World Tennis Magazine

Unique Tennis Perspectives

straight weeks

LENDL LOSES TO WILANDER IN FIRST PUBLIC MATCH IN 16 YEARS

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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – Ivan Lendl, playing in his first public match since retiring from tennis in 1994, played like a man who hadn’t played in 16 years, losing to former rival Mats Wilander 6-3 in a one-set exhibition at the Caesars Tennis Classic Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall.

“It was fun playing, but a bit frustrating,” Lendl said. “I was seeing the shot but couldn’t make myself hit it properly.”

Lendl, whose stellar accomplishments are often overlooked, Lendl had disappeared from the tennis scene since retiring because of a bad back. With his back healthier, Lendl began playing more seriously recently, saying he “put a lot of training” into preparing for Saturday’s match.

“He said, ‘Next time I will be better,”‘ Wilander said.

Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl

Asked if his performance was what he expected, the 50-year-old Lendl said, “Pretty much, unfortunately.”

“My heart was telling me it’s not going to be like this,” he said, “but my mind was telling me yes it could and most likely would.”

Only Roger Federer has played more Grand Slam men’s singles finals than Lendl’s 19 (Federer has played 22). A winner of eight major finals (three French, three U.S. Opens and two Australian Opens), Lendl was ranked No. 1 in the world for 157 straight weeks from 1985-88.

Lendl and Wilander came out in typical style with both playing from behind the baseline, just as they did in two marathon U.S. Open finals in 1987 and ’88, which they split. Wilander’s five-set victory over Lendl in ’88 took four hours, 55 minutes, setting a record for the longest U.S. Open men’s singles final.

After a long rally on the game’s second point, Lendl jokingly asked the 47-year-old Wilander, “Are you tired yet?”

The laughter subsided midway through the set, and both competitors appeared to turn serious. Wilander took control in the fifth game when Lendl committed four unforced errors, giving Wilander the match’s first break and a 3-2 lead.

Wilander held serve for a 4-2 lead and went ahead 5-2 with another break when Lendl found the net with a forehand on the clinching point. The match ended, fittingly, when Lendl hit a forehand volley into the net.

“It was fun playing,” Lendl said. “It was nice to have a good crowd. I wish I could have hit more good shots, but unfortunately that won’t come all at once.”

While he wouldn’t commit to more exhibition matches or, possibly, a comeback to the Champions Tour, Lendl said his back was feeling better and alluded to playing again competitively.

“I enjoy practicing and I didn’t enjoy it before because of my back,” he said. “Now I’m fine.”

In another match, Marat Safin defeated Pete Sampras 6-4. Andy Roddick also beat Sampras 6-4 before topping Safin 6-4.

WHEN FEDERER FIRST BECAME NO. 1

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February 2 is an historic day in the life and career of Roger Federer. As documented in the book ON THIS DAY IN TENNIS HISTORY, it was February 2, 2004 when Federer first became the No. 1 player in the world. It was one day after Federer won his first Australian Open title – and his second career major title – that he first assumed the top position on the ATP rankings, replacing Andy Roddick. Federer held on to the top ranking for a record 237 straight weeks, before Rafael Nadal finally toppled him on August 18, 2008. Federer then regained the top spot on July 6, 2009 after winning his sixth Wimbledon title and has held it ever since. Rene Stauffer, the author of the leading Federer biography THE ROGER FEDERER STORY: QUEST FOR PERFECTION ($24.95, New Chapter Press, www.RogerFedererBook.com) documents Federer’s final push for the No. 1 at the 2004 Australian Open in this exclusive book excerpt below.

When Federer arrived in Australia in January of 2004 in preparation for the Australian Open, criticism about his separation from Peter Lundgren already preceded him. The international media wanted to know the reasons.

Pat Cash, the Australian Wimbledon champion, hastily stated in London’s Sunday Times that Federer made a mistake and was risking a career setback by ending his coaching relationship with Lundgren. Cash could neither un­derstand the timing nor the motives for the separation and went as far to say that Federer was not yet ready for the new season and that he was allowing himself to be unduly influenced by his girlfriend. “Errors of judgment have already been made and the first thing Federer must do is ensure that his girlfriend returns to being just that,” wrote Cash. “It’s a simple matter of common sense.”

Cash’s aggressive—and below the belt—punch at Federer was unfounded. Federer not only would dispel all doubts cast on his professionalism, but also fundamentally call into question all theories about the importance of even having a coach. Federer was not lacking in offers from coaches around the world. After all, Federer was the only top 10 player without a coach. However, he didn’t want to be overhasty. “Out on the court, I alone have to decide what I am doing,” he said. “And nobody can help me with that anymore.”

As the Australian Open began, questions about Federer’s form and prepa­ration mounted. He lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero at an exhibition tournament in Hong Kong, then at the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, Andre Agassi polished him off in less than an hour with an ominous 6-2, 6-4 decision. Agassi, the four-time Australian Open, was firmly entrenched as the favorite at Melbourne Park having won his last 21 Australian Open matches.

Federer effortlessly reached the round of 16 and, thanks to his new found self-confidence, was able to avenge his Davis Cup loss to Hewitt, defeating the Aussie standout 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 on the very same court where he tasted bitter defeat four months earlier in the Davis Cup semifinals. To make mat­ters worse for Australian fans and Hewitt, Federer’s victory occurred on all days but Australia Day, the Australian national holiday, with nearby fireworks going off in nearby downtown Melbourne.

Federer’s fireworks continued in the quarterfinals against his nemesis David Nalbandian. In the decisive moments of the first set against the Argentine, Federer confirmed the sound state of his morale. Serving at 15-40 at 5-5 in the first set, Federer fired off four straight aces to win the game and carry him to win the first set and the eventual 7-5, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 victory. His previous uncertainties with Nalbandian were now part of the past.

With world No. 1 Andy Roddick losing unexpectedly to Marat Safin in five sets in the quarterfinals, the door was open for Federer to take the No. 1 ranking. By reaching the semifinals, Federer was guaranteed to leap over Roddick in the rankings, but the No. 1 spot was still up in the air. If Ferrero, Federer’s semifinal opponent, were to win the tournament, he would return to No. 1. Should Ferrero not win the tournament, Federer would ascend to the top for the first time. For the second time in his career, Federer was one match win from attaining his goal as world No. 1 when he took the court with Ferrero. After some initial tension in the opening set, the match was never in doubt. At 9:18 pm local time on January 30, after finishing his 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 domi­nation of the Spanaird, Federer sank to his knees and raised his arms to the heavens. It was now certain. Federer would officially become the No. 1 ranked player when the next rankings were released on February 2.

“I wanted to enjoy this moment,” he said. “You only get to be No. 1 once.” But he remained adamant that his big goal was the title. “It would be a gigan­tic disappointment if I were to lose in the final.”

Safin was Federer’s unexpected opponent in the final. The Russian stunned Agassi in a five-set semifinal to reach the Australian Open final for the second time in three years. Although unseeded and ranked No. 86 in the world due to an extended layoff due to wrist surgery in 2003, the former world No. 1 was a powerhouse capable of winning matches and titles regardless of whom he played.

Federer, however, would not let anything stand in his way of victory. After he won the first set in a tie-break, Safin seemed increasingly tired and frus­trated and resigned to defeat. Federer’s 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-2 final-round victory earned him his second Grand Slam tournament title and served as a stylish ascent to the world No. 1 ranking

“Becoming No. 1 was a goal but winning the title was bigger,” he said.

He didn’t forget Peter Lundgren either. At nearly every interview during his championship run, Federer mentioned the importance of his dismissed coach and even sent him a text message to Sweden, thanking him once again for his previous efforts.

There would be no discussion among experts in the tennis industry of the validity of the No. 1 ranked player. Having won Wimbledon, the Tennis Masters Cup and the Australian Open, Federer won three of the five most im­portant titles in tennis in the last seven months. His success equaled the best run of success in men’s tennis since Hewitt captured titles at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Tennis Masters Cup over a stretch of 10 months in 2001 and 2002.

The transitional phase in men’s tennis that produced eight different Grand Slam tournament champions over a two-year-stretch was over. The ATP promoted this period in its “New Balls Please” campaign since nobody really knew who the next dominant figure would be in men’s tennis. The discussion ceased. The age of Federer had dawned.