Mecir will always be one of the single best tennis players of all time. I mean game wise. He never achieved the results of the others for whatever reason. But the players themselves who truly know the game know he is one of the all time best players. No one ever wanted to play him. He was gorgeous to watch and this comes from a Mats Wilander fan! Don't forget that Mecir beat Mats a lot and at really inopportune times!
lendl was class, a great champ, so intense on court but he brought the game forward leaps and bounds! winning wasn't everything to him it was the only thing!!!!!
Lendl was a great champion, but I just found him completely and utterly boring to watch. I also felt this way about Graf. They just seemed, to me, like they were not enjoying playing and being out on court. I (barely) remember the 1986 USO final between Lendl and Mecir. It was a completely dull GS final, one of the very most boring matches ever. The crowd at the end barely even applauded when Lendl won it.
@kljMN2 that's weird; I really love both Graf and Lendl....they're two of my favorite guys to watch @_@
Idk whether or not they were enjoying themselves, but I still enjoyed them. I think you might just be seeing how serious they are--Lendl and Graf were always super focused.
Guys....Lendl Kicked everyones ass for ten years.......give him some credit. His opponents were connors to sampras...and everyone in between. Chang had maybe 3 good matchs...
If you read Brad Gilbert's awesome book, he explains about Lendl's infamous 'Turtle Time' tactic. If Lendl was losing, he was a freakin master at slowing EVERYTHING down to a crawl. He would make up any excuse to throw you out of your rhythm. Mecir obviously was a legend for calling him on it.
Fair call, but have to admit I did love the 16-0 H2H Lendl had over Gilbert.
Not only did I lose the match, but after I'm sitting there icing my foot, Lendl sits next to me and says, 'I could be on my deathbed with a 110-degree temperature and still beat you.'''
@kegsterino12 Indeed. Lendl certainly got played at his own game by Michael Chang at the 1989 French Open though - that's a great video to watch. Chang did everything to waste time and break Lendl's concentration and it worked a treat.
@kegsterino12 zomgobblers! fascinating tidbit. That's a pretty smart move since it lets the other guy's momentum evaporate, but it's kinda unsporting :c just Lendl's style.
Both great players. Lendl was fantastic and is still my all time favourite player. The steely eyed stare, the adidas tops, the precision raquets, the running forehand down the line. Brilliant. I think he was quite well liked in the UK.
The fact that you are even comparing the WTA makes anything you speak or write totally useless.
Didn't know winning made someone an asshole. By the way, your fangirl Lendl is a Federer fangirl. Ivan was claiming many years ago that Roger would go down as the greatest player of all time and hold the record for most Grand Slams. This was when Roger didn't even have 10 Slams to his name. Good job with your player choices.
Ivan Lendl is my favorite player. I have 4 of his rackets, 1 of which he used at the US Open. I am disgusted that I haven't seen him play in person! I could have. I have seen Sampras and Agassi, but I want to see Federer. I'd love to hit the ball with Ivan and talk to him. Love him!
I was very impressed to see Lendl join the crew at ESPN yesterday during one of the US Open matches (Cilic vs. Del Potro I believe). He was commenting on a number of aspects of the ongoing game, as well as comparing tennis today to when he played. I always found Lendl to be a class act and a very strong player, so for him to be in the commentor's box for about 10-15 minutes yesterday was really cool...
To beat brats like McEnroe and Connors, Lendl had to be one. You saw so many talented Europeans and South Americans, east and west, with so much better talent than Lendl but they kept losing to the Americans because ConMacs took advantage of their personality of fair play and sportsmanship. The exception is Borg.
Don't talk about things you don't know about. Lendl had a good sense of humor. In fact he used to play big time jokes on other players in the locker room. Don't hate on him becasue he dominated the number 1 spot for so long and took care of business. I loved watching him hit groundstrokes. Amazing at the US Open.
The amount of time Lendl takes between serves is killing you. Correcting the strings, pulling his shirt, wiping off some sweat and on top of that.....the sawdust! Imagine you have a breakpoint and Lendl is doing all that stuff one after another before blasting another ace down the T. It drives you crazy.
With his pre serve preparation he got his opponents mad and took away their concentration.
Because of Lendl they changed the rules from 30 seconds to 20 seconds between points.
Right...that's why Agassi was the most loved tennis player probably EVER by his peers, Roger is loved and respected by his rivals, such as Rafa, Stanlis Wawrinka, Andy Roddick, and why Andy Roddick and James Blake are such good friends that when one beats the other, the victor always feels terrible that he destroyed a career opportunity for the loser?
Nobody liked or likes Ivan Lendl ? wtf are you talking about? not about his tennis right? because i dont care if he is carismatic, tennis is not carisma, tennis is tennis
I only love Lendl simply because he was the ultimate 'darth vader' guy during the era. You just LOVED to watch him lose it and lose to more naturally gifted players.
He absolutely though was incredible to 'copy' for beginner and intermediate players - perfect stroke production for the racquets of the time.
buzzz, wrong answer, Thanks for playin'! Lendl actually had a great sense of humor which he let out more & more as the years went on. He just wasn't flashy or a pretty boy & that's why the media constantly hated on him.
From Schrittwieser to me: "Lendl was an eastern european blockockhead who did not have one friend on the tour. Don't tell me I played high level tennis at that time and lived in the NY area. He had talent but no sense of humor. Tell me a Lendl joke."
Well as it just so happens I've got a humdinger. Now I don't have his impeccable timing, but I'll give it a shot.
Is this from Miami 1986, when "Big Cat" trounced Lendl 3-0? I've never seen it, but I've read it was one of Mecir's greatest performances. What an artist he was!
I wonder if Lendl nailed Mecir with a ball at the net during this match. He was notorious for that (ask John McEnroe), and I'm sure Mecir making light of the towel scenario really ticked him off.
Ûff
bemmy98 1 month ago
1:30 old lady smoking a stogie!
fistful0fst33l 1 month ago
1:22 LEHMAN BROTHERS......
arvthirteen 4 months ago
What did Lendl say at the end? The part that lady commentator described as not a half bit mature?
misztong 6 months ago
Sort of legendary, I would suppose.
GmanGregilla 6 months ago
Billie Jean LOL
theone225 6 months ago
Mecir will always be one of the single best tennis players of all time. I mean game wise. He never achieved the results of the others for whatever reason. But the players themselves who truly know the game know he is one of the all time best players. No one ever wanted to play him. He was gorgeous to watch and this comes from a Mats Wilander fan! Don't forget that Mecir beat Mats a lot and at really inopportune times!
brchris69 7 months ago
@brchris69 It seems like McEnroe respected him also.
blueguitarblue 4 months ago
I would love to see the "handshake" at the net after this match.
nothosaur 7 months ago
He wasn't good enough to win Wimbledon though!!!
1966ThePulse 8 months ago
Total grand slam titles: Ivan Lendl-8 Miloslav Mecir-0
Enough said!
yahwhous 8 months ago
Lendl gave tennis so much !
so underated ..in the history of mens tennis!
his one handed backhand and topspin forehand paved the way for Sampras and later Federer !!IVAN THE GREAT !....GO CZECH LENDL!
napajedlacek 8 months ago
what does he say?
TheLilu2006 10 months ago
around 1:55 you can actually feel Lendl about to explode.
turdferguson2 11 months ago
Miloslav "the vandal" Mecir
alarik36 1 year ago
Fuck everything .. that ball boy is fucking cute in hhis shorts.
errolmiranda 1 year ago
lendl was class, a great champ, so intense on court but he brought the game forward leaps and bounds! winning wasn't everything to him it was the only thing!!!!!
TheSlyman10 1 year ago
Lendl could have at least lightened up a little and cracked a smile! Really pathetic.
kljMN2 1 year ago
Lendl was a great champion, but I just found him completely and utterly boring to watch. I also felt this way about Graf. They just seemed, to me, like they were not enjoying playing and being out on court. I (barely) remember the 1986 USO final between Lendl and Mecir. It was a completely dull GS final, one of the very most boring matches ever. The crowd at the end barely even applauded when Lendl won it.
kljMN2 1 year ago
@kljMN2 that's weird; I really love both Graf and Lendl....they're two of my favorite guys to watch @_@
Idk whether or not they were enjoying themselves, but I still enjoyed them. I think you might just be seeing how serious they are--Lendl and Graf were always super focused.
Aaronthegreatest 1 year ago
@kljMN2 I can only speak for Graf as I don't remember anything about Lendl. Graf wasn't charismatic at all, but her forehand made up for everything.
sultanabran1 11 months ago
Lendl sort of looks like Steve Nash.
frogman83 1 year ago
Good tennis by Lendl, but he had the personal charm of a rock. Not a likable personality by any stretch of the word.
Ignozi 1 year ago
Lendl Owned xxx
kinkabala 1 year ago
poor Mecir I would not blame him if he disliked Lendl he lost both his slam finals to Lendl in 3 sets!
SpartaElena 1 year ago 2
Mecir should have been happy for the lecture. I liked Ivan Lendl.
2006soccerguy 1 year ago
Guys....Lendl Kicked everyones ass for ten years.......give him some credit. His opponents were connors to sampras...and everyone in between. Chang had maybe 3 good matchs...
00Billy 1 year ago 2
I miss the fiery one, Fred Stolle! He was awesome working with Cliff.
casheasy 1 year ago
lendl is a douche enough said
meknownothingatall 1 year ago
hahahahaahm what a champ.
Lendl is a tool.
keithbontrager 1 year ago
No wonder both players were bethought as " Artists" !
Their respective game relied on tricky, resourceful, unusual strokes.
Santoro + Mecir will hardly ever be aped by anyone...
goldenglaoui 1 year ago
Miroslav mecir was a genius likewize Fabrice Santoro !
Regards from France to all tennis lovers.
goldenglaoui 1 year ago
Santoro wishes he was as good as Mecir.
spatzlelg 1 year ago 12
@spatzlelg every night...
soulyrasheed 7 months ago
every night...
soulyrasheed 7 months ago
Lendel said ' I must break you'.
Ian7570 2 years ago 4
How can anyone claim Fed is overated.
The reason it looks like thier are no opponents is because he is so dominant.
How great would guys like Safin, Nalbandian, Roddick be in any other generation.
pmo1983 2 years ago
Actually he wanted to see the towel girl.
schusterlehrling 2 years ago
del potro def federer
pitoloco 2 years ago
well I guess Lendl talked to him Czech and Mecir Slovak ....they all understands well :-)
napajedlacek 2 years ago
Lendl was a rotten sportsman. It is no wonder that there is just about no mention of him during tennis tournaments.
The fellow should be ashamed of himself. Wish Mecir would have put him in his place.
rahulmisra2000 2 years ago
mecir is slovak !
Oggylv1 2 years ago 5
Legendary Czech players
zblempt 2 years ago
If you read Brad Gilbert's awesome book, he explains about Lendl's infamous 'Turtle Time' tactic. If Lendl was losing, he was a freakin master at slowing EVERYTHING down to a crawl. He would make up any excuse to throw you out of your rhythm. Mecir obviously was a legend for calling him on it.
kegsterino12 2 years ago
Fair call, but have to admit I did love the 16-0 H2H Lendl had over Gilbert.
Not only did I lose the match, but after I'm sitting there icing my foot, Lendl sits next to me and says, 'I could be on my deathbed with a 110-degree temperature and still beat you.'''
spatzlelg 2 years ago 6
wow Spatz - did Lendl REALLY do that / say that?
If he did, that's quite a hilarious story. lemme know.
I always wanted to see video of the fight between David Wheaton and Gilbert at the grand slam cup.
kegsterino12 2 years ago
@spatzlelg wow what an anecdote . thanks for sharing .
ricappon 11 months ago
It was also very amusing to see Chang use the same tactics against Lendl himself in the 1989 French Open, to much success
HuangdoodleIII 2 years ago
@kegsterino12 Indeed. Lendl certainly got played at his own game by Michael Chang at the 1989 French Open though - that's a great video to watch. Chang did everything to waste time and break Lendl's concentration and it worked a treat.
Zorg2006 1 year ago
@kegsterino12 the real master of slow tactics and frustrating his opponents was Connors!
absolutebore 1 year ago
@kegsterino12 zomgobblers! fascinating tidbit. That's a pretty smart move since it lets the other guy's momentum evaporate, but it's kinda unsporting :c just Lendl's style.
Aaronthegreatest 1 year ago
@kegsterino12 Nadal and Djokovic both are pretty good at that tactic as well.
bobomber 5 months ago
Lendl was a tennis robot - luckily, there are few players like him today.
hartigdom 2 years ago
I would of liked to be tennis robot than no tennis player at all :( 19 Grand Slam finals, 8 US Open finals in a row, etc...
AllGenreMusic 2 years ago 2
Both great players. Lendl was fantastic and is still my all time favourite player. The steely eyed stare, the adidas tops, the precision raquets, the running forehand down the line. Brilliant. I think he was quite well liked in the UK.
DingKong 2 years ago
Oh the good old times when Lendl and Graf were still playing ans how you a have bores and assholes like Federer and Serena Williams
sondano 2 years ago
The fact that you are even comparing the WTA makes anything you speak or write totally useless.
Didn't know winning made someone an asshole. By the way, your fangirl Lendl is a Federer fangirl. Ivan was claiming many years ago that Roger would go down as the greatest player of all time and hold the record for most Grand Slams. This was when Roger didn't even have 10 Slams to his name. Good job with your player choices.
AllGenreMusic 2 years ago
Ivan Lendl is my favorite player. I have 4 of his rackets, 1 of which he used at the US Open. I am disgusted that I haven't seen him play in person! I could have. I have seen Sampras and Agassi, but I want to see Federer. I'd love to hit the ball with Ivan and talk to him. Love him!
AnthonyGF 2 years ago 4
I was very impressed to see Lendl join the crew at ESPN yesterday during one of the US Open matches (Cilic vs. Del Potro I believe). He was commenting on a number of aspects of the ongoing game, as well as comparing tennis today to when he played. I always found Lendl to be a class act and a very strong player, so for him to be in the commentor's box for about 10-15 minutes yesterday was really cool...
jsberson 2 years ago 3
That was funny, wonder if Lendl giggled a bit inside despite the "i kill u" look he threw.
Hunt4Tzapi 2 years ago
Thanks for the videos, great big cat!
donald77ale 2 years ago
To beat brats like McEnroe and Connors, Lendl had to be one. You saw so many talented Europeans and South Americans, east and west, with so much better talent than Lendl but they kept losing to the Americans because ConMacs took advantage of their personality of fair play and sportsmanship. The exception is Borg.
Ariamaluum 2 years ago
and Wilander
jordanaus75 2 years ago
Go the Cat! No doubting Lendl was a great player but he was completely unlikeable and his sense of humour non-existent as this video shows
cam230723 2 years ago
Didn't know you knew him personally. Did you go to high school with him in Bratislava?
alkh3myst 2 years ago
Don't talk about things you don't know about. Lendl had a good sense of humor. In fact he used to play big time jokes on other players in the locker room. Don't hate on him becasue he dominated the number 1 spot for so long and took care of business. I loved watching him hit groundstrokes. Amazing at the US Open.
AnthonyGF 2 years ago 7
I like him. In fact he was the only male player I liked at the time. He was like Mr Spock. He was absolutely unique not all the other shitty humans
sondano 2 years ago 4
i dont know what you're all saying
i liked lendl...but this was funny i'll admit
LuCaRiOfan94 2 years ago 3
Got to love the cat.
rosihantu1 2 years ago 2
Thx for uploading, one of the best videos on youtube.
CyrusPaice1 2 years ago
The amount of time Lendl takes between serves is killing you. Correcting the strings, pulling his shirt, wiping off some sweat and on top of that.....the sawdust! Imagine you have a breakpoint and Lendl is doing all that stuff one after another before blasting another ace down the T. It drives you crazy.
With his pre serve preparation he got his opponents mad and took away their concentration.
Because of Lendl they changed the rules from 30 seconds to 20 seconds between points.
Eric0816 2 years ago
didnt affect nadal or djokovic
foul01 2 years ago
"Competitors don't make friends"
Right...that's why Agassi was the most loved tennis player probably EVER by his peers, Roger is loved and respected by his rivals, such as Rafa, Stanlis Wawrinka, Andy Roddick, and why Andy Roddick and James Blake are such good friends that when one beats the other, the victor always feels terrible that he destroyed a career opportunity for the loser?
Samprasisthebest 2 years ago
Nobody liked or likes Ivan Lendl, I think Mecir gets the last laugh!
Samprasisthebest 2 years ago
Nobody liked or likes Ivan Lendl ? wtf are you talking about? not about his tennis right? because i dont care if he is carismatic, tennis is not carisma, tennis is tennis
ivisalmon 2 years ago 16
Goog going Miloslav, and what have you done in your career again? Oh right, NOTHING :)
onixya1969 2 years ago
As for Lendl, he was very blunt and did have a sense of humour, not everyone got it or appreciated it.
Good that Mecir was taking the piss, it had to be done, too bad it was the only time he won in their matches. Lendl knew how to play him.
spatzlelg 2 years ago
The towels made Lendl hit the double fault.
quest8899 2 years ago
haha..So anal...
bellyboy1980 2 years ago
Che ridere... Per la verità non c'ho capito 'na mazza.
dontgobackto 3 years ago
Sorry, I' didn't catch exactly....'coz I'm italian...may you explaine me?...many thanks...
ofpeter 3 years ago
I only love Lendl simply because he was the ultimate 'darth vader' guy during the era. You just LOVED to watch him lose it and lose to more naturally gifted players.
He absolutely though was incredible to 'copy' for beginner and intermediate players - perfect stroke production for the racquets of the time.
kegsterino12 3 years ago 3
agreed. He was such a bad ass mother fucker. His darth vader looks intimated many rivals.
juandi2570 2 years ago
vai GATTONE! troppo forte questo..
THEKINKS08 3 years ago
wonderful "gattone"mecir
ciano417 3 years ago
Lendl never had a sense of humor and was never liked on the tour.
Schrittwieser 3 years ago
I'm surprised Lendl was not a German.
robinho1979 3 years ago
buzzz, wrong answer, Thanks for playin'! Lendl actually had a great sense of humor which he let out more & more as the years went on. He just wasn't flashy or a pretty boy & that's why the media constantly hated on him.
cactus337 3 years ago 2
From Schrittwieser to me: "Lendl was an eastern european blockockhead who did not have one friend on the tour. Don't tell me I played high level tennis at that time and lived in the NY area. He had talent but no sense of humor. Tell me a Lendl joke."
Well as it just so happens I've got a humdinger. Now I don't have his impeccable timing, but I'll give it a shot.
Ready? Here goes.
Knock Knock.
cactus337 3 years ago
Well but that made champions back then. Muster was similar, a machine, but very succesful.
keijimuto 2 years ago
He didn't have friends? Who cares? He was cooler than any of those popular jerks
sondano 2 years ago
my god ivan lendl serve was so unreliable (sorry to say)
Prickle 3 years ago
what did ivan call miroslav
turdferguson2 3 years ago
1:29 - 1:30 gosh!!! there is somebody smoking a fag right behind mecir! looks even like a a member of staff or what! how cool is that?
tomaszek888 3 years ago 6
Hahahahaha yea wth :P
mysteriekiller 3 years ago
Yes, tomaszek, he is sitting there having a puff of a cigarette.
spatzlelg 3 years ago
Lendl didn't hit Mecir at the net during this match, but it's the easiest way to win the point.
mendoncacorreia, it was 1987 and Mecir won 7-5 6-2 7-5.
spatzlelg 3 years ago
Thank you!
mendoncacorreia 3 years ago
Is this from Miami 1986, when "Big Cat" trounced Lendl 3-0? I've never seen it, but I've read it was one of Mecir's greatest performances. What an artist he was!
mendoncacorreia 3 years ago
that is true. His racquet control was quite a marvel, an understated talent.
datacipher 3 years ago
Lendl was a damn good tennis player but man he just turned people off. It was so easy to dislike him
stell29 3 years ago 4
like djokovic of today.
jackhurst85 3 years ago 2
I wonder if Lendl nailed Mecir with a ball at the net during this match. He was notorious for that (ask John McEnroe), and I'm sure Mecir making light of the towel scenario really ticked him off.
bigandtallreturn 3 years ago
Yes, it's in Miami.
spatzlelg 3 years ago
Where was that?
Jarman74 3 years ago
Miami.
Looks like the Lipton Championship.
xedvux 3 years ago
I love Mecir.
Great tennis player.
xedvux 3 years ago
Lendl was so anal retentive, wanted everything to be exactly the way he wanted.
Mecir taking the piss hahaha.
JohnnyTabouli 3 years ago 3
All in good fun.
spatzlelg 2 years ago