1 Response to tokyo85lendl_wilander

1. Voo de Mar says:

   June 22, 2026 at 11:39 pm

   Points won by each set: | 26-8, 30-21 |
   Unreturned serves:
   40 % Lendl – 15 of 37
   22 % Wilander – 11 of 48

   The last quarter of the 1985 season it was the first chapter of Lendl’s utter dominance in men’s tennis which lasted 2.5 years. Following the US Open triumph, he collected five titles (including Antwerp-ECC), and what’s really astonishing, he was unbeatable applying three different strategies: aggressive tennis on hardcourts based on serves and forehands, very patient baseline game on clay, and serve-and-volleying on carpet. The last of those strategies was at full display in the Japan capital. Lendl [1] perhaps played one of the best ‘Bo3’ matches of his life against Wilander [3], and there was quite close to a 6-0, 6-2 beatdown. As he led 4:2 (40/15) the Swede fought off the double break point with an ace and Lendl’s small backhand error. The Silesian Czech wasn’t forced to play deuce in any of his eight service games, majority of them winning at ‘love’. “I can’t complain about anything,” Lendl said after winning the $60,000 top prize. “I’m very happy with my performance.” The only tough set throughout the week, Lendl experienced against his biggest potential contender in the second half of the 80s – almost 18 y.o. Becker (trailed 3:5*).

   Lendl’s route to his 51st title:
   1 Scott Davis 6-4, 6-1
   2 David Pate 6-3, 6-3
   Q Tim Mayotte 6-4, 7-5
   S Boris Becker 6-3, 7-6(1)
   W Mats Wilander 6-0, 6-4

   Serve & volley: Lendl 8/13, Wilander 3/6

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