Lendl–McEnroe rivalry

John McEnroe (seven singles majors) dominated the ATP Tour in the first half of the 1980s.
Ivan Lendl (eight singles majors) dominated the ATP Tour in the second half of the 1980s.

The Lendl–McEnroe rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe, who met in 36 matches between 1980 and 1992.[1][2] Their head-to-head is 21–15, favoring Lendl. It is one of the most notable tennis rivalries of the Open Era.[3] Their most memorable match was the 1984 French Open final, when Lendl came from two sets down to win the championship,[3] which McEnroe considered his worst loss.[4]

McEnroe, although capable of holding his own from the back court against most players, struggled against Lendl. Thus he would use every opportunity to get to the net and take time away from Lendl, who was not the fastest mover and had loopier racket swings—which on faster surfaces did not serve him as well as on clay.

McEnroe served a variety of spins, speed and placements to keep Lendl guessing and adjusting. Lendl, on the other hand, had a simpler game plan: serve hard enough to keep McEnroe back from the net, and then pound away with his powerful topspin groundstrokes.

Both pushed each other to evolve—McEnroe adopted the Max200G racket to improve on his power, whereas Lendl hired a nutritionist, fitness advisor and Tony Roche as his coach to improve his known weaknesses: second serve, backhand and volleys.

Head-to-head

Legend Lendl McEnroe
Grand Slam 7 3
Masters Grand Prix 3 2
WCT Finals 1 2
ATP Masters Series 1 0
ATP International Series 8 8
Davis Cup 1 0
Total 21 15

Official matches (36)

Lendl 21 – McEnroe 15

No. Year Tournament Surface Round Winner Score Lendl McEnroe
1. 1980 Milan Indoor Carpet Semifinals McEnroe 6–3, 1–6, 6–2 0 1
2. 1980 US Open Hard Quarterfinals McEnroe 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 7–5 0 2
3. 1981 French Open Clay Quarterfinals Lendl 6–4, 6–4, 7–5 1 2
4. 1981 Davis Cup Hard Quarterfinals Lendl 6–4, 14–12, 7–5 2 2
5. 1981 Masters Grand Prix Carpet Semifinals Lendl 6–4, 6–2 3 2
6. 1982 WCT Finals Carpet Final Lendl 6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 4 2
7. 1982 Canadian Open Hard Semifinals Lendl 6–4, 6–4 5 2
8. 1982 US Open Hard Semifinals Lendl 6–4, 6–4, 7–6(8–6) 6 2
9. 1982 Masters Grand Prix Carpet Final Lendl 6–4, 6–4, 6–2 7 2
10. 1983 US Pro Indoor Carpet Final McEnroe 4–6, 7–6(9–7), 6–4, 6–3 7 3
11. 1983 WCT Finals Carpet Final McEnroe 6–2, 4–6, 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–0) 7 4
12. 1983 Wimbledon Grass Semifinals McEnroe 7–6(7–5), 6–4, 6–4 7 5
13. 1983 Pacific Coast Championships Carpet Final Lendl 3–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–4 8 5
14. 1983 Masters Grand Prix Carpet Final McEnroe 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 8 6
15. 1984 US Pro Indoor Carpet Final McEnroe 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–3) 8 7
16. 1984 Brussels Indoor Carpet Final McEnroe 6–1, 6–3 8 8
17. 1984 WCT Tournament of Champions Clay Final McEnroe 6–4, 6–2 8 9
18. 1984 World Team Cup Clay Team Final McEnroe 6–3, 6–2 8 10
19. 1984 French Open Clay Final Lendl 3–6, 2–6, 6–4, 7–5, 7–5 9 10
20. 1984 US Open Hard Final McEnroe 6–3, 6–4, 6–1 9 11
21. 1984 Masters Grand Prix Carpet Final McEnroe 7–5, 6–0, 6–4 9 12
22. 1985 WCT Tournament of Champions Clay Final Lendl 6–3, 6–3 10 12
23. 1985 World Team Cup Clay Team Final Lendl 6–7(4–7), 7–6(8–6), 6–3 11 12
24. 1985 Volvo International Hard Final McEnroe 7–6(7–4), 6–2 11 13
25. 1985 Canadian Open Hard Final McEnroe 7–5, 6–3 11 14
26. 1985 US Open Hard Final Lendl 7–6(7–1), 6–3, 6–4 12 14
— 1987 Volvo International Hard Final (No Result) 6–7(3–7), 4–1 Abandoned due to weather 12 14
27. 1987 US Open Hard Quarterfinals Lendl 6–3, 6–3, 6–4 13 14
28. 1988 French Open Clay Last 16 Lendl 6–7(3–7), 7–6(7–3), 6–4, 6–4 14 14
29. 1989 Australian Open Hard Quarterfinals Lendl 7–6(7–0), 6–2, 7–6(7–2) 15 14
30. 1989 WCT Finals Carpet Semifinals McEnroe 6–7(4–7), 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 7–5 15 15
31. 1989 Canadian Open Hard Final Lendl 6–1, 6–3 16 15
32. 1989 Masters Grand Prix Carpet Round Robin Lendl 6–3, 6–3 17 15
33. 1990 Toronto Indoor Carpet Semifinals Lendl 6–3, 6–2 18 15
34. 1990 Queen's Club Championships Grass Semifinals Lendl 6–2, 6–4 19 15
35. 1991 ATP Long Island Hard Semifinals Lendl 6–3, 7–5 20 15
36. 1992 Canadian Open Hard Quarterfinals Lendl 6–2, 6–4 21 15
  • Note: WEA indicates a match canceled due to weather. There was no result in this final.

Breakdown of their rivalry

  • All matches: (36) Lendl 21–15
  • All finals: (18)* McEnroe 10–7, *(1 No Result)
    • Grand Slam finals: Lendl 2–1
    • Grand Slam matches: Lendl 7–3
    • Masters matches: Lendl 3–2
    • WCT Finals matches: McEnroe 2–1
    • Davis Cup matches: Lendl 1–0
    • Other tournament matches: Tied 8–8

Other matches

Invitational matches

Lendl–McEnroe (16–11)

No. Year Tournament Surface Round Winner Score
1. 1981 Rome Carpet Final McEnroe 7–6, 6–4
2. 1981 Suntory Cup Carpet Semifinals McEnroe 7–6, 6–4
3. 1981 Brooklyn Masters Carpet Final Lendl 6–4, 2–6, 6–4
4. 1981 Europe vs. Americas Carpet Round Robin McEnroe 4–6, 7–6, 6–1
5. 1981 Challenge of Champions Carpet Semifinals McEnroe 6–1, 7–6
6. 1982 Molson Light Challenge Carpet Final Lendl 7–5, 3–6, 7–6, 7–5
7. 1982 AKAI Gold Challenge Carpet Round Robin Lendl 7–5, 6–2, 1–6, 4–6, 6–1
8. 1982 Europe vs. Americas Carpet Round Robin Lendl 2–6, 7–5, 6–2
9. 1982 European Community Championship Carpet Final Lendl 3–6, 7–6, 6–3, 6–3
10. 1982 Challenge of Champions Carpet Round Robin McEnroe 6–3, 6–2
11. 1983 Luxembourg Carpet Final Lendl 6–4, 6–2
12. 1983 Rio Tennis Challenge Carpet Final McEnroe 6–3, 6–1
13. 1984 AKAI Gold Challenge Carpet Round Robin McEnroe 7–5, 6–2, 6–1
14. 1984 Suntory Cup Carpet Final Lendl 6–4, 3–6, 6–2
15. 1985 Forum Tennis Challenge Carpet Final McEnroe 6–4, 7–6
16. 1985 Suntory Cup Carpet Final Lendl 6–4, 6–2
17. 1985 Meadowlands Tennis Challenge Carpet Final Lendl 7–5, 6–4
18. 1985 European Community Championship Carpet Final Lendl 1–6, 7–6, 6–2, 6–2
19. 1985 Challenge of Champions Carpet Semifinals Lendl 7–6, 6–3
20. 1986 Forum Tennis Challenge Carpet Final Lendl 6–4, 3–6, 7–6
21. 1986 Norstar Bank Hamlet Challenge Cup Hard Final Lendl 6–2, 6–4
22. 1986 Challenge of Champions Carpet Semifinals McEnroe 6–4, 7–5
23. 1987 Barcelona Clay Final Lendl 6–3, 3–6, 6–2
24. 1987 Challenge of Champions Carpet Round Robin Lendl 5–7, 6–4, 7–6
25. 1988 Eurocard Classic Carpet Round Robin McEnroe 7–6, 7–6
26. 1988 Michelin Challenge Carpet Final McEnroe 7–5, 6–2
27. 1989 All Stars Tennis Classic Carpet Final Lendl 6–4, 7–5

ATP rankings

Year-end ranking timeline

Player 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994
Czechoslovakia/United States Ivan Lendl 74 20 6 2 3 2 3 1 1 1 2 1 3 5 8 19 54
United States John McEnroe 21 4 3 2 1 1 1 1 2 14 10 11 4 13 28 20

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ten great tennis rivalries". The Independent. July 8, 2008. Retrieved 2010-12-08.
  2. ^ "Lendl vs McEnroe Head to Head Rivalry". Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
  3. ^ a b "Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe". Boston Globe. 2006-08-25. Retrieved 2010-12-08.
  4. ^ Roy, Neelabhra (2022-12-25). ""Sometimes it still keeps me up at nights" - When John McEnroe talked about the 'worst loss' of his life". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2024-01-28.