The first time I heard the name Ivan Lendl was in 1979, during the US Open, my favorite tennis hero of the time, Bjorn Borg was being interviewed after an early round win, the announcer asked him who he thought is a new up and coming star that we should be looking out for, without hesitation, the tennis God of the time said, "Ivan Lendl, he's very good and will get even better". That year Ivan lost in the 2nd round to the hard serving Roscoe Tanner in straight sets. I Wonder if Bjorn knew the extent that Ivan would later dominate the tournament that he tried so hard to win and never did. No other player in the Open era has dominated the US Open like Ivan Lendl. An American born on the wrong continent at the wrong time, he not only adopted a new country, but another style of play, a love for the hard courts that was throughout his career his favorite surface to implement the  utter destruction of his opponents.

     By now you must be wondering why I have the audacity to call Ivan Lendl he father of modern tennis, after all he was according to Sports Illustrated the original champion that no one cared about, the cold, hard, machine, that planned the bludgeoning of his foes without mercy and without flair. He was despised by all, the media, the fans and even his fellow players. For years, it seemed the only four people that liked Ivan Lendl was his mother Olga, his father Jiri, his mentor\coach Wojtek Fibak and me, John Figaro. One of the great days in tennis history is the famed "Super Saturday" at the US Open, where the men's semis and women's finals went the distance, featuring captivating, dramatic and high quality tennis by all 6 competitors. The seasoned tennis fan will remember Ivan's heroic topspin lob over Pat Cash's head to save a match point and eventually securing a berth in the finals, but  what I remember most was the crowd yelling "Ivan go home", booing when he wins a point, aggressively applauding his errors and attempting to distract him during his service toss, - no it wasn't just the NY crowd, Europeans showed their true colors also, during the famous 1988 Italian Open final with Argentinean clay court specialist Guillermo Perez-Roldan, Ivan was totally frustrated, he took out some of his anger on the umpire and lines people and even responded to the crowd who booing and heckling him with great fervor. The pesky and speedy Roldan was taking full advantage of the situation, but like he usually did, (over  1,200 times), Ivan won  6-2,4-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

So why is he the father of modern tennis? Prior to the rise and domination of Ivan Lendl, professional tennis was ruled by 2 styles, players could either be classified as Borgians (High loopy, heavy topspin, from the baseline, very defensive, waiting for the opponent to make a mistake) McEnroeseque (serve and volleyers with weak ground strokes, who rushed the net at every opportunity), then came Ivan, he brought massive power from the baseline to the game. No longer where baseliners defensive players, he attacked and took control of the outcome of the point, instead of waiting for an error.

The modern tennis game is based on the following strategy:

• Big inside out forehand

• Big serve

• Total fitness

• Speed afoot

• Strong physique

• Thorough preparation

• Crush or be crushed

Ivan was the first champion to use and master the inside out forehand from the ad-side of the court,  crushing weak replies for winners.

His forehand game was setup by his serve, during his domination, no one had a bigger, more consistent and accurate serve than Ivan Lendl. He used his powerful serve to dictate right from the beginning, and his forehand to close the point out.

Ivan was the first champion to take advantage of scientific advances in training routines. He lifted weights, did aerobics and cross- training. At his prime, no other tennis player was in better shape.

He may not have been the fastest, but his off court work and his anticipation, made it seem like there was no ball he could not reach.

At 6'2" 175lbs, he was the prototype of the modern tennis player, he was not going to pushed around.

He kept a little book consisting of notes on every player on the tour, tips on how to play them and most important, tips on how to beat them, he left nothing to chance, when he stepped on the court, the actual playing became the easiest part of the equation.
"If I don't practice the way I should, then I won't play the way that I know I can." 
Ivan Lendl  

Bjorn Borg never had an easy match, his style of play did not allow him to take the initiative, with Ivan the approach was, if you're not going to hit it, I will, as a matter of fact, I'm going to hit it no matter what you do.

Look at the men's a game, and to some extent, the women's game, what you will see are players, using the above formula perfected  by Ivan Lendl to earn millions of dollars and entertain  fans all over the world.

 Next time you see Pete Sampras (whom Lendl took under his wing and spent time observing and learning how to be a champion at Ivan's home) hit his famous patented running cross-court monster forehand, think of Ivan he did it first and intimidated anyone standing across the net. - Approach with caution!

Next time you hear how fit Jim Courier & Thomas Muster used to be (two players whom Lendl has a 9-1 record against) keep in mind that they were following the example of the innovator of tennis fitness. Let's not forget Andre Agassi, whom Lendl called "A forehand and a haircut" during Andre's coming out year, he is now number one and the fittest tennis player on the planet but he too is following in the footstep of Ivan Lendl. To be a champion, one must work harder than work itself.

Next time you see players changing racquets during ball changes, next time you see racquets being delivered in plastic bags, next time you hear of players having their own personal stringers, next time you hear how precise each racquet is customized, think of Ivan Lendl, he started the whole thing, which at the time fed the fuel of him being called a machine, but instead he was well on his way to being the first true professional tennis player the world had ever seen.

No, he was not the most talented, but through hard work, he achieved a thousand times more than other gifted mortals. His tennis achievements when put together in a package has not been equaled by any other tennis player.

He was not appreciated, he did not get his full merit, he did not get the love and respect that he deserved. We all remember Jimmy Connors's run at the 91 US open, Ivan's effort the following year was just as impressive if not more, in the 2nd round Lendl's victim was none other than Jimbo who quickly sniped "It's not the Ivan Lendl that I remember, he does not hit the ball hard any more, he just bunts it". If not for a rain delay the night before, Stefan Edberg would not have won the tournament, after jumping to a 2 set lead and a break, Ivan came roaring back and was leading until play was suspended. The next day, Ivan came to within a half inch to go up 5-3 in the 5th set, but Edberg broke back and went on to win the match in a 5th set tiebreak, 6-3,6-3,3-6,5-7,7-6, one of the best matches I have ever seen.

He gave the world many 5 set thrillers, like his first Grand Slam final in 1981 at the French Open against Bjorn Borg, a match that most tennis fans seem to have forgotten. By 1984 even though he had already had two Masters (Tour championships) under his belt, the media gave him the choke label, he can't win the big one they said. He had reached 4 Grand slam finals and came up empty each time, a closer look at his opponents at those finals would reveal four of the greatest names in the history of the sport, Bjorn Borg once, Mats Willander once, and Connors twice, who won his first three grand slam finals. I think Ivan would have beaten Phil Dent and the well beyond his prime Ken Rosewall (twice) with the same ease. 

He could not play on grass they said, but he managed to win 89 matches on that surface, including 3 grand slam finals and two championships in consecutive years (89,90) at the Queen's Club event before Wimbledon. In 1990 en route to his victory there he beat John McEnroe and Boris Becker in the semis and finals respectively. The one aspect that always impressed me with Lendl was the fact that he served and volleyed on both first and second serves at Wimbledon all the time, he changed from a power baseliner to a serve and volleyer, could McEnroe have reached 5 semifinals and 2 two finals at the French by staying back on both 1st and second serves all the time, I doubt it, as a matter of fact he only managed one semi and one final at the French playing his normal aggressive style. Andre Agassi proved that one does not have to serve and volley to win at Wimbledon, perhaps if Ivan had maintained his regular game and not been so obsessed with winning the number one trophy in tennis, the question of who was the greatest would have been laid to rest a long time ago.

Here's another example of the establishment, history and his opponent not giving Lendl any respect, if you look at any tennis encyclopedia or listen to any McEnroe broadcast, you will hear how "he got tired in 1984 and lost the French", but in reality, Lendl won that match on pure guts, determination, skill and power. The eventual score does not resemble someone who ran out of gas, it is more like a player who's tactics and nerve caught up with him and tried as hard as he could to weather the storm, but could not fight the fury. Score 3-6,2-6,6-4,7-5,7-5 Lendl

McEnroe, Connors and  borg are part of the greatest rivalries of all time, but one name is missing, you guessed it, the greatest rivalry of all-time in the open era is not McEnroe-Borg, but McEnroe-Lendl, but it sounds more glamorous for McEnroe to dismiss Lendl. The numbers don't lie, Ivan deserves his proper due, yes he will be inducted in the tennis Hall OF Fame, unlike Borg, I'm sure he will show up and accept his well deserve day of coronation. 

Ivan reached 19 grand slam signals finals, more than any other male player in the open era, he won 8 of them, but a closer look will reveal the fact that he lost 10 of those finals to 5 of the greatest champions in the open era, Borg, Connors, McEnroe, Willander and Becker. Pete Sampras, the greatest tennis player the game has seen so far, has a total of 12 grand slams, 7 of them were against players who not only were never number one, but players who never won a single grand slam tournament, of the remaining 5, three of them were against Andre Agassi. How many slams would Ivan have won if he had faced players of that caliber? Of the 19 Grand Slam finals, Ivan faced, players who were multiple slam winners and former number ones, 15 times.

The US Open committee may never give him a day of his own, but as a true fan of the man's effort on the tennis court, I will not let his legacy die. Ivan Lendl was the best of his generation, his contributions to the game are innumerable. He is  truly a champion of champions.