The Day Lendl Dominated Becker On Grass! Ivan Lendl vs Boris Becker | Queen's 1990 Final Highlights

He peaked too early. Once he won Queens he was not same player in Wimby.
I also like the way things were with regards to trophy ceremonies. No microphone and asking you about your feelings etc. Just one winner, one looser deal with it. It set players apart and have them an aura as we didn't really know them, which was good.

Lendl was a far, far superior tennis player than Becker ever was

Lendl skipped the French Open during 1990 to focus on winning Wimbledon. A dominant display at Queens but was beaten at Wimbledon semis by Edberg in straight sets

Where was this game for Lendl in all those heartbreaking Wimbledon finals and semi-finals?

The most relevant thing was that he tried to improve on grass by totally changing his game: no more bombs from the line but more serve and volley.
He did a great job but Edberg and Becker still were superior

I remember Lendl won the Australian Open earlier that year it was his 8th and last major, he was still at or around his peak but he skipped the French where he was a 3 time winner to concentrate on Wimbledon and have more time to grove his timing on grass which back then was lighting fast.
It worked on this match but he peaked too early and was beaten in straight sets by Edberg a month later.

I wish this was Wimbledon! Wimbledon God has done unjustice to him 😢

The quality of tennis during those times was truly exceptional. Players showcased incredible skill and versatility, with matches that demonstrated a rich variety of strategies for winning. Today, it feels like many players are just carbon copies of one another in terms of playing style. I find it hard to watch matches for too long. They either need to speed up the courts or tune down those power strings and rackets for pros.

lendl would have been an absolute monster in this post 2001 rye grass era especially with slower heavier balls. plus he would have won Wimbledon at least once, so would seles and becker would have been a force too, just in a different way.more like the way he played on rebound ace in 1991

This was a different side of Ivan Lendl.I never knew he had those volley skills and could serve and volley like that.He was primarily a baseliner but looking back especially at wimbledon in those years, perhaps he should have come more to the net in being aggressive.He definately judging from this video had the talent and skill to volley at the net.

How I wish he played like that in one of the Wimbledon finals.

What a wonderful match. I've never seen Lendl better.

Concentrated, no phases of weakness, fast and dry.

He skipped Paris that year for concentrating on Grass and Wimbledon. After this victory it seemed doable. But Lendl couldn't hold this superlevel for another two weeks. And Edberg was at his prime that year.

Lendl was so much more relaxed in this match than he typically was at Wimbledon, this was effortless display. Becker did not appear to have his best day either, he seemed to play some of his best tennis at Wimbledon. This is best footage of Lendl volleying well at the net that I've ever seen. Was not his strength, but his groundstrokes were beastly.

I saw that game.. Lendl changed his system and played serve and volley.. and destroyed Becker on grass.

Lendl didn’t play RG that year (if I remember well he actually didn’t play the whole clay season) trying to train himself the best way on grass to have more chances to win Wimbledon. You see the results here. An alien. After this performance everybody thought he would have easily won the Championships. Unfortunately he lost vs Edberg in the semifinals.

From recall, as I watched all this on the 1990 ATP highlight show, Lendl beat John McEnroe in the semifinal. I recorded this episode actually. Amazing tournament for Ivan!

Fantastic Ivan on grass ❤

One of the first times Lendl migrated to a racquet with a bigger head size. Why did he go back?

how great Ivan Lendl was on this day.. amazing 🎉🎉🎉

Dammit such tennis !!

Becker was sleeping😂

Best match of Ivan Lendl on grass. This was the era of the best grass players (Edberg and Becker), and so Ivan had no chance against them...

Lendl wow! Still my favored player.. came slow close at Wimbledon😔

Lendl was more under pressure in the Grand Slam tournaments. Even at his peak, he was still psychologically fragile in his most unfavourable context: grass, Grand Slam, finals, strong adversaries.

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Lendl deserved to win Wimbledon.....but....

Tutte je' l'ha fatte tutte e tutte je' so' entrate a Lendl povero Becker che ha cercato di scuotersi ma inutilmente non c'era niente da fare quel giorno Lendl era semplicemente più determinato e più forte.

Lendl the ruthless machine!

Hardly any 'grunting' back then!

Vedendo questa partita al QUEENS contro Becker non riesco a capire come mai un giocatore come Lendl non abbia potuto mai vincere Wimbledon partita perfetta vincenti spettacolari e precisi nessun errore vittoria in sicurezza e scioltezza Lendl impressionante Becker mai entrato in partita veramente assurdo !!!

Ivan Lendl was at his best & Becker was not at his best, looking exhausted.....
Becker's game was not even 50% of his potential on that day.
He was looking damn tired and exhausted.
Otherwise, it would have been a different result.
Anyways, Lendl played shots of his life (those return shots off Becker's serves).

Only On This Preparation Tournament Lendl Could Beat Becker On Grass. Boris Always Won In Wimbledon Against Ivan.

Saw it live. Shame he choked 2 weeks later.

He's no Pat Cash or John McEnroe, but he improved his grass court game tremendously. Great serve and volley but also using that chip backhand to make the ball drop at players feet or short angles cross court.
It makes me wonder if Lendl came out to Australia at the start of his career and played the summer grass circuit and hooked up with Roachy alot earlier, just maybe he would have won a Wimbledon or 2. He's in great company with Ken Rosewall as one of the greatest to never win Wimbledon, unfortunately.
Alot of respect for how professional and how hard he tried.

wow, what a display of power by Lendl. Shame that he couldn't muster all those power and skills at Wimbledon semi final same year. Soundly beaten by the natural serve and volleyer, Stefan Edberg

Was there a rule they need to be in white?

Lendl came to the net quite often.

Ivan Lendle 5 voudig winnaar van Wimbledon.

Lendl showed how good he could get on Grass. Dismissing Becker the way he did even in a lesser tournament is not easy and especially on grass. A tribute to Ivan’s ability to change his game to suit it as per the surface. So inspiring.

Really well played by Lendl! However, if I remember correctly, Lendl didn´t play the French Open in 1990 in order to fully concentrate on preparing for Wimbledon. Becker mainly used Queens to get into shape for Wimbledon. He basically never was at the top of his game in Queens. Even though he won the tournament in 1987, for example, the final against Connors was terrible by Becker´s standards.
Plus, in 1990 Becker got dependant on sleeping pills. Just as in Wimbledon against Edberg in the 1st 2 sets, Becker just seemed off here. There are a few odd mistakes by Becker even in this short vid, which happened only around that time, 1990-1991.

Lendl had a great grass court record for someone who was never at his best on that surface. Five semi-finals and two finals appearances at Wimbledon is testament to his determination. As this clip shows, he was capable of beating the best grass court players and winning Wimbledon, but on the day he wasn't good enough.

Very good work with Navratilova in the games to restore peace.

Lendl peaked too early that year. It was the best he played on grass. He probably would have won Wimbledon on today’s slower courts

Lendl was better on grass than becker on clay

Mizuno 90 sqi
Lendl should have played that racquet up to his retirement.

Lendl had more ticks than Timex.