Lendl was never the charismatic player of some others, but he had one of the greatest work ethics of any player in tennis history. For that, I have great respect for him.
I;'ll never forget the massively in shape, technique grooved, Ivan Lendl grinding out the percentage points, game after game after game. A machine. Almost a robot, but I think that diminishes his real talent. He was just in shape and damned consistent as any professional should be in any profession. Go Ivan, a true master I admire still to this day greatly.
Both legends, both dominated their eras like nobody else. With classic racquest and tennis methods yet both of them brought something new in and excelled it in their primes. This consistency they both had, plus their extraordinary strenghts OMG👍👍👍
I don't remember Lendl truly dominating. He was certainly the man to beat between 1984 and 1990 winning 8 of the 28 slams, which during that period was indeed more than anyone else, but overall he was only slightly ahead of his contemporaries Wilander (7), McEnroe (7), Edberg (6) and Becker (6), and he never won Wimbledon. Sampras won 14 slams over a period of 13 years but likewise failed to win Rolland Garros. More than Lendl, he dominated his era, with only Agassi putting up a real rivalry at some point. Anyway, those were the normal days ... not like the two decades we've just witnessed, where 3 goats accomplished the career slam and today are on par with 20 slam titles.
@@Marekxxk What? It was in total sympathy and only slight disagreement. If you can't even handle sympathetic, mindful replies, why comment at all on a forum? OK, let me try again "Lendl indeed dominated the 80s like no one before or after dominated his era. He's the greatest player of all time. Nobody comes close." Better?
Thanks for video! I've got some retro rackets. Great to get them out some times and experience the feel. I've got the Dunlop Maxply and the Wilson T2000. I remember the Borg donnay was good. The T2000 was tough to play with. I could still get some welly on the serve with wooden rackets due to the weight.
I would say Borg was although Lendl came just after. Borg introduced hitting heavy topspin regularly off both sides and was incredibly fit. Lendl was renowned for his work ethic and powe baseline game. Their careers overlapped a few years and Borg definitely won the H2H vs. a young Lendl.
Sampras . Serve ace . Serve ace .. serve volley bang. Boring to watch useless on clay Kafelnikof dismantled him easily in straights in French Open. One dimensional player. Wouldn't win any Wimbledon titles with the current four still playing.
As many have mentioned before, only Sampras is playing with a wood racket. Lendl is 11 years older. An advantage was needed to make this interesting. The video title is a bit misleading. Overall I'm glad this got uploaded.
Lendl and Pete were actually good friends with Lendl inviting him to his home and mentoring him. Not many people know that. Just like Borg took young McEnroe under his wing.
Yep Actually Llendl is one of the big reasons pete became who he was, Pete wrote in his book that he saw how hard llendl worked and realised what it takes to be great.
Lendl was Pete's idol. Pete's forehand is nearly identical to Lendl. The only difference is their prefer style. Lendl preferred the power baseline game, while Pete chose serve and volley. Pete once said that there is no GOAT, just the best of each era or each decade. He said between 1960-2000, the best player for each decade in successive order were Laver, Borg, Lendl, and himself.
@@seveglider8406 Federer is the only one of Fed, Nadal and Djokovic who could have succeeded in the wooden racquet era. He is a natural serve-and-volleyer whereas the other two aren't.
@@martydav9475 Yes, Federer would have excelled playing in the era of wooden racquets. I don't believe Federer or any of today's players would be able to hit with the same pace or topspin playing with a conventional wooden racquet. Federer is an all time great player. He is the equal of Laver and Borg. However, I would not say he is better than them! Yes, Federer is better than Nadal and Djokovic!
Federer would do well with wood. Nadal & Djoker I think would struggle but who knows. They're all three such great athletes, maybe all three would be able to adapt & play great with wood
I guess Nadal would have more difficulties to adapt than Federer and Djokovic, probably the size and the aerodynamics of today's racquets help Rafa to produce such a terrific topspin especially off his forehand side, but who knows...
It is, of course, impossible, but it would be fun to imagine today's players using only wood racquets. I doubt it would significantly alter the balance, since great players are first of all mentally strong, but I think it may actually increase the entertainment.
Good stuff. Its clear though that despite the wooden rackets -- which were all about control and finesse -- they're both still playing the power game of modern tennis. Something the old superstars like Borg just couldn't adapt to.
I remmember after a loss due to fitness in Australia, Ivn got really fit and changed his whole game towards nutrition, he bacame a machine and was wonderful to watch, until Sampras came along in early 90's
Sampras looks like he could still play on the tour. It looks like Sampras is playing with the Donnay allwood borg racket. It’s heavy but stiff and has pretty good pop. I have one strung with 17 gauge luxilon strings and it gives me almost as much pace as my Wilson Kfactor 6one 95 racket.
@@motownspiders it’s actually 17L luxilon TIMO strung at 35 pounds. The string is a little softer than the big banger luxilon. It’s awesome. It hits a deep, heavy, high bouncing topspin ball and I can hit winners with it. The serve is not as quick but it’s heavy.
Really? THIS was the picture quality in 2011??? Looks more like it's 1975. Where did they record this on, a 50 year old vhs tape? I can't even see the ball going through the air. Why even put this on youtube?
Lendl was really the first player to embrace fitness and strength training. Now unfortunately he's looking old and a bit out of shape. Still a very cool dude. Great competitor.
I don't think he was really you know, Ken, I reckon that's always been a bit of a myth. The Australian greats like Laver, Roche and Newcombe were doing circuit and weight training in the '60s and '70s, and Borg, who could run the 400 metres in 48 seconds, was in supreme condition - I never once saw him even out of breath. Lendl embraced his fitness routines because he needed to: he didn't have the stamina of Borg or the natural talent of McEnroe. Lendl was a great player with one of the great forehands and a terrific backhand but the limitations of his game were always exposed at Wimbledon by the great serve-and-volleyers. He played in the wrong era, for his baseline game, of fast courts and great serve-and-volleyers. Had he played in this era, of slow courts and no great serve-and-volleyers to contend with, he could have done what Djokovic has done; equally Djokovic wouldn't have fared any better at Wimbledon back then than Lendl did.
You're so right. As string technology is going forward (as it should), all the tennis regulating bodies should have sited down, and implemented a many decades long rule (with a grandfather clause) to progressively reduce racket head size. It still can be done. Everyone will benefit from it. The players, the audience, the tennis racket manufacturers. Just do it.
Lendl is much older than Sampras and completely out of shape, so it is not possible to draw any serious conclusion from this video. Presumably Lendl was stronger than Sampras and many others using wooden racquets because Ivan professionally played with those racquests for several years. In addition, for most of his career, Lendl used a graphite racquet that had the same features of wooden racquets.
Jesus Christ Lord God, the Holy King save us and the whole world. Jesus Christ Lord God, the Holy King save us and the whole world. Jesus Christ Lord God, the Holy King save us and the whole world.
Lendl was never the charismatic player of some others, but he had one of the greatest work ethics of any player in tennis history. For that, I have great respect for him.
I;'ll never forget the massively in shape, technique grooved, Ivan Lendl grinding out the percentage points, game after game after game. A machine. Almost a robot, but I think that diminishes his real talent. He was just in shape and damned consistent as any professional should be in any profession. Go Ivan, a true master I admire still to this day greatly.
Agreed, back in the day I likened him to the Terminator.
Lendl doesn't play with a wooden racket. Only Sampras does.
Just proves my theory that because of progress in technology we cannot say there is a goat 🐐 but only greats of eras
Thanks for posting this!
No problem!
Was this retro racquet or retro video camera? Looks like it was filmed in 240.
Both legends, both dominated their eras like nobody else. With classic racquest and tennis methods yet both of them brought something new in and excelled it in their primes. This consistency they both had, plus their extraordinary strenghts OMG👍👍👍
I don't remember Lendl truly dominating. He was certainly the man to beat between 1984 and 1990 winning 8 of the 28 slams, which during that period was indeed more than anyone else, but overall he was only slightly ahead of his contemporaries Wilander (7), McEnroe (7), Edberg (6) and Becker (6), and he never won Wimbledon. Sampras won 14 slams over a period of 13 years but likewise failed to win Rolland Garros. More than Lendl, he dominated his era, with only Agassi putting up a real rivalry at some point. Anyway, those were the normal days ... not like the two decades we've just witnessed, where 3 goats accomplished the career slam and today are on par with 20 slam titles.
@@knotwilg3596 dont comment if you wanna comment like this, really, I got no reason whatsoever to waste my time here.
@@Marekxxk What? It was in total sympathy and only slight disagreement. If you can't even handle sympathetic, mindful replies, why comment at all on a forum?
OK, let me try again "Lendl indeed dominated the 80s like no one before or after dominated his era. He's the greatest player of all time. Nobody comes close." Better?
@@knotwilg3596Plus both,Pete and Ivan,won 5 ATP finals and more other titles.
Both these guys could play tennis with a broom stick, and still make it look easy.
McEnroe as hilarious as ever. Could listen to his co commentatory banter all day 😅
Thanks for video! I've got some retro rackets. Great to get them out some times and experience the feel. I've got the Dunlop Maxply and the Wilson T2000. I remember the Borg donnay was good. The T2000 was tough to play with. I could still get some welly on the serve with wooden rackets due to the weight.
Glad you like them!
they play with a racket having a sweet spot the size of a lima bean
Lendl The Father of Modern Tennis
I would say Borg was although Lendl came just after. Borg introduced hitting heavy topspin regularly off both sides and was incredibly fit. Lendl was renowned for his work ethic and powe baseline game. Their careers overlapped a few years and Borg definitely won the H2H vs. a young Lendl.
The best player of the 80s against the best of the 90s.
Not the best at Wimbledon though and he did lose five of those eight U.S finals remember to Connors (2), McEnroe, Wilander and Becker.
Sampras . Serve ace . Serve ace .. serve volley bang. Boring to watch useless on clay Kafelnikof dismantled him easily in straights in French Open. One dimensional player. Wouldn't win any Wimbledon titles with the current four still playing.
@@davidalexander5405 Thank you for sharing with us your total lack of comprehension of tennis. It was good for a laugh.
Ivan best player from 85-92 Sampras 92-2000
@@davidalexander5405HAHAHAHA
Oh wait, you're being serious?
As many have mentioned before, only Sampras is playing with a wood racket.
Lendl is 11 years older. An advantage was needed to make this interesting.
The video title is a bit misleading.
Overall I'm glad this got uploaded.
Lendl and Pete were actually good friends with Lendl inviting him to his home and mentoring him. Not many people know that. Just like Borg took young McEnroe under his wing.
Yep Actually Llendl is one of the big reasons pete became who he was, Pete wrote in his book that he saw how hard llendl worked and realised what it takes to be great.
Lendl was Pete's idol. Pete's forehand is nearly identical to Lendl. The only difference is their prefer style. Lendl preferred the power baseline game, while Pete chose serve and volley. Pete once said that there is no GOAT, just the best of each era or each decade. He said between 1960-2000, the best player for each decade in successive order were Laver, Borg, Lendl, and himself.
They are so old here, it would be really interesting to see two in-shape players from the challenger circuit, say rank 150, play with wooden rackets.
Great! That's the only kind of exhibition I like!
I would like to see Federer vs Nadal vs Djokovic playing with wood racquets!
Federer, Nadal and Djokovic would not be able to play as well with wooden racquets!
@@seveglider8406 Federer is the only one of Fed, Nadal and Djokovic who could have succeeded in the wooden racquet era. He is a natural serve-and-volleyer whereas the other two aren't.
@@martydav9475 Yes, Federer would have excelled playing in the era of wooden racquets. I don't believe Federer or any of today's players would be able to hit with the same pace or topspin playing with a conventional wooden racquet. Federer is an all time great player. He is the equal of Laver and Borg. However, I would not say he is better than them! Yes, Federer is better than Nadal and Djokovic!
Federer would do well with wood. Nadal & Djoker I think would struggle but who knows. They're all three such great athletes, maybe all three would be able to adapt & play great with wood
I guess Nadal would have more difficulties to adapt than Federer and Djokovic, probably the size and the aerodynamics of today's racquets help Rafa to produce such a terrific topspin especially off his forehand side, but who knows...
pete looks even more elegant and classy with wooden racket or racquet lol
Deux immenses champions au fair play remarquable ❤️❤️❤️❤️
He also had an awesome backhand
Thank you for your comments!
It is, of course, impossible, but it would be fun to imagine today's players using only wood racquets. I doubt it would significantly alter the balance, since great players are first of all mentally strong, but I think it may actually increase the entertainment.
Good stuff. Its clear though that despite the wooden rackets -- which were all about control and finesse -- they're both still playing the power game of modern tennis. Something the old superstars like Borg just couldn't adapt to.
Thank you for your comments!
I remmember after a loss due to fitness in Australia, Ivn got really fit and changed his whole game towards nutrition, he bacame a machine and was wonderful to watch, until Sampras came along in early 90's
Sampras looks like he could still play on the tour. It looks like Sampras is playing with the Donnay allwood borg racket. It’s heavy but stiff and has pretty good pop. I have one strung with 17 gauge luxilon strings and it gives me almost as much pace as my Wilson Kfactor 6one 95 racket.
You have a Donnay strung with 17g Luxillon? This is the pinnacle of tennis-dorkdom and I applaud your weirdness. You and I are a lot alike.
@@motownspiders it’s actually 17L luxilon TIMO strung at 35 pounds. The string is a little softer than the big banger luxilon. It’s awesome. It hits a deep, heavy, high bouncing topspin ball and I can hit winners with it. The serve is not as quick but it’s heavy.
@@theroadrunnerjarhead4109do you have borg donney wooden racquet what is the strung weight of it?
Anyone today playing with one of the old small head tennis rackets (usually wood) and it’s a different game.
If I were Ivan...I'd SERIOUSLY start CONSIDERING SALADS
When was this?
When the hell was that???? And why is it shot in Cataract Vision?
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Waouh ! tanks !
Sampras would win against 95% of the actual Top200 when they play with wooden racquets.
@Mustache Man : it'd be nice to share the date. That was August 25th 2011, in New York.
When did the event take place??? Never heard of that.. 🙄😏
Both of them are on the very top of my chart.
My sweet Pete . His serve and valley are powerful and beautiful like his prime time.
Pre-poly tennis was better.
They didn't look like they were having lots of fun.
Hahahahha looks are decieving, they're actually having a ton of fun. 🤣.
Hmm. Well, lendl is using a graphite mid size 90 mm head. Not exactly a wood standard head. Still enjoyed the match.
That’s the point of the match. Sampras gave Lendl a huge advantage to make the match more interesting.
Part of the entertainment was listening to Mac
Really? THIS was the picture quality in 2011??? Looks more like it's 1975. Where did they record this on, a 50 year old vhs tape? I can't even see the ball going through the air. Why even put this on youtube?
when was this match played?
2011
@@andrea_lenzi , si grazie! ...me ne sono accorto solo dopo mentre scorrevano le notizie in basso..
Need Mac for this.
Lendl was really the first player to embrace fitness and strength training. Now unfortunately he's looking old and a bit out of shape. Still a very cool dude. Great competitor.
I don't think he was really you know, Ken, I reckon that's always been a bit of a myth. The Australian greats like Laver, Roche and Newcombe were doing circuit and weight training in the '60s and '70s, and Borg, who could run the 400 metres in 48 seconds, was in supreme condition - I never once saw him even out of breath. Lendl embraced his fitness routines because he needed to: he didn't have the stamina of Borg or the natural talent of McEnroe.
Lendl was a great player with one of the great forehands and a terrific backhand but the limitations of his game were always exposed at Wimbledon by the great serve-and-volleyers. He played in the wrong era, for his baseline game, of fast courts and great serve-and-volleyers. Had he played in this era, of slow courts and no great serve-and-volleyers to contend with, he could have done what Djokovic has done; equally Djokovic wouldn't have fared any better at Wimbledon back then than Lendl did.
He also had serious back issues from what I read, so don't judge him for that
@@rsmith02 He did that's right, he had a lot of problems with his back in the last three or four years of his career.
@@martydav9475 And afterwards- he's led a pretty quiet life in CT from my understanding, just golfing and not even playing tennis for some time.
Lendl, that wide shirt: gained weight?
Looks like one to many donuts for Lendl.......Sampras appears to still be in decent shape!
We need wood racquets in the modern game. Or at least racquets with small head size.
You're so right. As string technology is going forward (as it should), all the tennis regulating bodies should have sited down, and implemented a many decades long rule (with a grandfather clause) to progressively reduce racket head size.
It still can be done.
Everyone will benefit from it.
The players, the audience, the tennis racket manufacturers.
Just do it.
Great audience 😅
Lendl racquet is wood? 🤔
Pete playing with two wooden racquets
Lendl’s Racket is a Custom Bosworth racket. Modern technologies, not sure about the materials the frame is made with but not Wood for sure…😬✊🏻
Yeah, I was wondering why wood racquet for Sampras only.
@@FaCCiNoStEsO do you know the head size for Lendl racket?
Lendl is much older than Sampras and completely out of shape, so it is not possible to draw any serious conclusion from this video. Presumably Lendl was stronger than Sampras and many others using wooden racquets because Ivan professionally played with those racquests for several years. In addition, for most of his career, Lendl used a graphite racquet that had the same features of wooden racquets.
Can't see the ball.
Ivan's gotta lay off the doinuts...
He used to be so slim and fit.
Well, he obviously said "f*ck the discipline" after his career. Food wise at least. Its surprising though a little bit.
Será de exhibición pero pistol se ve muy entero, mientras Iván ya embarneció.
Poor audio. A thumb down!
I love geezer tennis......simply no rallies since no one can run anymore........
TENNIS when not playing competitively is boring to watch..........
Jesus Christ Lord God, the Holy King save us and the whole world.
Jesus Christ Lord God, the Holy King save us and the whole world.
Jesus Christ Lord God, the Holy King save us and the whole world.
The most unsympathetic guy of all times in tennis.
Djokovic isn't playing