1994 |
Retired
from professional play. |
Career
Totals
Made it to a record 52 finals
matches (including 19 in Gram Slam events -- a
record for male players).
Won 94 singles titles (including 8 Gram Slam
titles), second only to the 109 titles won by
Jimmy Connors.
Made it to 10 doubles finals and won 6 doubles
titles.
Won 44 matches in a row between
October 1981 and February 1982, the
second-longest streak in the open era.
Won 66 indoor matches in a row between October
1981 and January 1983.
Made it to 8 consecutive U.S.
Open finals between 1982 and 1989.
Shares a record with Jimmy
Connors (1974) and Guillermo Vilas (1977) for
most tournaments won in a single year, 15 in
1982.
Ranked Number 1 in the world
for 157 straight weeks (1985-1988), 3 short of
Jimmy Connors' record. Finished four years as
Number 1 (1985, 1986, 1987, and 1989). His total
of 270 weeks ranked Number 1 broke Jimmy Connors'
record; it has subsequently been broken by Pete
Sampras.
At the time of his retirement,
he had earned $21,262,417 in prize money, a
record at the time.
Honors and Awards
ATP Most Improved Player in
1981
ATP Player of the Year in 1985, 1986, and 1987.
Inducted into the International
Tennis Hall of Fame in 2001.
Post-Tennis Career
Since leaving the professional
tennis circuit Lendl has transferred his
competitive spirit to professional golf. After a
developmental period on the Moonlightgolf.com
Tour he captured a win on the Celebrity Tour. In
2004, he organized the Ivan Lendl Celebrity Golf
Tournament. He still competes at the mini-tour
level, but devotes much of his time to managing
his daughters' golfing abilities.
Family Life
Ivan Lendl married Samantha
Frankel on September 16, 1989. The couple has
five daughters.
Lendl defected to the
United States in 1986 after the Czechoslovakian
Tennis Association told him that he would not be
allowed to travel abroad for tournaments any more
because he had played a match in Sun City, South
Africa. He became an American citizen in 1992.
He currently resides in
Greenwich, Connecticut.
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