US Open classics – Mats Wilander vs Ivan Lendl: 1988 final

Mats Wilander (File Photo)

The year of 1988 was a spectacular one for Swedish tennis, especially for the male players. Coming into the US Open, the first three Grand Slams of the year were all won by the Swedish players – Australian Open and French Open by Mats Wilander, and Wimbledon by Stefan Edberg. Expectations were high from Edberg and Wilander to win the US Open and complete the Swedish Grand Slam for the year.

However, there was one big obstacle to achieving the Swedish dream in the form of World No. 1, Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia. Lendl was coming into the tournament having won it each time in the past three editions, and was the odds-on favourite to capture his fourth successive US Open crown.

The US Open trophy had eluded the Swedes, most famously Bjorn Borg, for whom it was his Achilles heel, as he was the losing finalist in the event four times. And there was an added incentive to Wilander, who was seeded 2nd in the draw to win the event, as a tournament win would also help him dislodge Lendl as World No. 1.

While Edberg crashed out in the fourth round, Wilander kept the Swedish dream alive by reaching the final, where he had to meet the top seed Lendl. The final was the rematch of the 1987 US Open final, where Wilander put up a brave fight but ultimately Lendl managed to win 6-7, 6-0, 7-6, 6-4 in a match that lasted 4 hours and 47 minutes.

Matches between Lendl and Wilander often lasted for many hours, and were endurance contests as both players played from the baseline. At 4 hours and 54 minutes (7 minutes longer than the 1987 final), the 1988 final would ultimately be the longest US Open final in the history of the tournament (matched by the 2012 final between Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic). It was an epic battle in which both contestants were highly motivated and determined to win the match.

From the very beginning of the match, Wilander was aware of the task he had at hand. He knew that he couldn’t afford any rash shots or gift his opponents any free points, and hence control and consistency were essential. Wilander was up to the task and he managed to out-last Lendl in a five-set tug-of-war, winning the match 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 and achieved his dream.

The going wasn’t easy as both players played rallies which lasted 30-40 shots before either player mis-hit a shot and lost the point. The first set was on serve till 4-5 with Lendl serving. Realizing the importance of the game, Lendl upped the level of his play and served 3 aces to go up 40-15 in the game. But Wilander fought back to bring the game to deuce. At the second deuce, Lendl hit a backhand into the net, which gave Wilander the set point. The Swede responded by rushing to the net in the next point, which forced Lendl to hit his backhand long, and thus handing the first set to Wilander 6-4 after 61 minutes of play.

Lendl’s backhand continued to misfire in the second set, as Wilander raced to a 4-1 lead. It seemed that the Swede was in total control of the game and would cruise to victory. However, in the seventh game of the set at 30-30, Wilander was warned by the chair umpire for taking too long to serve. This incident led to Wilander losing his concentration, and his game fell apart. Lendl fought back to win the set 6-4, with Wilander managing to win just 4 points after the incident with the chair umpire.

The third set saw Wilander grabbing a 4-1 lead once again, but this time he maintained his composure to close out the set at 6-3. The game was an exhibition of cat-and-mouse play as both players played the waiting game in the rallies, hoping that the other would err and lose the point.

Ivan Lendl (File Photo)

Wilander broke Lendl’s serve in the fourth set to lead 4-3, but was unable to capitalize on it, as Lendl broke back immediately to level the set at 4-4. Both players managed to hold serve comfortably till the twelfth game with Wilander serving at 5-6, when Lendl attacked the serve to grab two set points at 15-40. He missed the first chance, but placed a forehand right on the line to win the set on the second set point, thereby levelling the match at 2 sets each.

It was the first time since the 1980 final between John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg that the US Open men’s singles final headed into the fifth set. Wilander broke Lendl’s serve in the very first game of the set, and held his serve to lead 2-0. Lendl was still not finished, as he bounced back to win the next three games to go up 3-2, and the final set was back on serve. In the seventh game, Wilander tried to advance to the net and the move worked as he was able to break once again to go up 4-3.

Wilander managed to hold his serve thereafter, though he had to save two breakpoints. The victory finally came when Lendl hit a backhand into the net. The final had begun at 4:22 pm and ended at 9:17 pm, with the crowd attendance went down from 20036 to 8000 as play crept along at snail’s pace. But the quality of tennis improved as the game went on.

Wilander had lost to Lendl in the last six meetings that the two had, which prompted him to famously quote: ”Nobody beats me seven times in a row!”

But it was the day when Mats Wilander had his tryst with destiny. The Swedish Grand Slam of 1988 had been achieved. He had capped the finest year of his career with the US Open crown and World No. 1 ranking. After the victory, he said: “I realized tonight why it was hard for Borg to win. It is so tough, mentally and physically. Because it’s a tournament that I’ve never won, or a Swede has never won, and because I’m going to be number one, it’s the biggest match I ever played. It meant so much.”

Wilander could hold on to the number one ranking for only 20 weeks, before Lendl reclaimed it in January 1989. However, it was on the magical day of September 11, 1988 that Mats Wilander entered into the history books and the US Open final between him and Lendl will be remembered as one of the finest ever.