The Lendl–McEnroe rivalry was a
tennis rivalry between
Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl (; born March 7, 1960) is a Czech–American former professional tennis player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Lendl was ranked world No. 1 in singles for 270 weeks and won 94 singles titles. ...
and
John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beha ...
, who met in 36 matches between 1980 and 1992.
Their head-to-head is 21–15, favoring Lendl. It is one of the most notable
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
rivalries of the
Open Era
The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Birmingham, England now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sp ...
.
Their most memorable match was at the
1984 French Open
The 1984 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament was held from 28 May until 10 June. It was the 88th staging of the French Open, and the first Grand ...
, when Lendl came from two sets down to win the championship.
Head-to-head
Official matches (36)
Lendl 21 – McEnroe 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)
ATP rankings
Year-end ranking timeline
See also
*
Connors–McEnroe rivalry
The Connors–McEnroe rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, who played 34 times between 1977 and 1991. Their head-to-head was 20-14, favoring McEnroe.
Connors and McEnroe played again in the late 1990s and the ea ...
*
Connors–Lendl rivalry
*
Borg–McEnroe rivalry
The Borg–McEnroe rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Björn Borg and John McEnroe, who met 14 times on the regular tour and 22 times in total between November 1978 and April 1981. Their head-to-head was even at 7-7. Their on-court rivalry wa ...
*
List of tennis rivalries
In tennis history there have been a number of notable rivalries. This is a list of some of the greatest rivalries.
For the pre-1991 eras, complete statistics on all matches is difficult to obtain in definitive form. In many years there were sign ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lendl-Mcenroe Rivalry
John McEnroe
Tennis rivalries
Sports rivalries in the United States