"I got bad calls every match, never got an apology" - When Ivan Lendl spoke on jokingly calling US Open to receive Serena Williams-like apology
Ivan Lendl once said that he never received an apology despite getting bad calls "every match".
The Czech American attended the 2005 US Open and spoke to the media. He was asked about the time when he called the tournament to get an apology for bad calls he received after Serena Williams received an apology for a call against her during her US Open 2004 quarterfinal against Jennifer Capriati.
Lendl said that while he was kidding by calling the US Open, he found the "apology" thing very strange as he never received anything like that despite facing bad calls in all of his matches.
"Yeah, that is a true story. I was kidding, yes. But I found it very strange. I got bad calls every match, and I never got an apology. So I thought it was rather strange," Ivan Lendl said.
Lendl said that he called then-tournament director Jim Curley since the latter did not laugh too much.
"Oh, I called Jim Curley just to bust his chops a little bit. I figured he just works too hard, doesn't laugh very much during these weeks, so I figured I'd give him something to chuckle about," he said.
Ivan Lendl won three US Open titles throughout his career
Ivan Lendl enjoyed a lot of success at the US Open throughout his career, winning 73 out of 86 matches with three titles to his name. The Czech-American's win percentage of 84.89% at the New York Major is higher than that at any Grand Slam for him.
Lendl's first title at Flushing Meadows came in 1985 when he entered the tournament after losing three successive finals. Seeded second, he reached the final following wins over Jay Lapidus, Bill Scanlon, Horacio de la Pena, Jaime Yzaga, Yannick Noah and Jimmy Connors. Here, he beat then-World No. 1 John McEnroe 7-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Lendl successfully defended his title in 1986 by beating Miloslav Mecir 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 in the final. He had another successful title defense in 1987 when he booked his place in the championship match following wins over Barry Moir, Jean-Philippe Fleurian, Jim Pugh, Anders Jarryd, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors. Here, Ivan Lendl came back from a set down to beat Mats Wilander 6-7(7), 6-0, 7-6(4), 6-4.
The Czech-American then suffered two successive final losses in New York to Mats Wilander in 1988 and Boris Becker in 1989. His last professional appearance came at the 1994 US Open. Lendl reached the second round of the tournament where he was beaten by eventual quarterfinalist Bernd Karbacher.