Grass still suits his game
Lendl has brought competitive drive from tennis court
PLYMOUTH -- In his other lifetime, back when he was a master craftsman and arguably the best in the world, a predicament such as the one he faced yesterday wouldn't have posed a dilemma. His golf ball up against a tree at the ninth hole? No problem, for there was a clear swing and the ball was sitting up nicely, just 50 yards short of the green. Oh, but time out.
This is another lifetime and Ivan Lendl is not the righthanded tennis machine we once knew; he is a lefthanded golfer, which meant it was decision time because the tree prohibited his natural stance.
"I don't know why. No reason," said Lendl, when asked why he chose to crush tennis opponents as a righthander but plays his new game from the left side. He spread his arms and wore a wide smile. No matter that things had not gone swimmingly in a US Open qualifier on the Nicklaus Course at the Pinehills Golf Club, his 4-over-par 76 leaving him outside the cut line.
And why shouldn't he have shown his pleasure? Lendl, for good reason, is a man at peace, having long ago established his legacy.
Wasn't it 20 years ago that Lendl showed what he was made of, at the expense of an American favorite, John McEnroe, in the French Open final? Down two sets to none and trailing, 4-2, in the third, Lendl turned into Houdini right there at Roland Garros, storming to a stunning victory.
Before that stifling hot Sunday in Paris in 1984, he was a guy who didn't have what it took to win, a cold and machine-like athlete devoid of the color that made his contemporaries -- Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, McEnroe -- such fan favorites. But the floodgates were opened that day against McEnroe, and Lendl went on to win seven other major championships, including three straight at the US Open beginning in 1985. While his public persona perhaps was never embraced, it is hard to deny that the native Czech was one of the premier athletes of his generation.
So what the heck was he doing here, at age 44, standing over a ball that had come to rest against a tree at the Pinehills, playing before a gallery that at times expanded to three or four people?
"I love to compete. Obviously, it's a different level, but at least it's competition," said Lendl, who retired from competitive tennis in 1994. Not that he wanted to, because he didn't. He thought he had a few good years left in him, and at 34 he was prepared to pick and choose his schedule carefully and add to his hefty total of 94 tournament wins.
"I still enjoyed the game, but the back wouldn't allow it," he said. "I just couldn't do it anymore."
Having made his fortune and settled into his estate in Goshen, Conn., Lendl channeled his competitive fires toward golf, a sport he never even gave thought to while growing up. There were perhaps three courses in the former Czechoslovakia, and even though a good friend urged him to play, Lendl brushed him aside. "I always told him that old men play golf, that real men play tennis," said Lendl.
That viewpoint has come full circle, because had he known then what he knows now, he would have chosen golf over tennis. Why?
"Because in golf, you don't have to retire."
Don't get him wrong. He appreciates everything tennis provided him, most especially the lifestyle that allowed him to spend as much time as he wants with wife Samantha and their five daughters, all of whom, by the way, are golfers. No tennis for them. No tennis for him, either.
"I hit balls this winter for a half-hour," said Lendl, "and I did not enjoy it. I hit it fine, but it wasn't giving me pleasure. I said, `Let's go play golf.' "
That explains the philosophy behind his commitment to his new game, his presence on the
Standing in as a righthanded golfer, he took his wedge, turned it around, and took a few practice swings with one hand. All the while, his playing partner watched with great interest.
"I figured he'd eventually put the left hand on the club," said Doug Clapp, one of the state's best amateur players. "But he didn't. He pinned that left arm to his body and swung with just the right arm and he hit the thing square on the clubface. Pretty impressive."
OK, the shot went about 40 yards when it needed to go 45. And OK, the next shot out of the bunker went long and led to a double bogey. The point is, Lendl had the cool demeanor to think of the shot, the guts to attempt it, and the skill to nearly pull it off.
It highlighted the athletic challenge that fuels Lendl's passion these days. He makes no excuses for his newfound obsession. It's just that he is quite capable of keeping everything in perspective, particularly when he finds himself thinking about a possible career on the Champions Tour in six years.
"My heart is telling me, `Let's try and get out there and have some fun.' But my mind is saying, `Let's see, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, they're all your age.' Somehow, they've had a head start. Is it something I would like to do? Yes. Is it something I'm going to do? I don't know. I don't know if I would even try."
It's the sort of pep talk he gives himself before those CPT tournaments he plays in, and before events like yesterday's US Open qualifier at Pinehills. Sure, in another lifetime he played in front of thousands of fans in tennis's greatest theaters, from Wimbledon to Australia. And yes, he once faced endless situations that tested his athletic courage. But this is another lifetime and another sport, and Lendl often sits himself down for a sobering reminder.
"In my heart, I would like to win the whole tournament, but in my mind I'm saying, `Time out, stupid; you're not that good,' " he said, again flashing a smile.
Yesterday, Lendl proved himself correct, though truly he impressed far more than he disappointed. The double bogeys at nine and 18 didn't help the effort, of course, but on the other 16 holes he was even par -- two bogeys, two birdies, 12 pars -- the only real hiccup coming on a three-putt from 12 feet at the par-3 13th.
He displayed a smooth, even-tempered rhythm, and Clapp took note "that he really never went after anything. He went with a nice, easy swing."
No, it wasn't good enough to push him through the process, but Clapp came away impressed. "He was just as advertised," said the member at Walpole CC. "He was very affable."
Which is why Clapp, whose round of 70 was good enough to get him into the next stage, wasn't embarrassed to wait patiently for an autograph. "I was a sports fan, too," said Clapp. "I mean, I rooted for [McEnroe and Connors], but it wasn't like I rooted against [Lendl]. I just remember how good he was."
