Tennis / Thomas Bonk : Lendl Thrives in Pressure Situations Now

There was a time when Ivan Lendl was one of the most fragile players in the top 10. He would often crack when pressure was applied, as he did at the 1983 U.S. Open, when he lost in 4 sets to Jimmy Connors. The last set: 6-0.

Those days are long gone for Lendl, who now may play better under adversity than anyone else on the Grand Prix tour. The trend began in 1984, when he came from 2 sets down to defeat John McEnroe in the French Open final.

Lendl admits that he plays better now when things are going badly than he used to.

“I think I got used to it a little more,” he said. “I think I’m at peace a little more with myself, even though it looks otherwise sometimes. Sometimes I’m a little too hard and expect every shot to be perfect.

“And when it comes down to it, I think I can concentrate better, relax a bit and not get too upset.”

Lendl perhaps has never shown the tenacity he has during his comeback from arthroscopic shoulder surgery on his right shoulder 2 weeks after he lost a 5-set classic to Mats Wilander in the U. S. Open final.

Lendl took about 6 weeks off, lost 3 exhibitions, lost his first match at the Nabisco Masters, then lost the first set of his second match before he turned himself around.

He came back to defeat Andre Agassi in 3 sets, beat Tim Mayotte in 3 more and downed Stefan Edberg in straight sets to reach the final. Thus, even though he lost to Boris Becker in a 5-set marathon, which featured some excruciatingly painful tennis in the early going, Lendl acquitted himself very well in the season-ending tournament.

The end of the 1988 season was welcomed by Lendl, who said that a Masters victory would not have salvaged a disappointing year anyway. For the first time in 5 years--since that victory against McEnroe in the French--he failed to win a Grand Slam event. Lendl lost to Pat Cash in the semis at the Australian, to Jonas B. Svensson in the quarterfinals at the French, to Becker in the semis at Wimbledon and then to Wilander in the Open final.

With the loss to Wilander, Lendl also lost his No. 1 ranking. Then came the shoulder surgery, followed by some serious soul-searching. Coming back from losing matches is one thing, but coming back from an operation is quite another, Lendl said.

“Deep inside, you know you’re going to come back,” he said. “On the other hand, every athlete who is making a comeback knows he’s going to come back, but worries about it.

“I worry about it every time after Wimbledon when I take a couple of weeks off, going from grass to hardcourt. And I can’t hit a ball in the court for 2 weeks. I know I’m going to play well by the U. S. Open, but I still worry. That’s been going on for 10 years.

“It was like that after the shoulder surgery. You have to be patient. I’m not the most patient person you’ve ever met. It’s extremely hard.”

For anyone who thought Becker would never be able to win a 5-set match with points that last longer than a serve, a return and a volley, the Masters was evidence that he can indeed.

Not only did Becker’s victory over Lendl take 4 hours 43 minutes and not only did it take 5 sets, but it seemed appropriate that match point was made on a shot from the baseline after a long, long, (37-shots) rally.

Becker finished 1988 with 7 singles titles and, by no coincidence, a new attitude toward shot selection.

“I think that I have more to my game than I had a few years ago,” Becker said. “A couple of years ago, I had to make the winner within the first 3 or 4 shots. Now, it’s almost as if I’m waiting for (his opponent) to make a mistake.

“That hasn’t happened very often in my case, but it has happened now within the last couple of months. . . . That has helped me to play more shots against more players.”

If Martina Navratilova fulfills her goal of bumping Steffi Graf out of the No. 1 spot, she will do it with a new coach whose name is hardly as big as his task.

Craig Karden, 27, following in the tennis shoes of Renee Richards, Mike Estep and Tim Gullikson, said the most important thing he will do for the No. 2 player in the world is to keep her mentally sharp.

“As long as Martina is prepared, she’ll be fine,” Karden said. “She’s such a dominant factor. Just being who she is, she wins a lot of her matches. She’s just as strong as she ever has been and I don’t think she’s lost anything.

“She’s kept herself in such good physical shape, that’s why she’s stayed on and been so competitive for so long. And I think she’ll continue to be so. It’s all mental, for sure.”

Karden, a former University of Texas doubles specialist, has coached before, although not anyone of Navratilova’s standing. But he said there is no pressure on him.

“Whatever happens, Martina deserves the credit,” Karden said. “She’s been with so many different people. All I’m going to try to do is keep her fine-tuned.”

Karden was once ranked 250th in the world in singles in 1986, but quit playing after 1987 to work at a tennis club in Dallas. He met Navratilova and Gullikson when they came to practice. Only last month, Gullikson said he could no longer coach Navratilova because he didn’t want to travel so much.

Navratilova’s first tournament of 1989 is at Sydney, followed by the Australian Open, the first of the 4 Grand Slam events, which last year were all won by Graf. Navratilova, who won 9 tournaments and had a 70-7 record, finished second to Graf in the rankings as well as prize money.

Graf, who won 11 singles titles, was 72-3 and has been ranked No. 1 since Aug. 16, 1987. She also was the money champion for 1988 with $1,378,128. Navratilova won $1,333,782.

“We’re going to make it so she’s No. 1 again,” Karden said. “She wants to play Steffi more than anything in the world, but mainly, she also wants to win that No. 9 Wimbledon.”

Karden said that each of his predecessors offered Navratilova what she needed at the time, but singled out Estep as being the most effective.

“He helped her the most, probably getting her to do the things to be No. 1,” Karden said. “She needed a system. She needed guidance. And Mike gave her that. (Gullikson) helped her with a few technical aspects of her game, but maybe didn’t work her as hard as she should have been worked.”

Karden’s approach to Navratilova: “She needs to be pushed.”

Tennis Notes

Chris Evert is the first player entered in the $250,000 Virginia Slims of Indian Wells, March 6-12 at Hyatt Grand Champions. The first-year event, the first women’s tournament in the Palm Springs area since 1983, will have only a 28-player singles draw. . . . Mats Wilander, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, who won the 1988 Australian, French and U.S. Opens, was named player of the year by the Assn. of Tennis Professionals. Andre Agassi, who won 6 tournaments and rose from No. 25 to No. 3 in the rankings, was named most improved player. Michael Chang was named the top newcomer and Sweden’s Kent Carlsson was honored as comeback player of the year. Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez of Spain were chosen doubles team of the year. They won eight titles in 1988, including the U.S. Open.

Now that John McEnroe is losing his $1.5-million contract with Dunlop, the British racket firm is looking to replace him with Agassi. Dunlop has already opened negotiations with Agassi. “We need to look to the future and Agassi will be a big star for years to come,” said a company spokesman. Dunlop, whose agreement with McEnroe expires at the end of the year, refused to meet his terms. “Although John has given Dunlop great service over the years and helped sell our rackets, he’s got an inflated value of his own worth now,” a company spokesman said. “The minuses of being associated with him outweigh the pluses.”