Becker Flat Out Defeats Lendl for Wimbledon Title

Das boom.

Boris Becker lowered it once more.

The 18-year-old West German made it back-to-back Wimbledon titles, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivan Lendl, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5, Sunday for the 100th men’s singles title.

At this rate, Boom Boom Becker could own five Wimbledon championships by age 21.

The human U-boat brought his submarine strategy to the final again--when in doubt, dive. In the final game of the final set, Becker anticipated a passing shot, propelled himself at it, and, after the ball clipped the net and changed speed, backhanded a cross-court winner from his hand and knees.

Das boom.

Becker took the last two points, and the match was over. The boy wonder of 1985 had become a Wimbledon two-timer, a man of distinction.

The only time Becker looked excitable Sunday was when he tried to hold his golden trophy with one hand while accepting the Duchess of Kent’s hand with the other. He dropped the cup and the top came off. The kid literally flipped his lid.

“Your ambition must be to go on and win Wimbledon five times like Bjorn Borg,” the Duchess said.

“See you in three years, then,” Boris Becker said.

He actually was presented the trophy by Jean Borotra, 87, the oldest living men’s champion. Borotra was a dashing young Frenchman who used to don a black beret between games, during change-overs. He won Wimbledon in 1924 and 1926.

Borotra was decorated in World War I. In World War II, he was confined in a Gestapo war camp. When he tried to resume his Wimbledon career in 1946, he found himself blacklisted for his Vichy wartime activities. Under government pressure, Wimbledon officials refused his entry.

By 1964, though, at age 66, Borotra was still entering Wimbledon events. That should give Becker cheer. He should get older and could get better.

Is he the best? The best tennis player alive?

Not certifiably, not quite yet.

“You cannot say it after two weeks. You have to say it after one year,” Becker said, suggesting that everyone wait until the U.S. Open and other 1986 tour events are played. “On grass, maybe yes, I am the best. On other courts, you can just say I am one of the best.”

Lendl, ranked No. 1 in the world, had much the same thought. “You have to win on every surface, not only one. He won today--no question about it. He won for the second time in a row--no question about that, either. But I am still not prepared to give up the title, or whatever you want to call it. Now it depends on the U.S. Open. That will tip the scales.”

Lendl had won four of his five matches with Becker before Sunday. This one he lost in straight sets. A 4-1 advantage in the third set should have given Lendl enough leverage to extend his first Wimbledon final a bit longer, but Becker refused to let up.

It was the third time in the last four years that the men’s final was decided in straight sets. Only one of the last five has gone the full five sets--Jimmy Connors’ victory over John McEnroe in 1982.

“Winning Wimbledon this year was much more satisfying for me than last year,” Becker said. “Then, I was a nobody. This time I really proved that I can play well on grass, proved that I am a legitimate Wimbledon champion.”

Already, he has won more than $1 million playing tennis. He won 140,000 pounds (roughly $200,000) Sunday. A shoe company, a clothing company, a racket company, a soft-drink company, a bank have his endorsement--people are practically shoveling money at this teen dream. In Germany, he is paid by newspapers and magazines to give interviews.

Becker has made his fortune with his energetic play and his fireball serve. He hit 15 aces Sunday, and 106 in the tournament. One against Lendl came on the match’s opening point.

Serving dominated the action. Some would say serving was the action. Becker-Lendl would never be mistaken for an old-time Chris Evert match. Serves and volleys. Serves and volleys. Boom. Boom. Ground strokes were few and far between. A rally in this match was a returned serve.

Lendl threatened to handle Becker’s serve in the beginning. He had a break point in the first game, but failed to capitalize on it. But he did break Becker in the fifth game, and seemed to be on his way to good things.

Trouble is, Becker broke him right back. And he did it again in the final game of the first set. On set point, Becker’s volley was too gentle, but Lendl whacked a forehand a foot wide. Becker took the set, 6-4.

He promptly opened the second set with three straight aces. But once again, services were held almost routinely, right up until the eighth game of the second set, when Becker broke him again. Lendl slammed the ball away with his racket in disgust, and lost the next game at love. Becker, 6-3.

The Centre Court crowd, which included Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former men’s champions Don Budge and Fred Perry, singer Tina Turner and actress Faye Dunaway, began to twist and shout after that. It had been thought that the audience would be decidedly pro-Becker, but it turned out to be like a Becker ace--right down the middle. Lendl had his backers, and loud ones.

Revved up, he broke Becker quickly and took a 4-1 lead. Becker changed shirts, the officials brought out new tennis balls, and the course of the match changed just as quickly. Becker won the next three games, withstood a triple set point after Lendl went ahead, 5-4, and then broke Lendl once more.

With a 6-5 edge, Becker served for the match. He double-faulted and was passed, falling behind love-30. Lendl just missed a backhand to make it 15-30.

Then dropped the boom. Lendl hit a lovely forehand that streaked to Becker’s left. Becker saw it coming and lunged for it, horizontally. The ball tipped the net and dropped over.

“Suddenly the ball was not going behind my ears,” Becker said. “I saw it fall in front of me and went after it.”

On one hand and his knees, he slapped at it and hit a perfect cross-court winner.

Lendl was finished. Becker served out the match, then hopped up and down several times, his best vertical movement of the match.

The boy king had done it again. “Centre Court just seems to be my court,” Becker said.

Lendl cannot say the same. “Unless you win the tournament, you are going to wonder whether you can ever win it,” he said.

Asked what he thought of Becker, Lendl praised his play, but said: “I do not know him as a person. So I cannot describe him, because I probably would be very inaccurate. I do not know the man, the young man, the boy, whatever you want to call him. Call him champion, I guess.”

Once again.

Wimbledon Notes Women’s singles queen Martina Navratilova failed in her bid to become the sixth woman to take the triple crown in one tournament. She did win the women’s doubles with Pam Shriver, 6-1, 6-3, over Hana Mandlikova and Wendy Turnbull. But in mixed doubles, she and Heinz Guenhardt lost to Kathy Jordan and Ken Flach, 6-3, 7-6. . . . Mats Wilander and Joakim Nystrom won the men’s doubles, 7-6, 6-3, 6-3, over Peter Fleming and Gary Donnelly. Fleming did well, considering that he was without his usual partner, John McEnroe, with whom he won Wimbledon four times. “Maybe some of the lamer intellects in the world might realize that it wasn’t an entirely one-sided partnership,” the UCLA alumnus said.

Becker Lendl Aces 15 6 Double Faults 7 6 First Serve Pct. 53 52 Pct. First Serve Points Won 81 76 All Service Points Won 65 52 Advances to Net 76 70 Net Points Won 50 47 Unforced Errors 14 12 Total Points Won 94 85