Ivan Lendl versus Stefan Edberg...1985 Australian Open Semi's (5th set)

[don_budge]

If Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal had to deal with the likes of these two they would have had far fewer Slams between them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZTwyYejy8I

1 John McEnroe USA 2 Jimmy Connors USA 3 Ivan Lendl TCH 4 Mats Wilander SWE 5 Andrés Gómez ECU 6 Anders Järryd SWE 7 Henrik Sundström SWE 8 Pat Cash AUS 9 Eliot Teltscher USA 10 Yannick Noah FRA 11 Joakim Nyström SWE 12 Aaron Krickstein USA 13 Johan Kriek USA 14 Jimmy Arias USA 15 Kevin Curren RSA 16 Tomáš Šmíd TCH 17 Vitas Gerulaitis USA 18 Gene Mayer USA 19 Juan Aguilera ESP 20 Stefan Edberg SWE

Eight Americans, five Swedes. One lonely Spaniard. A lone French. A couple of Czech's. An Aussie. Interesting demographics. Faster courts. Period.

Consider the top twenty at the beginning of the year in 1985. Compare it to today's top twenty. Today's top twenty is a bunch of one-trick ponies. It was a different story in 1985...one year post the 1984 culmination point. From the classic to the modern. Ivan Lendl was just a stud. Stefan Edberg at #20? Enough said.

[don_budge]

Lendl impersonating a serve and volley player. Very interesting.

[bottle]

In his book co-written with the late Gene Scott he (Ivan Lendl) said he felt that when he was hitting a forehand his hips almost seemed to follow what his shoulders were doing. Context of statement: Lendl rejecting the theory of kinetic chain as something useful in tennis. He felt it had more application to golf and other sports.

Today many coaches and players-- obstinately perhaps-- embrace the notion of kinetic chain as what is most efficient in tennis. Then there are those who never mention "kinetic chain." If one could easily identify them, it might be fun to examine all of their forehands, asking such questions as, "Do their hips rotate quickly or gradually?" "Do their hips rotate marginally ahead of their shoulders as in a Ted Williams baseball swing?" "Are their shoulders quicker than their hips?" "Do their shoulders even rotate before their hips as in Tom Okker's topspin forehand?" Even recreational players could benefit from the mental shakeup in all this.

[don_budge]

In his book co-written with the late Gene Scott he (Ivan Lendl) said he felt that when he was hitting a forehand his hips almost seemed to follow what his shoulders were doing. Context of statement: Lendl rejecting the theory of kinetic chain as something useful in tennis. He felt it had more application to golf and other sports.

Today many coaches and players-- obstinately perhaps-- embrace the notion of kinetic chain as what is most efficient in tennis. Then there are those who never mention "kinetic chain." If one could easily identify them, it might be fun to examine all of their forehands, asking such questions as, "Do their hips rotate quickly or gradually?" "Do their hips rotate marginally ahead of their shoulders as in a Ted Williams baseball swing?" "Are their shoulders quicker than their hips?" "Do their shoulders even rotate before their hips as in Tom Okker's topspin forehand?" Even recreational players could benefit from the mental shakeup in all this.

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[gzhpcu]

Good quality video, thanks.

[klacr]

2 of the best one handed backhands ever. Loved both these players. Good video.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[bottle]

?

!

[don_budge]

Good quality video, thanks.

2 of the best one handed backhands ever. Loved both these players. Good video.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

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1	Ivan Lendl	TCH	1	3
2	John McEnroe	USA	1	2
3	Mats Wilander	SWE	3	4
4	Jimmy Connors	USA	2	4
5	Stefan Edberg	SWE	5	20
6	Boris Becker	FRG	6	65
7	Yannick Noah	FRA	7	10
8	Anders Järryd	SWE	6	8
9	Miloslav Mečíř	TCH	9	60
10	Kevin Curren	USA	10	15
11	Joakim Nyström	SWE			=
12	Tim Mayotte	USA			+32
13	Paul Annacone	USA			+84
14	Johan Kriek	USA			–1
15	Andrés Gómez	ECU			–10
16	Henri Leconte	FRA			+10
17	Scott Davis	USA			+31
18	Brad Gilbert	USA			+5
19	Tomáš Šmíd	TCH			–3
20	Martín Jaite	ARG

Fantastic video and it was a pivotal point in tennis history. This 1985 edition of the Australian Open was the last time the tournament was played at the end of the year. There was no 1986 tournament as the next Australian Open was held in January of 1987. Interesting...eh?

Stefan Edberg went on to win this semifinal match with Ivan Lendl 9-7 in the fifth. He defeated countryman Mats Wilander in the finals in straight sets. Stefan repeated in the next Australian Open beating Aussie Pat Cash in a five set final. The above rankings were the year end rankings. In the first post the rankings are from the beginning of the year. It is interesting to see how the players jockeyed for position through the year. The number after their country is their lowest ranking during the course of the year and the next number is their highest ranking.

Look at the numbers of Mecir and Becker...two players that were destined to make big moves in the future. Tim Mayotte and Paul Annacone were making big moves. tennis_chiro had input into the career of Annacone. Stefan Edberg catapulted from #20 to #5 with a lot of weight on his Australian Open win. Edberg was making his presence know in a big way in 1985. My buddy Aaron was going the wrong way...he yo-yo'd his way in the rankings for many years while battling injuries. To start the year at #12 was an amazing accomplishment considering it was only two years after I was watching over him in the national juniors.

Tennis history. If you are a student of the game it is tough nowadays to get a handle on the past. But here in 1985 this video tells a very interesting tale. You only need to connect the dots...and the culmination points.