1 Response to stuttgart81borg_lendl

1. Voo de Mar says:

   July 24, 2026 at 3:48 pm

   Points won by each set: | 15-30, 53-40, 32-18, 33-26 |
   Unreturned serves:
   18 % Borg – 22 of 116
   13 % Lendl – 18 of 131

   The first big event on clay following Roland Garros ’81, and the same final line-up. Borg [2] needed five sets in Paris… four in Stuttgart (only two total points fewer though), but initially it seemed he’d lose two sets again. Borg was only 25 at the time, so at least five years at the top seemed for him guaranteed. McEnroe was his biggest rival on grass and carpet, Connors on hardcourts, and Lendl appeared as Borg’s biggest rival on clay in the upcoming future. No-one could foresee that in Stuttgart they would meet for the eight/last time (6-2 Borg). The entire final was played in a drizzle, initially the Czechoslovak [4] was dealing much better with heavy conditions – he jumped to a 5:0* (40/30) lead, he had the 2nd set under his control (4:2*, later 5:4 and serving), but the lethargic Borg finally raised his level when it mattered the most. At 6:5* he squandered three set points (4 deuces – the longest game of the match), but in the tie-break he didn’t miss anything, and his backhand started to work tremendously well as the match progressed. In the 4th set there were three successive breaks, the Swede emerged serving for the championships and didn’t fail. Lendl, disappointed, partly blamed his Polish friend and adviser, Wojtek Fibak, for the defeat. He said he’d asked Fibak to come up from a Grand Prix tournament in Kitzbuhel to help him prepare for the final vs Borg. Fibak refused, and Lendl told reporters before the final: “I won’t say another word to him.” They reconciled after the final though, and the Pole remained Lendl’s adviser until the beginning of 1985.

   Borg’s route to his 65th title:
   1 Ramesh Krishnan 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
   2 Damir Keretic 6-3, 6-2
   Q Paul McNamee 6-1, 6-2
   S Andreas Maurer 6-2, 6-1
   W Ivan Lendl 1-6, 7-6(0), 6-2, 6-4

   Serve & volley: Borg 1/1, Lendl 1/2

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