Love tales like this....imagine in the current world....what current movie would you love to see upon release and then go home and watch which current match/players/venue?The answer is a resounding ZERO no nope!Go on try....its not possible....and they played at Madison....the then ultimate indoor carpet tennis venue....We will never get those days again....The guys who lived it ...i hope they thoroughly enjoyed it....or perhaps quite sad now knowing how great it was and not hey living in these shitty times....lol....thats life i guess....
We were so blessed to have guys like this playing in the 80's . The BIG 3 today may have more grand slams but I enjoyed the style tennis better back in the 80's early 90's myself.
Oh yeah. And so much more variety in the play. Don't get me wrong, the boys today can hit a topspin forehand like no one else... but I miss the days of contrasting styles so much.
I can never stop loving Becker to this day. He was a few years older than me and back in the 80s he just look super innocent yet strong and very determined, well mannered and confident. My entire family look up to him. After almost 40 years we still love him dearly. We still don't forget his "Boris dive" and the ugly serving positions he always had despite the strong serve. Forever Boris !!
The 10 best grass court players in open era are based on grass court major titles are 1.Roger Federer=8 2.Pete Sampras=7 3.Novak Djokovic=7 4. Bjorn Borg=5 5. Rod Laver=4 6.Jimmy Connors=4 7.Stephan Edberg=4 8. John McEnroe=3 9. Boris Becker=3 10. Rafael Nadal=2 in open era.
13 greatest players in open era are 1.Novak Djokovic 2. Rafael Nadal 3.Roger Federer 4. Pete Sampras 5. Rod Laver 6. Bjorn Borg 7. Andre Agassi 8. Jimmy Connors 9. Ivan lendl 10.John McEnroe 11. Mats Wilander 12. Boris Becker 13. Stephan Edberg.
There were many incredible baseline rallies. Lendl returned superbly and forced Becker to rally from the back but he was equal to the task. His backhand had improved significantly since 1986 and was especially effective.
@@lesliesmith1797 All the great baseliners back then - Borg, Connors, Wilander, Lendl and Agassi would do as well today as they did back then (I saw every one of them).
@@lesliesmith1797 You are less of logic all the Best tenismens from 70, 80 and 90 with theiar talent having today tehnology of training ,diet , rokets , and pharmaceutical and medical care wod bit Federer Nadal or Djokovic , dont forget Nadal have medical permision to take medicines ho have doping like both Williams sisters or in gimnastics ather american girl Biles , best in this time bicose ofcorse of doping but for amerlocs is normal for Rusia is bad they are baned .
Ken Arthur, if you think about it Lendl and Borg truly laid the blueprint for the modern power baseline game. Becker's baseline game was not in their league but he was no slouch from the back and the fact he went toe to toe against Pete (who is in the crowd 😉) in 1996 hannover proved just how well his game held up almost a decade later. Not to forget he beat Lendl primarily from the baseline in the 1991 AO final on a medium slow hardcourt.
@@lesliesmith1797 Make today's players go into a time machine and play with the raquets of their choice from 1988 against these 2 freaking MONSTERS. Don't blame the ones who had it harder. It would be interesting. And don't forget about the notion of "standing on the shoulders of giants."
this is one of the Top 3 matches i've seen, ever. I remember it vividly. I've seen a lot of matches from 1980ish to present day, and this one is right at the top. The level of play, closeness of the match, precision of shot, and fight was insane! This ranks right up there with Borg vs Mac 1980 Wimbledon; Rafa vs Fed 2008 Wimbledon Final; Fed vs Djokovic Wimbledon final 2019; Verdasco vs Nadal Australian Open 5 set marathon. Those are the ones that come to mind. This one is right up there!
If Boris Becker would have seriousness,hard work and commitment of Ivan Lendl he would have won 12 to 14 grandslam titles instead of six grandslams and would have won many more grand prix tournaments for his talent and exuberance.
My first favourite tennis player during my childhood when I just started following tennis. But only after seeing the comments I am able to understand how good he was. Hail hero Lendl ❤️❤️
Ivan lendl set the model of the modern player. perfect fitness and no weaknesses. the terminator of tennis as brad gilbert calls him in his best seller book.
Boris had a great serve that helped him out. I have read an article long time ago that he and slobadan zivojinovoc (another fast server) had been directed by Ian tiriac their Manager to cut trees in forest to get their shoulder speed and power in to the arms giving rthem best of serves. Loved him as he was one of those rare who could give sampras a run on best of his days. But truly great drama and epic to watch becker play
One of the underrated shots that Becker possessed at that time at that time was the ability to take the cross court shot to his backhand and straighten it out down the line it would always throw players off because Becker held the ball on his racquet for a millisecond and would drive it down the line which most times would send weaken return back to the open court for him to put away a forehand. That was one of his go to shots. Lendl would also often push you wider and wider with his inside out forehand moving you further cross court and then rip it down the line. So it was basically the same thing as Becker only in reverse.
Epic match! This video is a wonderful history class for tennis fans who never witnessed 1980s tennis and those court-level footages are gold. Thank you.
Lendl had the best groundstrokes in tennis history. He consistently hit the ball in the middle of a very difficult heavy and small racquet (80 sq in). His serve, return of serve, footwork and fitness were top notch. He could have won a few more slams had he changed his racquet earlier (at the end of 88 which was this match) and implemented a better net attack game to his arsenal. He is an under-appreciated champion and I definitely rank him higher than McEnroe, Connors, Wilander, Becker, Edberg and Agassi in the history books. The only players from his generation who were better than him were Borg and Sampras. Lendl is definitely one of the 10 best players of all time.
Good arguments. Mac also was tops in dubs forever too though, that is quite a feat my brother. Nobody else even comes close. Sure you can say dubs was his "practice" and it was largely but that still doesn't mean he was going to be #1 in BOTH DISCIPLINES. That's fucking badass right thurrr.
Ivan Lendl have 8 major titles and 5 atp finals titles in open era actually he is bigger tennis player than Boris Becker as he was world no 1 for 270 weeks more than Jimmy Connors bro Sad he never won Wimbledon title but he reached Wimbledon finals twice in 1986 and 1987 but Boris Becker never reached French open finals in his life
La plus intense finale de l histoire des Masters entre les deux meilleurs joueurs sur dur et moquette de cette fin de décennie 80 ,avant l apparition de Sampras ,la confirmation d Edberg....
Same here. But the US open finals loses to Becker and Wilander were worse. Oh, and his loss to Edberg in 5 sets, having beaten Becker in 5 sets. A fresh Lendl would have taken Edberg there.
Same and same!! Die hard fan and that netcoord was a nightmare. First, there was the netcoord that saved Becker at Wimbledon where he dove and Ivan's passing shot hit net and Becker hit the winning shot from the ground. Then this happened. :(
I’m a huge Edberg fan. Edberg started overtaking Lendl, around late-90, and even in ‘91. ‘91 was probably Edberg’s finest year on tour. Here, though, Lendl may have beaten Edberg.
For a Tennis lover who has intellect, knowledge and sense of the game's history, this is the toughest, most competitive era ever in the history of Tennis. Federer, Novak, Nadal era is laughably week.
@ Denis Hofmeister. It is hard to determine the best men's singles match of the 1980's because obviously there were so many great matches back then. Lendl-Becker 1986 Benson and Hedges Final at Wembley Stadium, McEnroe-Lendl 1984 French Open final, Lendl-Cash 1984 U.S. Open semifinal (although a slightly overrated match because of Pat Cash's somewhat sloppy play in the early stages of that match when he at times over hit the ball making errors), Borg-McEnroe 1980 Wimbledon final, Lendl-Wilander 1988 U.S. Open final, 1980 McEnroe -Connors U.S. Open semifinal, Borg -Connors 1981 Wimbledon semifinal (when Borg came back from 2 sets to love down to win in 5 sets) , etc. I think probably the best men's singles match of the 1980's was the 1984 U.S.Open semifinal between Connors and McEnroe because the quality of play from both players lasted through all 5 sets. Both played superbly in that 5-set classic. All that match lacked was a dramatic finish to the 5th set. McEnroe got the early break of serve and rode out that break of serve to the end of the set to win the match.
Thanks for this great great upload by Lendltennis. A truly great piece of tennis history, love the music and Wilander's, Becker's and Lendl's commentary
A pleasure to see this game again, even if it is a brief summary. What variety of shots! Flat, slices, topspin shots... What spectacular! What a show of tennis! Becker's volley with those stretched out at the net, like a soccer goalkeeper, his surprising improvement in his baseline game that an already mature Boris guessed from tennis, too bad he didn't have continuity for more years ... Ivan's passing balloon, one of his specialties (this should be the only purpose of this shot, not to bore the rival), those passings with side effect (banana shots) that Nadal popularizes today, but with better rackets and strings ...
No one did. It was dead even upto that point (Becker had won 1 more point), it was cruel but Becker had lost the 1985 and 1986 finals to Lendl and maybe some luck was required. It went Beckers way this time
On my Birthday wow!! Crazy I just Noticed it wow. I was born 4 Years after this Match without Question One of If the Greatest Finish in ATP Finals History!!!
Ive ALWAYS liked Boris Becker, the HUMAN BEING...there is something fundamentally decent about who he is, that Ive always liked. So, it was sorta tough watching him be punished for fraud. I hope he can put his life back on the rails, when he gets out. Their matches were always a spectacle, because they had a similar style of play, but for the fact that Boris played the net a bit more than Ivan. They changed the game...and they were 'power pioneers'. Before them, guys didnt strike the ball as hard as they did.
El gran Ivan. Mi modelo de jugador de tenis en los 80. Había muchos y muy buenos, pero Ivan era para mí la vanguardia. El jugador casi perfecto. Gran saque, gran drive, gran reves (reves a una mano... odio el reves a dos manos). Gran jugador de fondo y sobre todo la personalidad. Enfrentar a Ivan en los 80 era como tener en frente a Terminator. Y Terminator no te perdonaba la vida nunca.
Recuerdo tan bien ese partido, con voladas de becker,con puntazos de lendl y un rallie final... De infarto...primera vez que veía el cable en chile...grandes ambos...ídolo boom boom...por siempre
Un des plus beaux matchs que j ai pu voir. Lendl était dans son jardin . En 1987 il avait démoli Wilander. La balle de match est légendaire et j étais dévasté, mais Becker avait été monstrueux aussi. Les deux ont d'ailleurs eu chacun un autre grand match: Lendl contre Gerulaitis en 1982 et Becker contre Sampras.
The 1988 Masters Final at MSG in NY was a classic match that ended with a 35-shot rally that Becker won on a netcord winner that just fell over the net on Lendl's side of the court.
Actually I think it was a 37-shot rally on which the 1988 Masters' Final between Lendl and Becker ended with Becker winning the point on a net cord winner.
I do remenber that match point well very well, because I was on my way to my military service and was listening to the radio, what made a live transmission of the match point.
5 - 6 down in fifth, Lendl serving for the match, 30 - 30 and Becker played two points thats for me its Boris finest moments. First a massive forehand to give him the breakpoint, and then on the breakpoint a backhand with the finest touch and feel a bit on his backfoot placed on two lines.
Absolutely. Not just that, he repeated the same forehand at 5-5 in the 5th set breaker. Still the match was incredibly close. At the end Becker won by + 2 points. They were dead even at 5 all. As a Becker fan I was both thrilled Boris won but felt gutted for Ivan after the net cord. This was one of their matches where both were friendly to each other in the post match handshake. I think it was because it was so close. Anyone could have won this and both knew that.
Cliff Drysdale in the booth, along with probably Fred Stolle... and what a picture quality! The question is whether the full recording of this match in this picture quality exists anywhere...
@ yay nay. There was a tennis video business years ago on the internet that sold DVDs of the great singles tennis matches from the 1970's -1990's (and possibly the 2000's). I don't know if that tennis video business is still in business or not. I don't remember the name of it.
Borg made lendl great. Lendl made becker and Sampras great. Sampras made Federer great. Federer made Nadal and Djokovic great. Champions feed of each other. It's amazing.!!!!.
It is interesting that regarding the last point in the 1988 Masters Final between Lendl and Becker, if you include the serve and return-of-serve, the point lasted 37 hits of the tennis ball, but if you start counting after the return-of-serve, the point (or more accurately, the rally) lasted 35 hits of the ball.
Annoys me how wilander describes lendl as the real no.1at the time. Mats you just won 3 out of 4 grand slams and beat lendl to US Open title. Give yourself some credit man.
The 1988 Masters Final between Lendl and Becker was probably their best match against each other in their rivalry. It was a tremendously close and exciting match to watch! But Becker after winning match point in the 5th set tiebreaker (which was a tremendously long 37- shot, baseline rally) did the idiotically stupid and exceedingly dangerous thing of flinging his racket full force up into the stands! Thank God no one was injured when he did that! He is damned lucky that no one was hurt when he did that foolish thing because if one or more people had been injured by his racket hitting them , he would have potentially faced a huge lawsuit filed by the injured person or persons.
Oh my god! He threw his racket into the crowd. How dangerous. Oh my god! That was dangerous! Oh my god. It was really dangerous! Did we mention it was dangerous to throw the racket into the crowd? Oh my god! Somebody could have been injured. Oh my god. It was so dangerous. Oh my ...
Sorry to say this but Djokovic and Murray are not in the same league. It would be an embarrassment for Lendl to be mentioned alongside Murray as Becker is to Djokovic
Respect to Wilander; humble & fair comment:’ even I was year end no.1, Lendl was the best player in the world .’
Yes Mats was always a humble person,also he was undoubtedly the best player of 1988-3 Slams,Miami(pretty much 5-sets GS tournament),Cincinnati.
Wilander was the best player at that moment even though he didn't make the finals of that event.
Becker defeated Wilander in three brutal sets with two breakers
Wilander was and is a true gentleman and sportsman
I like that also very much!
Watched Die Hard at the cinemas, then came home and watched this final. The perfect day.
James D That was the day.
@Dave Porter No, they were a few years later ;)
Love tales like this....imagine in the current world....what current movie would you love to see upon release and then go home and watch which current match/players/venue?The answer is a resounding ZERO no nope!Go on try....its not possible....and they played at Madison....the then ultimate indoor carpet tennis venue....We will never get those days again....The guys who lived it ...i hope they thoroughly enjoyed it....or perhaps quite sad now knowing how great it was and not hey living in these shitty times....lol....thats life i guess....
perfection indeed...I was 15 and was already a huge tennis fan, it was a great match, and the masters in those days was the most prestigious thing
lol
We were so blessed to have guys like this playing in the 80's . The BIG 3 today may have more grand slams but I enjoyed the style tennis better back in the 80's early 90's myself.
Those era of tennis are the best days of my life
there was so much more elegance in playing than today ...
Oh yeah. And so much more variety in the play. Don't get me wrong, the boys today can hit a topspin forehand like no one else... but I miss the days of contrasting styles so much.
1.43 a 17-years old Pete Sampras,he started kicking asses 2 years later and he won his first ATP Final in 1991.
I can never stop loving Becker to this day. He was a few years older than me and back in the 80s he just look super innocent yet strong and very determined, well mannered and confident. My entire family look up to him. After almost 40 years we still love him dearly. We still don't forget his "Boris dive" and the ugly serving positions he always had despite the strong serve. Forever Boris !!
I hope he gets out of jail and overcomes the issues he has.
how sweet what you said about him. I share your view.
The 6 Best carpet court players in open era are
1.John McEnroe=8
2.Pete Sampras=7
3. Ivan lendl=7
4.Boris Becker=5
5. Bjorn Borg=3
6.Jimmy Connors=3
The 10 best grass court players in open era are based on grass court major titles are
1.Roger Federer=8
2.Pete Sampras=7
3.Novak Djokovic=7
4. Bjorn Borg=5
5. Rod Laver=4
6.Jimmy Connors=4
7.Stephan Edberg=4
8. John McEnroe=3
9. Boris Becker=3
10. Rafael Nadal=2 in open era.
13 greatest players in open era are
1.Novak Djokovic
2. Rafael Nadal
3.Roger Federer
4. Pete Sampras
5. Rod Laver
6. Bjorn Borg
7. Andre Agassi
8. Jimmy Connors
9. Ivan lendl
10.John McEnroe
11. Mats Wilander
12. Boris Becker
13. Stephan Edberg.
This was a very underrated match. One of the best I ever witnessed. Fantastic shotmaking.
There were many incredible baseline rallies. Lendl returned superbly and forced Becker to rally from the back but he was equal to the task. His backhand had improved significantly since 1986 and was especially effective.
Becker v Sampras matches were so good to watch. That was also a great rivalry.
What a match, what a matchpoint. Probably the most dramatic matchpoint ever.
These are GIANTS in the game of tennis!!!
Two true Champions that could compete with today's players!
Not on your life. I understand that you respect Boris and Ivan, but let's not get silly.
@@lesliesmith1797 All the great baseliners back then - Borg, Connors, Wilander, Lendl and Agassi would do as well today as they did back then (I saw every one of them).
@@lesliesmith1797 You are less of logic all the Best tenismens from 70, 80 and 90 with theiar talent having today tehnology of training ,diet , rokets , and pharmaceutical and medical care wod bit Federer Nadal or Djokovic , dont forget Nadal have medical permision to take medicines ho have doping like both Williams sisters or in gimnastics ather american girl Biles , best in this time bicose ofcorse of doping but for amerlocs is normal for Rusia is bad they are baned .
Ken Arthur, if you think about it Lendl and Borg truly laid the blueprint for the modern power baseline game. Becker's baseline game was not in their league but he was no slouch from the back and the fact he went toe to toe against Pete (who is in the crowd 😉) in 1996 hannover proved just how well his game held up almost a decade later.
Not to forget he beat Lendl primarily from the baseline in the 1991 AO final on a medium slow hardcourt.
@@lesliesmith1797 Make today's players go into a time machine and play with the raquets of their choice from 1988 against these 2 freaking MONSTERS. Don't blame the ones who had it harder. It would be interesting. And don't forget about the notion of "standing on the shoulders of giants."
this is one of the Top 3 matches i've seen, ever. I remember it vividly. I've seen a lot of matches from 1980ish to present day, and this one is right at the top. The level of play, closeness of the match, precision of shot, and fight was insane! This ranks right up there with Borg vs Mac 1980 Wimbledon; Rafa vs Fed 2008 Wimbledon Final; Fed vs Djokovic Wimbledon final 2019; Verdasco vs Nadal Australian Open 5 set marathon. Those are the ones that come to mind. This one is right up there!
You missed Sampras-Becker 1996 Masters final.
Sampras vs Becker 1996 Masters Final!
@@totowolffofficial (!!!!!!!!)
Courier - Bruguera 1993 RG Final is up there as well. But agree on your list when you also add the 1996 masters final mentioned below
If Boris Becker would have seriousness,hard work and commitment of Ivan Lendl he would have won 12 to 14 grandslam titles instead of six grandslams and would have won many more grand prix tournaments for his talent and exuberance.
Lendl looks very pleased to be asked about this match, even though he lost. It's great to have a place in history and become immortal even in defeat.
Belo pensamento.
Ivan is one of the pioneers of power and finesse Tennis! His footwork is so graceful..
My first favourite tennis player during my childhood when I just started following tennis. But only after seeing the comments I am able to understand how good he was. Hail hero Lendl ❤️❤️
Two of the greats in the greatest era
dmkappa62 nadal, djokovic and Federer is the greatest era
@@kantrivalli7859 Today's era is laughably weak compared to what these guys did.
@@fundhund62 they were great. That is correct. But at the age of the big three, Becker and Lendl were almost retired.
@@fundhund62 behave
Absolutely, Darren
The best era
Also
Include McEnroe, Connors and Borg
both great players
One of my all time favourite sports star...Ivan Lendl... I likes Becker too...but never when he won against Lendl 🤣🤣
Ivan lendl set the model of the modern player. perfect fitness and no weaknesses. the terminator of tennis as brad gilbert calls him in his best seller book.
Also boring as hell; he is forgettable, like Djokovic will be as soon as he retires.
Conan Lynch djokovic>Federer
@Joe M He's already unforgettable, with his outstanding accomplishments.
@@conanlynch451 LOL< yeah forgettable, thats why they are talking about him right now
@@conanlynch451 ..LOL.. forgettable comment..😂
Boris had a great serve that helped him out. I have read an article long time ago that he and slobadan zivojinovoc (another fast server) had been directed by Ian tiriac their Manager to cut trees in forest to get their shoulder speed and power in to the arms giving rthem best of serves. Loved him as he was one of those rare who could give sampras a run on best of his days. But truly great drama and epic to watch becker play
One of the underrated shots that Becker possessed at that time at that time was the ability to take the cross court shot to his backhand and straighten it out down the line it would always throw players off because Becker held the ball on his racquet for a millisecond and would drive it down the line which most times would send weaken return back to the open court for him to put away a forehand. That was one of his go to shots. Lendl would also often push you wider and wider with his inside out forehand moving you further cross court and then rip it down the line. So it was basically the same thing as Becker only in reverse.
Epic match! This video is a wonderful history class for tennis fans who never witnessed 1980s tennis and those court-level footages are gold. Thank you.
Great Tennis. Big Respect to both Players. And i love their One Hand Back Hand style. 👏👏
Wonderful
Boris gave me tennis passion, thank you very much , you are still my idol
Boris had the best backhand of all time. He controlled it with the same quality as the forehand!
Becker was the player for me, still is and will remain. I started watching tennis bcoz of him
Lendl had the best groundstrokes in tennis history. He consistently hit the ball in the middle of a very difficult heavy and small racquet (80 sq in). His serve, return of serve, footwork and fitness were top notch. He could have won a few more slams had he changed his racquet earlier (at the end of 88 which was this match) and implemented a better net attack game to his arsenal. He is an under-appreciated champion and I definitely rank him higher than McEnroe, Connors, Wilander, Becker, Edberg and Agassi in the history books. The only players from his generation who were better than him were Borg and Sampras.
Lendl is definitely one of the 10 best players of all time.
Good arguments. Mac also was tops in dubs forever too though, that is quite a feat my brother. Nobody else even comes close. Sure you can say dubs was his "practice" and it was largely but that still doesn't mean he was going to be #1 in BOTH DISCIPLINES. That's fucking badass right thurrr.
Johnny Mac is sheer genius , always 2 strokes ahead of his adversary, would destroy everyone in his prime including fed
That’s no secret dude. He’s on everyone’s top ten list of all time. He won 144 titles.
Senthil Kumar You are wrong
Lendl was very accomplished at the net how do you think he did so well at Wimbledon???
The luckiest shot in tennis history... hard to digest as a Lendl fan! p.s. That Adidas red shirt is the best tennis outfit ever!
Yeah that was one of my favorite and I also love the early Lendl argyle shirts I actually had one and the matching vest also lol
Lady Luck is unbiased. She giveth and she taketh away!
some months later he was down match point at the US Open but got save by a let cord and won the match...and the tournament.
Ivan Lendl have 8 major titles and 5 atp finals titles in open era actually he is bigger tennis player than Boris Becker as he was world no 1 for 270 weeks more than Jimmy Connors bro
Sad he never won Wimbledon title but he reached Wimbledon finals twice in 1986 and 1987 but Boris Becker never reached French open finals in his life
Great memories comes to my mind
La plus intense finale de l histoire des Masters entre les deux meilleurs joueurs sur dur et moquette de cette fin de décennie 80 ,avant l apparition de Sampras ,la confirmation d Edberg....
I was a die hard fan of Ivan... this match was a nightmare to me... 😢
Same here. But the US open finals loses to Becker and Wilander were worse. Oh, and his loss to Edberg in 5 sets, having beaten Becker in 5 sets. A fresh Lendl would have taken Edberg there.
Same and same!! Die hard fan and that netcoord was a nightmare. First, there was the netcoord that saved Becker at Wimbledon where he dove and Ivan's passing shot hit net and Becker hit the winning shot from the ground. Then this happened. :(
I’m a huge Edberg fan. Edberg started overtaking Lendl, around late-90, and even in ‘91. ‘91 was probably Edberg’s finest year on tour. Here, though, Lendl may have beaten Edberg.
I feel the same. But a good thing is Ivan leads 11 to 10 against Becker forever :)
Great match. Boris was my all-time favourite
Boris is a class act through and through. Loved watching this guy battle for every point. One of my favorites growing up.
Right. He was a fighter. Never give up any ball. And a charismatic player. Not like the weary player's of the present time.....
For a Tennis lover who has intellect, knowledge and sense of the game's history, this is the toughest, most competitive era ever in the history of Tennis. Federer, Novak, Nadal era is laughably week.
Was für ein episches Finale. Ich schreibe nur, Danke Boris Becker und Danke Ivan Lendl..
Greatest match point ive seen yet!!! WOW!
What a Match!!! Maybe the best in the 80s
1987 Davis cup McEnroe vs Becker better
@ Denis Hofmeister. It is hard to determine the best men's singles match of the 1980's because obviously there were so many great matches back then. Lendl-Becker 1986 Benson and Hedges Final at Wembley Stadium, McEnroe-Lendl 1984 French Open final, Lendl-Cash 1984 U.S. Open semifinal (although a slightly overrated match because of Pat Cash's somewhat sloppy play in the early stages of that match when he at times over hit the ball making errors), Borg-McEnroe 1980 Wimbledon final, Lendl-Wilander 1988 U.S. Open final, 1980 McEnroe -Connors U.S. Open semifinal, Borg -Connors 1981 Wimbledon semifinal (when Borg came back from 2 sets to love down to win in 5 sets) , etc. I think probably the best men's singles match of the 1980's was the 1984 U.S.Open semifinal between Connors and McEnroe because the quality of play from both players lasted through all 5 sets. Both played superbly in that 5-set classic. All that match lacked was a dramatic finish to the 5th set. McEnroe got the early break of serve and rode out that break of serve to the end of the set to win the match.
@ Denis Hoffmeister. I misspelled your last name at the beginning of my above-posted response comment. Sorry about the misspelling.
Thanks for this great great upload by Lendltennis. A truly great piece of tennis history, love the music and Wilander's, Becker's and Lendl's commentary
Check out a young Pete Sampras sitting in the stands at 1:43.......
He was Lendl sparring.
Holy shit you must be eagle eye that is young pete!
Great eye you have!
Wht an obeservation 👏👏👏
great call
Masya Allah. Becker and Lendl are two legends tennis player with two styles different. Really, They played powerful and work hard.
A pleasure to see this game again, even if it is a brief summary.
What variety of shots! Flat, slices, topspin shots...
What spectacular! What a show of tennis!
Becker's volley with those stretched out at the net, like a soccer goalkeeper, his surprising improvement in his baseline game that an already mature Boris guessed from tennis, too bad he didn't have continuity for more years ...
Ivan's passing balloon, one of his specialties (this should be the only purpose of this shot, not to bore the rival), those passings with side effect (banana shots) that Nadal popularizes today, but with better rackets and strings ...
Poor Ivan didn’t deserve that net on the match point
Deserves got nothing to do with it!
No one did. It was dead even upto that point (Becker had won 1 more point), it was cruel but Becker had lost the 1985 and 1986 finals to Lendl and maybe some luck was required. It went Beckers way this time
the best game...the best final point ever
On my Birthday wow!! Crazy I just Noticed it wow. I was born 4 Years after this Match without Question One of If the Greatest Finish in ATP Finals History!!!
Immense Boris 😍
Nothing compares to the '82 Wimbledon final with McEnroe and Conner's. Now that was epic tennis.
This was a great tournament.
I love ❤️ Boris Becker and Steffi Graf. 🇩🇪🏆💕
Ive ALWAYS liked Boris Becker, the HUMAN BEING...there is something fundamentally decent about who he is, that Ive always liked. So, it was sorta tough watching him be punished for fraud. I hope he can put his life back on the rails, when he gets out. Their matches were always a spectacle, because they had a similar style of play, but for the fact that Boris played the net a bit more than Ivan. They changed the game...and they were 'power pioneers'. Before them, guys didnt strike the ball as hard as they did.
People get old. Legends live forever.
El gran Ivan. Mi modelo de jugador de tenis en los 80. Había muchos y muy buenos, pero Ivan era para mí la vanguardia. El jugador casi perfecto. Gran saque, gran drive, gran reves (reves a una mano... odio el reves a dos manos). Gran jugador de fondo y sobre todo la personalidad. Enfrentar a Ivan en los 80 era como tener en frente a Terminator. Y Terminator no te perdonaba la vida nunca.
Ivan is such a nice person, excellent coach now and a legend on and off the court. Becker won by his heart...
one of the greatest match ever played
Recuerdo tan bien ese partido, con voladas de becker,con puntazos de lendl y un rallie final... De infarto...primera vez que veía el cable en chile...grandes ambos...ídolo boom boom...por siempre
The golden times of tennis. Lendl, Edberg, Becker, Wilander...
Many players then were equally good - Lendl , Wilander , Chang , Becker , Agassi , Courier , Sampras and now we have only 3 - Fed , Nadal and Djokovic
Un des plus beaux matchs que j ai pu voir. Lendl était dans son jardin . En 1987 il avait démoli Wilander. La balle de match est légendaire et j étais dévasté, mais Becker avait été monstrueux aussi. Les deux ont d'ailleurs eu chacun un autre grand match: Lendl contre Gerulaitis en 1982 et Becker contre Sampras.
I don't know of any tennis player who regularly brought as much tension into the games as Boris Becker. It doesn't matter whether he won or lost.
I remember watching this match!
What a match!
Such was the intensity
World class video editing here
The 1988 Masters Final at MSG in NY was a classic match that ended with a 35-shot rally that Becker won on a netcord winner that just fell over the net on Lendl's side of the court.
Actually I think it was a 37-shot rally on which the 1988 Masters' Final between Lendl and Becker ended with Becker winning the point on a net cord winner.
Press pause at 1:43 to see a young Pete Sampras in the crowd. Look closely. He trained with Lendl for this event and sat with his wife.
Nice eye. And thanks for the post.
Those were the days!!!
One of the few times "epic" was used properly.
What was it about the 80s that produced so many Legends in Sports, Music, Movies, Entertainment around the World?
I do remenber that match point well very well, because I was on my way to my military service and was listening to the radio, what made a live transmission of the match point.
lol me too but i was younger
Back when Tennis was played with style. No ugly and unfair "double handed" stuff. Only technique and art.
5 - 6 down in fifth, Lendl serving for the match, 30 - 30 and Becker played two points thats for me its Boris finest moments. First a massive forehand to give him the breakpoint, and then on the breakpoint a backhand with the finest touch and feel a bit on his backfoot placed on two lines.
Absolutely. Not just that, he repeated the same forehand at 5-5 in the 5th set breaker. Still the match was incredibly close. At the end Becker won by + 2 points. They were dead even at 5 all. As a Becker fan I was both thrilled Boris won but felt gutted for Ivan after the net cord. This was one of their matches where both were friendly to each other in the post match handshake. I think it was because it was so close. Anyone could have won this and both knew that.
Cliff Drysdale in the booth, along with probably Fred Stolle... and what a picture quality!
The question is whether the full recording of this match in this picture quality exists anywhere...
@ yay nay. There was a tennis video business years ago on the internet that sold DVDs of the great singles tennis matches from the 1970's -1990's (and possibly the 2000's). I don't know if that tennis video business is still in business or not. I don't remember the name of it.
Lendl the Darth Vader of tennis. 10 finals in Master Cup Finals.
Great match
Mats Wilander is by far the best human being ever walking on a Tennis Court
Borg made lendl great. Lendl made becker and Sampras great. Sampras made Federer great. Federer made Nadal and Djokovic great. Champions feed of each other. It's amazing.!!!!.
Rafael Nadal never won atp finals title though he got a chance in 2006,2007,
2010,2013,2015 and 2020 lost to Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Oh love you so much Boris iam so sorry to know that you are in jail for two years it breaks my heart Boris
Boris Becker beat Lendl in most important finals : Wimbledon 1986, US Open 1989 and Australian Open 1991
It is interesting that regarding the last point in the 1988 Masters Final between Lendl and Becker, if you include the serve and return-of-serve, the point lasted 37 hits of the tennis ball, but if you start counting after the return-of-serve, the point (or more accurately, the rally) lasted 35 hits of the ball.
1:46 2:22 4:14 Becker winning with a little bit of luck with an unplayable let cord or net cord makes it somewhat less painful for Lendl fans.
@1:43 ..great Scott.. it's Michael J. Fox.. sitting in the row with Sampras
Boris Becker bekant Tanis spiler in Germany and good mansch good vater Number 1 in Germany ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Two Giants
Sólo quienes vivimos ese partido podemos entenderlo...
Lindo!
Grande boris....che partita
Annoys me how wilander describes lendl as the real no.1at the time. Mats you just won 3 out of 4 grand slams and beat lendl to US Open title. Give yourself some credit man.
yeah, thats Mats :)
Humility is a virtue. You skipped Sunday school I guess.
Wilander was the lowest profile Great ! Humble man. Respect !
I adored Lendl
Episch!
Balle de match mythique
Giants in the best era of tennis...
The 1988 Masters Final between Lendl and Becker was probably their best match against each other in their rivalry. It was a tremendously close and exciting match to watch! But Becker after winning match point in the 5th set tiebreaker (which was a tremendously long 37- shot, baseline rally) did the idiotically stupid and exceedingly dangerous thing of flinging his racket full force up into the stands! Thank God no one was injured when he did that! He is damned lucky that no one was hurt when he did that foolish thing because if one or more people had been injured by his racket hitting them , he would have potentially faced a huge lawsuit filed by the injured person or persons.
Oh my god! He threw his racket into the crowd. How dangerous. Oh my god! That was dangerous! Oh my god. It was really dangerous! Did we mention it was dangerous to throw the racket into the crowd? Oh my god! Somebody could have been injured. Oh my god. It was so dangerous. Oh my ...
Boom boom 💥
It’s funny that 2 rivals, coach 2 rivals! Becker was coaching Djokovic. And Lendl coached Murray!
Sorry to say this but Djokovic and Murray are not in the same league. It would be an embarrassment for Lendl to be mentioned alongside Murray as Becker is to Djokovic
@@justbeyourself8515 i disagree. Lendl was almost retired at Djkovic current age.
@@justbeyourself8515 Andy Murray was a great player. Won his share of Grand Slams and 2 Olympic golds.
Becker could bring the heat
Top Duell Becker_ Lendel 👍👍
Mats wilander didn't age, but Lendl and Becker changed a lot...
I liked that shirt from Boris...
👍👍👍
The pace of tennis very slow compare to our current matches....but they were legend of 80s