My parents were avid tennis players so we used to watch Lendl play on our black-and-white TV, the one where you had to painfully twist the buttons to get somewhat of a clear picture. The image was never great but good enough for us to see the moving tennis ball….and the dazzling Ivan Lendl. Ivan was born in 1960 to a couple of prominent tennis players from Ostrava, Czech Republic. Ivan became a professional tennis player at the age of 18 when he won both the French open as well as the Wimbledon and was ranked no.1 junior player. In 1981 he managed to emigrate to the US where he lived for a while with his lifelong coach, the famous polish tennis player, Wojtek Fibak. It was Wojtek who introduced him to his current wife, Samantha, a friend of Fibak’s family. Throughout Lendl’s carrier, he managed to win 94 tournaments, including eight Grand Slams (Australian Open, US Open, French Open, Wimbledon). He has been voted Czech Tennis Player of the 20th Century, and has since 2001 been in the Tennis Hall of Fame.
When asked by a Czech radio reporter once if he was fond of his childhood tennis memories, Lendl responded:” I don’t have fond memories of those times. My mother would drag me to the courts ever since I was able to breathe and once I was able to walk she was pushing one of those tennis rackets in my hand. She was very hard on me, almost oppressive at times. I like to think of my father in those times, who was able to soothe me more…with a game of chess“. He further describes his mother saying “She (mother) didn’t have all that much talent, even less than I do. For her, it all came from work. If she doesn’t play, she can’t hit a ball properly. Neither can I. If I don’t play for two weeks, I can’t hit a topspin. I just lose the timing, I can’t move on court; I lose everything. that’s why I can’t take a long break. I would love to, but I can’t.“Lend knew he was going to be number one ever since he was 16. To the Western audience Lendl seemed to come across as serious, humorless and very competitive, earning the nickname “Ivan the Terrible”. The Time magazine called him “A chilly, self-centered, condescending, mean-spirited, arrogant man with a nice forehand.“. Other media only agreed Lendl “fits the East European stereotype: humorless, grim, unable to embrace the reality that sport was entertainment not a public funeral“. To such comments Lendl would respond: ” If you want tantrums and comedy don’t come and see me…my mission is to win (not to entertain)“. Despite all the remarks we – the Czechs – know that Ivan has a sense of humor – the Czech humor. Czech humor tends to be less obvious, funnier at times but also more hurtful at times. The Men’s tennis forums describes Lend’s humor as followed: “Lendl’s teasing and sarcasm seem to be his own odd way of showing affection. The closer the friend, the more relentless the ribbing he’s likely to get.”
Lendl retired from tennis in 1994 due to his chronic back pain. Since then he plays tennis only on rare occasions such as sponsoring a charity. He devotes his free time to playing golf as well as training his 5 daugthers (!!) in golf. His other hobby is to study the art of the Czech painter, Alphons Mucha. Lendl is known to have the world’s largest collection of Mucha’s posters.
What I want to know is if Lendl ever got a chance to meet Martina Navratilova. Who knows, maybe they are buddies….
Sources:
http://www.radioservis-as.cz/archiv/4600/46titul.htm (interview 2000)
http://www.rediff.com/sports/2001/feb/19rohit.htm (“Idolizing Ivan”)His website: http://www.ivanlendl.net/News.htmlhttp://www.noticias.info/archivo/2005/200509/20050912/20050912_97615.shtml
http://www.menstennisforums.com/showthread.php?t=23444
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