A famous tennis player named Ivan Lendl devoted himself to sports since early childhood, as his parents had been engaged in professional tennis for a long time. The guy showed his own talent back in 18 years - he won the Roland Garros tournament.
With each passing day, the young man developed a talent in himself, learned more and more. New tricks and other discoveries were always interesting for him, so for a second he did not think about giving up his favorite pastime. He overcame any difficulties quickly, after which he set himself higher goals and constantly achieved them.
Great athlete
Ivan Lendl is a professional tennis player. In 1984, he was able to prove not only to himself, but to the whole world that he was able to win even in the tournaments of the famous Grand Slam. At Roland Garros, he easily won the semifinals, and then the finals. After this event, his protagonist, with whom they played in the finals, took revenge. Lendl dropped to several lines in the ranking, and it turned out to return to the first position only after 12 months. Over the next year, the young tennis player won 84 victories and suffered 7 defeats. And for all the time of participation in the Grand Slam final tournaments (singles) there were 8 victories.
The first position of the rating was occupied by him for three years. At this time, he won several more tournaments. The defeat in the finals of the American Open Championship deprived Ivan of the place of the first racket of the world. Also, this failure abruptly cut short a series of 27 victories. It was she who was considered the second in duration after 42 victories of Bill Tilden.
Play style
The foundation of the game has always been the basic principle of a tennis player - to adhere to the back line and beat the racket as hard as possible, gaining more points. Ivan Lendl was distinguished by the speed with which he moved around the tennis court, and the ability to anticipate any actions of the opponent. The will to win helped him achieve goals even in those cases when the game was not too spectacular. Grass was the most difficult support for Ivan. According to him, this is an uncomfortable coating, which often made it difficult to concentrate.
Wimbledon
One of the important moments of his life was Wimbledon. The tournament finale proved once again that Lendl is the greatest tennis player. Then he became the owner of the junior Wimbledon, and the commission recognized him as the most powerful junior in the world in recent times.
Only thanks to this tournament all Soviet athletes and tennis fans learned the game of this person. Two times, the audience watched him, being a finalist, enter the court with confidence, and then both times left him defeated. A lot of interviews were released with his statements about tennis in general and specifically about Wimbledon. The unbroken will to win led him farther and farther, and in the end Ivan Lendl was still able to reach some heights.
Conflict
Davis Cup gave the tennis player the opportunity to play for the national team. But, unfortunately, Ivan had some problems with the Czechoslovak Tennis Federation, and a difficult conflict broke out between them. For this reason, he was forced to leave the Davis Cup, after which he decided to move permanently to the United States of America.
Public opinion
Such a powerful tennis player and his magnificent game cannot but be admired. But there are people who often accuse Ivan of dryness and pragmatism on the court. There are many different opinions about him as a person, as well as a professional tennis player.
Lendl dominates almost all the courts in the world. He does not always like public opinion. Even in his youth, when Ivan Lendl only moved from his native country, he did not even suspect what kind of strength the opinion of society has. The very first conversation with a representative of the newspaper was not entirely successful, the language barrier prevented . As a beginner, he practically did not respond to all uncomfortable questions, after which he was accused of unfriendliness and lack of sociability.
The young tennis player considered the whole press to be slanderers, which affected their mutual distrust. Since then, Ivan was even shown on television as a cold-blooded person who does not know how to sincerely smile and always wants to find only benefit for himself. Few did not consider him a programmed robot. Gray and gloom were already familiar to his fans, but still real fans did not stop cheering for Ivan because of this.
Victory after victory
Ivan Lendl with some measured constancy won every new tournament, but this list did not include major games. Big victories began in his career after the games in France and the USA, where he was a unanimous winner. In major battles, he showed excitement, but the tennis player was able to overcome it. A certain amount of self-doubt for a short period of time replaced assertiveness and strong blows, but soon everything returned to their places.
When winning or losing, he received good money. For example, in the first nine years of participating in tournaments, Ivan Lendl earned more than nine million dollars. But every day he increasingly protected himself with a psychological barrier from people. Over time, the tennis player moved away from society, in his eyes it was impossible to notice a share of humor. It was very difficult to get to know him, the psychological barrier did not allow him to properly communicate with people. But still, as a professional athlete , this did not bother him.
The pursuit of excellence
Among other things, Lendl all his life strived for excellence. He set himself small goals, which ultimately should lead to that same ideal. Everything conceived came true.
Ivan has always been hurt by the unflattering remarks of people that he is a gray personality. After all, his entourage and closest friends had completely opposite opinions.
Olympic Games
As you know, in 1988, tennis was again admitted to the Olympic Games. Of course, as a professional tennis player, Lendl immediately began to engage in his American citizenship. He petitioned for the speedy provision of all necessary papers to him. But, unfortunately, the rule of Czechoslovakia decided to bring down all his hopes and not provide a chance to fulfill one of his cherished desires.
Ivan very much hoped to take part in the tournament taking place in Seoul. There he wanted to play for a new country, but the delay in his documents spoiled his nerves. In the end, another man won.
This situation unsettled the tennis player, but he did not have to suffer long. After a while, he simply turned a blind eye to the problem and continued to live an ordinary life. He did not really want to spoil his nervous system because of the hatred of the Czechoslovak government towards him.
Marriage and later life
A year after the failure in the Olympics, Ivan made a marriage proposal to one American. She, of course, reciprocated. The couple got married. Three years later, Ivan was finally given the long-awaited citizenship. But now he was no longer such a super-tennis player. The last Grand Slam final did not end in his favor, and shortly before that, another athlete took the first line of the ranking instead of Lendl.
Despite such a fall, everything went very smoothly in family life. Five daughters were born in their family. At the time when Ivan played the last set in tennis, the eldest was quite a baby. After that, he decided to go in for golf. In this sport, he also achieved good results.
By tradition, the daughters followed in the footsteps of their father. But you should not immediately look for them in the list of tennis champions, since from birth or early childhood they watched their father’s career progression in golf.
Return
Despite the excellent continuation of life after tennis, Lendl still could not forget those happy moments when he went to court. In 2010, Ivan decided to return to his old hobby, but now on a veteran tour. Now, from time to time, he plays with the same opponents, but not for the cup. According to the tennis player, proven opponents are always better than new ones.
His students, to whom he once gave good lessons, even gradually began to come to the veteran tour. Now Ivan Lendl hopes that he will soon go to court and will be able to play several matches along with the man who broke all his records. This will be perhaps the most significant game in his life. After all, as you know, he knows how to wait.
Ivan Lendl - coach
Thanks to the huge number of achievements in his favorite sport, Lendl could easily try himself not only as a player, but also as a mentor or instructor. As many tennis fans know, Ivan Lendl is now the new young talent coach named Andy Murray. They began cooperation in 2012, and to this day their names are mentioned in sports news.
Ivan Lendl noticed the young athlete for a long time and expressed his opinion about his game. Andy himself respects an experienced tennis player, and he is sure that he can help him not only in training, but also in moral preparation for the competition. After all, Lendl passed all the tests that Murray is now overcoming.
These two personalities are very similar: the desire to win, long attempts to win the first title of "Grand Slam", overcoming obstacles - an iron will seems to be inherent in them from birth. A young tennis player takes an example from his coach and never rereads. It should be noted that in his youth, Ivan also could not completely find himself until he met his future coach, - Andy had a similar situation.
For all the time of cooperation, Murray reached many peaks. An experienced coach was able to support him in difficult moments, push him forward when it was really needed. Now, at the age of 28, Andy Murray has many victories, and this is largely thanks to his mentor.