Boris Becker vs Ivan Lendl Masters-final 1988 (3 of 3)

[sskgrs]

Lendl's passing shots from baseline especially from his backhand is a treat to watch and by far the best in the history of tennis.

[whity72]

That was the period when Becker opened his mouth like a fish several times, also during interviews until his management stopped him; he stood under enormous pressure. Becker´s backhand was crap in comparison to todays players and the slice duells on hartcourt are quite unusual. :)

[attardius]

Becker always was the master of the net cord. He owes the 1989 U.S Open to one!!

[NIJOEL03]

The wrong winner :( Ivan Lendl - my hero!

[claudestuart]

This match was amazing; I remember watching it as a kid! One question: Why did you edit out the point at 5-5 in the final set tiebreaker? It was the point on Lendl's serve that gave Becker match point; I'm just wondering what happened in that point to give Boris a chance to serve it out?

[theatlantean2]

The best (not hardest) forehands of all-time: Lendl, Courier, Agassi, Federer, F. Gonzalez, Becker, Laver, E. Vines, Moya, Nadal, Verdasco, Phillippoussis. I'm probably leaving a few out, but these come to mind when I think of the best forehands. It's hard to rank these guys, but I would probably fear Nadal or Federer's the most if I had to face any of them. Those would be the two who I wouldn't want any part of. Beauty mate.

[theatlantean2]

wow, thanks for posting this. after watching the nadal vs federer final in 2008, my students asked me if that was the greatest match i'd ever seen. i told them it was between that one, borg vs mac 1980 wimbledon final, and this one with becker vs lendl. this match was such high quality, all the way through. for it to end on a net-cord was unreal. i remember watching this match in its entirety; i was 17 years old and glued to t.v. some of the best ball-striking in the history of tennis.

[sskgrs]

@theatlantean2 I agree.

[mmmasterluke]

Is that the one where he hit the old lady in the head withtn his racket? Also, where did the flag come from so suddenly?

[pablotjob]

where was it? New York?

[Pitonto]

Madison Square Garden

[Pitonto]

Unbelievable shots

[BuddhaShiva1]

This match was an absolute epic, one of the greatest matches of all time. The shotmaking truly was a sight to behold.

[mrbobevans]

I remember watching this match. Becker's and Lendl's style made for very good matches.

[ferrari79100]

1.37  what point!!

[juandi2570]

I really admire Lendl, he's the godfather of power tenis. Can you imagine Lendl with today's advanced strings and raquet technology, he'd be feared........................­.........

[yolanka]

@juandi2570

F....yeah ! With today's advanced strings and raquet technology+his power+his fitness, he'd be a monster, no doubt!!!!

People who had never play with wooden raquets do not understand the HUUUUGE difference in power.

[theatlantean2]

@juandi2570 After Ivan Lendl was way past his prime, Jim Courier (the #1 player in the world and owner of the biggest forehand in the game) was asked if he thought anyone in the game had a forehand even close to the size of Jim's. His response was that Lend's forehand was far better, bigger, and heavier. Years later, Courier would continue to say that Lendl's forehand was the best he'd ever faced, including the likes of Becker, Agassi, Sampras, Safin, etc.

[juandi2570]

@theatlantean2 , yeah you're so right. Lendl is the Godfather of Power Tennis. He's so underrated and i feel he doesn't get the respect he deserves. He made it to the USA open finals 8 straight years which is amazing. He 's a top ten of all time in my view.

[chakoom74]

Lendl is my favorite all-time. But just curious as to why he didn't shake hands w/the umpire @ the end (although he did wave to him in acknowledgement.)

I think this match really set the stage for a Lendl comeback. He came off a tough '88 in which he lost his #1 rank after 3 yrs. But a month after this match he regained it & held it for 19 months & won 2 Australian Opens during that period.

[kching]

wow what a fantastic final point

[Eric0816]

Becker was the more talented and more passionate of the two. He was a crowd pleaser and great to watch.

But Lendl had a better work ethic and therefore was far more consistent. He wasnt the best shotmaker nor the best athlete but he managed to overcome his physical shortcomings and become he most dominant player between 85-90. He was the father of modern tennis and the first true pro. At the start of his career he was labelled as a choker, later on he became a Darth Vader like intimidator.

[matteodinenno]

I don't think so. With Becker's or Connors's temperamente Lendl would have been even more successfull. His kind of achiness to win was even counterproductive. He was able to KO McEnroe and Becker on grass at Queen's, but not to win Wimbledon. He leads 11/10 head2head vs Becker, but Boris won almost always in majors. Lendl's main weapons were superior game's tecnic and the talent to join it.

[carjulxxx]

Lendl was great player, but an oportunist and a traitor to his country ass well. He had paid to the us open courts constructor to make exactly the same court at his backyard, that´s not sport spirit.

[CyrusPaice1]

What's bad about having the same tennis court as at the us open?

[alin1975]

Why was he a traitor exactly?

As for the tennis court, that is just called training smart.

[AiLD2]

he paid uncle sam.

[CyrusPaice1]

@Pitonto

Becker reached three RG semi finals and four master series finals on clay. I think that's good enough to challenge anyone on clay.

[carjulxxx]

Hey Pitonto, may be Boris won less grand slams than Lendl but face to face most of times won Boris.

[MrSigma]

Lendl is 11-10 against Becker head to head. You can check the statistics on the 'ATP world tour' website.

[carjulxxx]

I´ve cheked...we saw diferent sources then.

[carjulxxx]

wcondor2005 But at least Becker won to Sampras in a master in 1995, really, check it out in wikkipedia about Boris or Pete.

[kyahampa]

I remember watching this match. One of the greatest matches of all time. If I am not mistaken, Lendl said after the match "If this isn't unlucky (referring to the last point) then I don't know what is". As far as Fed and Rafa are concerned, I am not sure they would have won as many titles (other than Rafa winning on clay)has they been playing in late 80's or 90's. There were just too many good players then unlike now.

[aleztfu]

@kyahampa Of course not, but think that in that age Roger would have shown more of his best class against the best players in history, in fact I think he is the last representative of the old school players... just watch him play

[wcondor2005]

It's incredible that the best becker ever could be the one playing against Sampras in 1995 and 1996, just one year before retiring...fantastic but too old to beat Sampras as he could have done that time being younger...

[altfratuben]

So the story goes......and later Sampras at 30 years lost to a young Federer.......Both Sampras and Becker won slams over a 10 year range - Becker wimb 85 - aus 96, sampras USOpen 1990-2002. I am not so sure that Federer will do that and I think that Nadal at the end of this year will run out of steam....the next number one will be Murray

[Pitonto]

Thw best Becker ever was in '80s, when he won 3 Wimbledon but was inferior to Lendl.

[floydian2007]

I thought Becker was more exciting to watch that Lendl and better on grass, but Lendl did have a stronger overall head to head.

[casheasy]

I remember watching this. What a final point! The quality of tennis that night was almost unmatched from that era.

[nizzam1]

man i forgot abt lendl's running forehand, what a great shot it was i wud say its on par with that of sampras

[choithr]

ONE OF THE BEST RALLIES IN TENNIS...

[theatlantean1]

out of all the shots in the history of the game, the end of this match still sticks out the most.........i still tell my juniors about how this match ended, and the purity of ball-striking for the entire match........this was the cleanest match i've ever seen, and re-watching it made me think twice about how those guys at their best would have done against today's players, even federer. Who knows, but would have been fun to see.

[wcondor2005]

You're absolutely right!And they didn't have a 'surgery' shotgun as a racket like today...

[FloMat1976]

at 1.37 the legend.

[siprus1]

lendl vs becker is  tiger vs lion. big, interesting match

[siprus1]

i'm looking for  full tennis match video file.i want to download tennis match file. let me introduce the site to download tennis match file.

[pockings]

Lendl and Becker always had awesome matches. I still remember the 92' USO Round of 16 five set match which Lendl won. But man, where do you see ground strokes like them these days. Thanks for posting this vid ;)

[ropeneck]

What a rotten trick of fate it is that net hit on the match point.

[sam7666]

Interesting sport isn't it. Lendl had a 6-2 record against Agassi. Agassi had 10-4 record gainst Becker. Yet Becker and Lendl were almost evenly matched head to head.

[Pitonto]

Lendl is 14-13 against Becker even if he was 7 years older and even if they played only 1 time in clay. Lendl was great even on grass (two finals in Wimbledon) and could challenge Becker on German's favourite surface, while Becker simply was not good enough to reach Lendl in final on RG. Lendl defeated Becker at grass Queen's in 1990, too.

Lendl defeated Becker many times even when he was not in his prime (after 1987) while he was never defeted by him outside grass when he was the no.1.

[Yurik1972]

Becker is 4-1 against Lendl at Grand Slams and that's most important!!!

[SunshineBuddha]

I think it is 5-1 to Becker: 3 times Lendl beat Becker at Wimbledon, once in U.S. Open, and once in Australian Open. Lendl only beat Becker once in 1992 U.S. open. Either way yes, Becker has a significant lead over Lendl in Slams.

[Yurik1972]

You're right. Becker leads 5-1 at Slams!

[xartiex]

Right idea, but you worded it wrong in the second sentence. But I got your point =)

[Pitonto]

Lendl won 8 Grand Slam titles Becker only 6. Lendl was the no.1 of the worll for 270 weeks, Becker only 1/10.

That's the most important.

[Yurik1972]

Anyway Becker was very popular and had more fans around the world. Lendl was unpopular one..

[theatlantean1]

Nah, that's not the most important thing.....What is most important is to realize the simple fact that everyone has their own opinion. With this said, next time you look in the mirror, look at yourself and understand that the only one that opinion really matters to is the person in the mirror relfection. I remind myself of thid daily :-). No offense, but this is the simple truth. Once one realizes this, the more relaxing life becomes :-). I now sit back and just people watch :-)

[wcondor2005]

They were REAL champions...Sampras is great too...Federer is good but now he has tasted the fear of competition...I hate Nadal' play...it reminds me of a the one of Wilander ... faster but as boring as his...

[JKwingsfan]

Lendl is 11-10 against Becker, Pitonto. Becker is 5-1 in the majors, though.

[Pitonto]

5-1 on majors only because the played 3 times in Wimbledon, on Becker's favourite surface and Lendl's most hated.

Lendl could challenge Becker on the German's surface (2 finals and 5 semifinals in Wimbledon); Becker wasn't good enough to challenge Lendl on Roland Garros.

[wilandl88]

Grand match. On voit que Lendl s'est amélioré par rapport à son début de carrière. Becker mène 5-1 face à Lendl en Grand Chelem... Cela dit, ils ne se sont pas rencontrés avant 85 (Becker était trop jeune) et, à l'USO de 85 à 88, au french open de 85 à 88, à l'OA 88-89, Becker certainement aurait eu du mal à battre Lendl.

[floatin83]

Lendl lost 3 Grand Slam finals against Becker and that's what sticks in some people's minds.

[sam7666]

Great classic - Lendl actually had a winning record against Becker (14-13) but not this match.

[BLACKTREAT]

UNBELIEVABLE MATCH POINT!

[teflonmagnet]

that racket toss into the crowd was ridiculous; it probably decapitated two jews and a red-neck.

the last point was emblematic of their entire series of head-to-head match-ups. it just wasn't meant to be for lendl against the blitzing becker.

[chapaev36]

Oh, my lord - 0:52.

[monceau27]

Great match but the video is mediocre quality