Ivan Lendl announced this week that he will return to play competitive tennis when he will face Mats Wilander in an April 10 exhibition match in Atlantic City, N.J. in an event that will also feature Andy Roddick and Marat Safin. It was 25 years ago today, on February 5, 1985, that Lendl and Andy Roddick’s current coach Larry Stefanki played an unusual match at the modern day Sony Ericsson Open that ended without an umpire or linesmen. The following is the excerpt about the match, as documented in the book ON THIS DAY IN TENNIS HISTORY ($19.95, New Chapter Press, www.TennisHistoryBook.com).
1985 – Ivan Lendl defeats Larry Stefanki 6-2, 6-0 in the first round of the Lipton Championships in Delray Beach, Fla., in a match that ended without an umpire or linesmen. “We have played a few times without the umpire knowing the score, but never without an umpire,” said Lendl. After Lendl hit an ace – that was never called – t to take a 4-0 lead in the second set, Stefanki was assessed a point penalty for delaying play while speaking with the chair umpire Luigi Brambilla of Italy. While Brambilla and other officials were discussing the point penalty, Lendl and Stefanki then continued play, prompting the officials and linesmen to leave the court and Lendl and Stefanki finishing the match without a chair umpire or linesmen. “Lendl said we should play while they are talking it over,” said Stefanki. “Tennis is entertainment and the fans loved it. When the umpire said we should start, we were already at deuce and told him that. We kept playing and the umpire left. Lendl and I made our own calls and somebody in the press box kept calling out the score. We were having fun and it was totally in control. The match wasn’t close and we just wanted to have some fun.“ The Lendl-Stefanki match is played on the first day of “the Lipton” – the co-ed tournament founded by former U.S. Davis Cup player Butch Buchholz that evolves into the modern day Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla. The tournament soon is regarded by many as the biggest tournament in the world outside of the four major championships. Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere wins the event’s first match earlier in the day, defeating Angeliki Kanellopoulou of Greece 6-3, 6-2.