Connors–Lendl rivalry

Jimmy Connors (World No1
8 Major singles
3 Year end championships

Ivan Lendl (World No1
8 Major singles
7 year end championships)

The Connors–Lendl rivalry was a tennis rivalry played between American Jimmy Connors and Czech-American Ivan Lendl, who met 35 times.^[1] Connors, who is 7 and a half years older than Lendl, won the first 8 matches, while Lendl won the last 17 and ended up leading the rivalry 22–13.

Lendl and Connors were both world number ones and both Grand Slam winners with each of them winning eight slam titles. At the Grand Slams they met seven times with Lendl winning the final four meetings with Connors winning the first three, of which the first two were finals. The rivalry between the two and McEnroe has been described as spikey.^[2]

The rivalry was first noted in the 1982 US Open final when Connors dared Lendl to drive the ball past him. Connors subsequently won the final in four sets. In the rematch in 1983, Connors was rushed to the locker room late in the second set before coming back out to defeat Lendl once again in four sets. The final match up between the two was also at the US Open, in 1992, Connors for a set and a half pushed Lendl before falling to his 17th defeat in 8 years to Lendl.^[3]

Head to head

Official matches (Lendl 22–13 Connors)

Legend (Lendl-Connors)
Grand Slams (4-3)
Masters (4-1)
WCT Finals (1-1)
Davis Cup (0-1)
ATP International Series (13-7)

Note: The ABD 1984 Rotterdam final does not officially count as a victory according to the ATP. Lendl was leading 6-0, 1-0, when the final was abandoned due to a bomb scare.

Year	Tournament	Surface	Round	Winner	Score
1979	Indianapolis	Clay	QF	Jimmy Connors	6–2, 7–6
1980	Memphis	Carpet	R16	Jimmy Connors	6–2, 6–3
1980	WCT Finals, Dallas	Carpet	SF	Jimmy Connors	6–4, 7–5, 6–3
1980	North Conway	Clay	SF	Jimmy Connors	6–4, 6–2
1980	Cincinnati, Cincinnati	Hard	QF	Jimmy Connors	6–2, 6–0
1980	Masters, New York City	Carpet	RR	Jimmy Connors	7–6, 6–1
1981	La Quinta	Hard	F	Jimmy Connors	6–3, 7–6
1981	Davis Cup Quarter-Final, New York City	Hard	QF	Jimmy Connors	7–5, 6–4
1982	Cincinnati	Hard	SF	Ivan Lendl	6–1, 6–1
1982	US Open	Hard	F	Jimmy Connors	6–3, 6–2, 4–6, 6–4
1982	Masters, New York City	Carpet	SF	Ivan Lendl	6–3, 6–1
1983	Queen's Club	Grass	SF	Jimmy Connors	6–0, 6–3
1983	Montreal	Hard	SF	Ivan Lendl	6–1, 6–3
1983	US Open	Hard	F	Jimmy Connors	6–3, 6–7, 7–5, 6–0
1983	Masters, New York City	Carpet	SF	Ivan Lendl	6–3, 6–4
1984	Rotterdam	Carpet	F	Ivan Lendl	6-0, 1-0 ABD
1984	Forest Hills	Clay	SF	Ivan Lendl	6–0, 6–0
1984	Wimbledon	Grass	SF	Jimmy Connors	6–7, 6–3, 7–5, 6–1
1984	Tokyo Indoor	Carpet	F	Jimmy Connors	6–4, 3–6, 6–0
1984	Wembley	Carpet	SF	Ivan Lendl	6–4, 6–2
1984	Masters, New York City	Carpet	SF	Ivan Lendl	7–5, 6–7, 7–5
1985	Fort Myers	Hard	F	Ivan Lendl	6–3, 6–2
1985	WCT Finals, Dallas	Carpet	SF	Ivan Lendl	6–3, 2–1 RET
1985	Roland Garros	Clay	SF	Ivan Lendl	6–2, 6–3, 6–1
1985	Stratton Mountain	Hard	SF	Ivan Lendl	6–0, 4–6, 6–4
1985	US Open	Hard	SF	Ivan Lendl	6–2, 6–3, 7–5
1986	Boca West	Hard	SF	Ivan Lendl	1–6, 6–1, 6–2, 2–6, 5–2 DEF
1986	Fort Myers	Hard	F	Ivan Lendl	6–2, 6–0
1986	Stratton Mountain	Hard	SF	Ivan Lendl	6–4, 3–6, 6–2
1987	Key Biscayne	Hard	SF	Ivan Lendl	3–6, 7–6, 7–6, 6–3
1987	Washington	Hard	SF	Ivan Lendl	6–4, 7–6
1987	Montreal	Hard	SF	Ivan Lendl	7–5, 6–4
1987	US Open	Hard	SF	Ivan Lendl	6–4, 6–2, 6–2
1987	Masters, New York City	Carpet	RR	Ivan Lendl	4–3 RET
1988	Toronto	Hard	SF	Ivan Lendl	6–4, 6–4
1992	US Open	Hard	R64	Ivan Lendl	3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–0

Head-to-head breakdown

All matches: Lendl 22–13
All finals: Connors 4–2
Grand Slam matches: Lendl 4–3
Grand Slam finals: Connors 2–0
Masters matches: Lendl 4–1
WCT Finals matches: tied 1–1
Clay court matches: tied 2–2
Grass court matches: Connors 2–0
Hard court matches: Lendl 14–5
Indoor carpet matches: Lendl 6–4

Invitational matches (Lendl 8–3 Connors)

Year	Tournament	Surface	Round	Winner	Score
1981	Challenge of Champions, Chicago	Carpet	RR	Jimmy Connors	6–2, 3–6, 6–3
1982	Molson Light Challenge, Toronto	Carpet	RR	Ivan Lendl	6–4, 6–3
1982	Challenge of Champions, Chicago	Carpet	F	Ivan Lendl	4–6, 6–4, 7–5, 6–4
1983	Sun City	Hard	F	Jimmy Connors	7–5, 7–6
1983	Nastase-Hamptons Invitational, North Miami Beach	Hard	F	Jimmy Connors	6–3, 7–6, 6–1
1985	Hamlet Challenge Cup, Jericho	Hard	F	Ivan Lendl	6–1, 6–3
1985	Meadowlands Tennis Challenge, East Rutherford	Carpet	SF	Ivan Lendl	6–1, 6–3
1985	Challenge of Champions, Atlanta	Carpet	RR	Ivan Lendl	6–3, 5–7, 6–1
1985	Challenge of Champions, Atlanta	Carpet	F	Ivan Lendl	6–2, 6–3
1990	WCT Tournament of Champions, Forest Hills	Hard	QF	Ivan Lendl	3–6, 7–5, 1–0 Ret
1991	Transcontinental Tennis Cup, São Paulo	Hard	F	Ivan Lendl	Connors retired in 3rd set

ATP Rankings

Note: Connors was active in 1970–1972, but the ATP Rankings started in 1973.

Year-end ranking timeline

Player	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996
Jimmy Connors	3	1	1	1	1	1	2	3	3	2	3	2	4	8	4	7	14	936	49	84	370	672	419	1300
Ivan Lendl						74	20	6	6	3	2	3	1	1	1	2	1	3	5	8	19	54

ATP Year-end ranking timeline by age

Age at end of season

Year-end ranking	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44
Jimmy Connors	No ATP Rankings			3	1	1	1	1	1	2	3	3	2	3	2	4	8	4	7	14	936	49	84	370	672	419	1300
Ivan Lendl	74	20	6	6	3	2	3	1	1	1	2	1	3	5	8	19	54

References

↑ "Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors". Boston Globe. 2006-08-25. Retrieved 2010-12-08. An eight-year age gap made the ledger lopsided at either end — Connors won 13 of their first 18 meetings, Lendl the final 17. Their two biggest showdowns, in the 1982 and 1983 US Open finals, were both won by Connors.
↑ Newman, Paul (2010-12-01). "Golden era: Federer and Nadal show shines on". The Independent. London.
↑ Araton, Harvey (1992-09-05). "U.S. OPEN '92; As Night Wears On, Lendl Wears Connors Out". The New York Times.

External links

ATP – Connors Lendl Head to Head

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