Jimmy Connors 🔥 Gets Blown Away by a Humble Ivan Lendl for 8 Minutes

[@DingKong]

Awesome play from Lendl. His dry response to the interview question was equally awesome 😊

[@christisgod3354]

The Lendl backhand down the line was always one of my favorites.

[@tennisking3300]

Great comments! Thank you for sharing! 👍😎👍

[@MrPernell27]

He’d been hitting it since 1978. Amazing 15 yrs later people still weren’t able to cover it

[@jeffvanmeter1330]

Lendl was an example of the phrase, “All work and no play, makes Ivan the #1 player in the world.” When he started out, he had atrocious footwork and one of the weakest backhands in the pros. By practicing SIX HOURS A DAY, with especial focus on fitness and conditioning, he eventually became one of those rare players with virtually no technical weaknesses. In addition, his work ethic and torturous training regimen, forever changed men’s pro tennis. No more practicing 2 hours a day and eating cheeseburgers for anyone who wanted to climb the mountain. Since Lendl, anyone who wants to earn a living playing tennis, has to put in the work.

[@christisgod3354]

@@jeffvanmeter1330 He was a machine.

[@slayer5097]

He changed tennis. There wouldn't be Novak Roger Rafa without him, as in the work he put in set the path for the future greats. Hard worker, sad that his injury limited him at the end. I wish there were more books on him or studies done on him, tragically unappreciated. Hate sports illustrated for their cover. Ffff you sports illustrated.

[@lathar7059]

Ivan my all time favourite

[@halleck3]

Hard not to cheer for Lendl here. Connors was a total prick to him on a number of occasions.

[@spirg]

This was ‘85 , I believe, basically the beginning of the Lendl reign…. For about 3 or 4 years

[@IanTaylor-k5m]

A class act and a great champion.... one of the very best!!!!

[@tennisking3300]

Thank you for your comments!

[@amitmarathe232]

Hats of to Lendl for enduring the rubbish that Bud Collins spews post match. Lendl put him firmly in his place here and for good. After this Bud Collins was more careful before he opened his mouth and in latter years infact almost started respecting Ivan 😀

[@onthe4572]

Lendl really dominated Connors around this time. Just like he did McEnroe from the 85 US Open final till the end of his career.

[@tennisking3300]

Great comments! Thank you for sharing! 👍😎👍

[@MrPernell27]

17 straight wins, including a 3-6,6-3,6-2,6-0 win at the US Open. Their last match and the last match Connors would ever play there.

[@MW-od5wp]

That's true but I dont think McEnroe ever played at the same level again after 1984. However Lendl had to play on grass and hard courts that were far faster than today. He would have loved to play Becker and Cash on the slow grass Nadal was lucky enough to play on.

[@mddistribution30]

@@MW-od5wp oh yeh. I think there's no doubt Lendl would have won Wimbledon 2 or 3 times at least had he been playing today. Equally, I don't think djokovic would have won it as many times if he was playing in the 90s

[@MW-od5wp]

@@mddistribution30 And if courts today were as fast as they were before 2000 I don't think Nadal would have won Wimbledon at all - at least not playing in the style he used in 2008 and 2010.

[@HarryKaladjian]

Post 1984 - Lendl became more aggressive in his matches against McEnroe and very strategic against Connors.

[@tennisking3300]

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[@MW-od5wp]

McEnroe never regained the form he showed in 1984, when was beating Lendl more often than not. McEnroe should have beaten him at RG in 84 too. Certainly playing a level of tennis in the first two sets that Lendl could not live with. Connors was aging after 85 so competing with a very fit Lendl became impossible. Lendl was a great player none the less and I think he may have given Sampras advice on training too.

[@jdfagen]

Doesn't get much better than Dick Enberg and Bud Collins!

[@lszujo73]

I forgot the name of his interviewers,but if you ask unpolite questions expect answers to be the same...Lendl was an intelligent,humble ,well meaning guy,these idiots such as Connors,Mac and Nastasae made him to be ruthless yet it was taken out on him...Lendl is the father of modern tennis,these other guys can't even come close to his intelligence,his patterns are still being used/watch Federer/

[@tennisking3300]

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[@JasonVictorEverett]

@@lszujo73 The father of modern day tennis? WTF?? Lol

[@riazhassan6570]

Humble? Lendl is surely one of the all-time greats

[@tennisking3300]

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[@najhaw1853]

Lendl the best

[@larsrunkvist1222]

The player and the slayer.

[@gordonipock9385]

Jimmy was still using the Wilson T2000 at this time. Lendl was using the Adidas GTX, which wasn't much bigger.

[@zeddeka]

Lendl had found a formula to beat Connors by this time. Slice his backhand to Connors forehand (like Arthur Ashe famously did at Wimbledon 75), hit three quarter pace forehands and manoeuvre Connors around until he got an opening.

[@tennisking3300]

Great comments! Thank you for sharing! 👍😎👍

[@philipmccafferty1315]

Connors loved to use the pace of his opponent against him. Lendl took that away with the strategy you described

[@mickeylynch8982]

This is the start of Lendl raising his game to be the best hardcourt player in the World. Jimmy is 34 and the legs aren't quite as good as 82/83 when he was controlling Lendl at the Open. His T2000 wasn't helping vs the power game that was beginning to shape the game. Many thought Lendl would never get over the top, but this when he started to prove his mental toughness.

[@gerrymanrique9395]

Nonsense. Connors got old. That’s all that happened.

[@farid1406]

Dunno if I would call Ivan "humble" per se, but he wasn't a prima donna, and didn't create drama. Petros the same. Qualities much missed in today's game.

[@tennisking3300]

Thanks for your feedback! Much appreciated! More matches coming every day! Cheers! 😎👍

[@Reslo]

I remember the days when Connors owned Lendl….. Both were great champions.

[@tennisking3300]

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[@balat77]

Can see the rally.. Connors waiting to come to the net and Lendl keeping him quiet with deep balla, angles etc.. basically moving him side to side

[@tennisking3300]

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[@amitmarathe232]

Post 1984, Lendl took over and beat Connor’s all 4 times they met in the grand slams including the 1985 French semis in straight sets and 3 wins at the US opens in 1985, 1987 and 1992.

[@drobson8004]

Jimmy was actually hitting well.

[@tennisking3300]

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[@cindygirlification]

‘85 , ‘86, ‘87 Lendl was so much better than the field. If Wimbledon ( and other slams) were played on slow courts with the heavy balls they use today he would have won 3 grand slams! And probably finished with over 20 GS titles.

[@tennisking3300]

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[@toms9864]

The guy that was interviewing Lendl on the court said that he never thought Lendl was on the same level as Connors. You heard Lendl say something negative about his past interview questions. I think Lendl meant it.

[@cathexis1325]

Lendl vs. Connors= 22 to 13. Connors wasn't exactly friendly with Lendl when he beat him in their first 8 meetings. Lendl didn't forget and as he improved, he seemed to relish beating Connors in his later career. It would have been great if they could have met when they both were in their prime. I think Connor is 8 or 9 years older.

[@yahoo8844]

Connors is about 7 years and a half older than Lendl.

[@damygeebo]

that ball was actually out

[@tennisking3300]

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[@jeffvanmeter1330]

Somebody has to say it. Although he was a walking encyclopedia of tennis knowledge, Bud Collins was the most annoying commentator of any sport. Unfortunately, he did tennis.

[@tennisking3300]

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[@halleck3]

He was pretty terrible. Although I think Cosell gave Collins a run for his money.

[@momentumstocks3493]

Looks like a warm up these days. So much time to stand and wait....:-)

[@mickeylynch8982]

Racquets and balls are different also. Try hitting a crosscourt backhand with the small sweet spot those racquets had. Similar to golf, look at the giant heads on drivers these days with a juiced up ball. My Dad played with a Driver head the size of your fist. Better athletes now, of course, but much better equipment also.

[@miguelbarahona6636]

@@mickeylynch8982 Those were faster courts, too. Bring today a young Lendl, with modern rackets and strings, medicine and doctors, better food, better training methods, custom shoes, computarized analysis of even the small aspects of your game, and you will get a No. 1, for sure.

[@danielpan5147]

Cash may be better than a Czech but Connors certainly isn't...

[@tennisking3300]

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[@jackkitchen737]

@1:23 LOL that ball was out by two inches

[@tennisking3300]

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[@ilovejapan2483]

THE most annoying commentators of all time are Mark the monster mouth matched tim the freakish teeth henna and all the ones at Eurosport. their voices are too wussyfied and they do not have a clue about tennis

[@tennisking3300]

Thanks for your feedback! Much appreciated! More matches coming every day! Cheers! 😎👍