Becker vs Lendl - a refreshing twist to their rivalry
“Sports is like a war without the killing” – Ted Turner.
It was the year 1988. Der Bomber looked across at his target, who was swaying from side to side, knowing that the barrage was coming. As Der Bomber readied his weapon, his opponent braced himself to quell the attack. Der Bomber then rocked back, tossed up the yellow grenade and unleashed his fury. His opponent could only watch in vain as the spherical missile eluded his desperate lunge, barely kissing his shield of defence. Der Bomber had managed to breach the fortress of his enemy, but was well-aware that the tussle was not yet over, wary that his opponent would not go down without a fight.
Boris Becker was nicknamed “Der Bomber” for his booming serves
Der Bomber was Boris Becker; his opponent was Ivan Lendl, the yellow ammunition being a tennis ball. Ironically, the weapon and the shield were the same piece of equipment – a tennis racket. The battle was for the ATP World Tour Finals crown, a prized possession in Lendl’s trophy cabinet for the last three years, the battlefield being the indoor carpet courts of Madison Square Garden, New York.
In an epic topsy-turvy battle between two of the world’s best players, Boris Becker triumphed over Ivan Lendl 5-7, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 to capture the Nabisco Masters (or the ATP World Tour Finals) title, in a marathon match that had a cruel anti-climactic finish at match point, when Becker’s backhand slice barely bounced off a net cord and managed to land onto Lendl’s side of the court.
This was just one instalment of one of tennis’ most fascinating rivalries, in which Becker and Lendl faced off 21 times on the court, with the latter winning 11 of those ties.
One fact sums up the intensity of their rivalry on court – Only eight matches were won in straight sets, implying that 14 of their 21 matches featured a deciding set. Four of their five face-offs in Grand Slam matches went to a fourth or fifth set, of which three were Grand Slam finals with Becker winning all three.
Ivan Lendl – credited for ushering in the modern era of tennis
Becker’s game and Lendl’s were quite the opposite. Becker possessed an incredibly fast and accurate serve; his net play was exquisite and his athleticism belied his 6 ft 3 inch frame. His serve-and-volley game was tailor-made for the grass of Wimbledon, where he won 3 titles. But his game couldn’t fetch him laurels on a clay court, his best appearance at Roland Garros being the semifinals on three different occasions. Lendl, on the other hand, had an inconsistent serve and didn’t possess the finesse when it came to volleying. He was more of a baseliner, one of the pioneers who heralded the era of “power tennis.” Lack of a good serve and a subtle touch at the net made it difficult for him on grass and he ended his career without a Wimbledon title, losing to Becker twice in the final.
Fast-forward to 2013 and the two are set to square-off anew, this time on the sidelines as Boris Becker was unveiled as the new coach of World No.2 Novak Djokovic on 18th December 2013, a move that draws parallels with Andy Murray appointing Ivan Lendl as his coach two years ago.
The year 2013 was not a flop for the Djoker, but there were some missed opportunities as he captured only one Grand Slam and relinquished the No.1 ranking to Rafael Nadal. The year also witnessed the phoenix-like resurgence of Nadal from his knee troubles, as he captured the French Open and the US Open, proving his naysayers wrong along the way.