5 Most Memorable Slam Finals Of The Open Era

#4 French Open 1984 (John McEnroe vs Ivan Lendl)

(The Unforgettable Comeback)

Overview:

Time Duration: 4 hrs 8 minutes

Total Points: 292

Total Aces: 36

Total Winners: 117

Total games played: 51

Final Scoreline

Lendl def. McEnroe: 3-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 7-5

Background:

The year 1984 was special for tennis in many ways. John McEnroe reached the peak of his game, winning 13 titles with an 82-3 win-loss record. He arrived at Roland Garros without losing a single match in the whole year with 37 straight wins. As expected, he reached the final and extended his win streak to 43 matches. He was expected to win the title, which had alluded Americans for almost three decades. The last American to win at the red clay of Roland Garros was Tony Trabert in 1955. Lendl, on the other hand, was tagged as a choker for losing his last four Grand Slam finals. He also reached the final with a fair amount of ease.

Match:

The first set started like any other day in the office, with McEnroe dominating Lendl with big serves and amazing net play. The American won the set easily by 6-3. Things got even tougher for Lendl in the second set as he had no answers to McEnroe's attacking play, thus losing it by 6-2. The third set was more balanced in competition. Lendl started using more lobs and passing shots to counter McEnroe's net play.

At 5-4, Lendl broke serve to claim the third set. The fourth set witnessed multiple breaks of serve. McEnroe was leading by a break with the scores at 4-2. That is when it started to turn around. McEnroe lost his serve twice to lose the set unexpectedly by 5-7. In the final set, Lendl's physical toughness started to play a role but a tired McEnroe hanged on thanks to his big serve. The set was on serve at 6-5 with McEnroe to serve to stay in the match. After saving one championship point, McEnroe miss hit a simple volley into the net, which cost him the biggest loss of his career. He was so disappointed that he refused to address the crowd after the match.