US Open classics – Mats Wilander vs Ivan Lendl: 1988 final

The third set saw Wilander grabbing a 4-1 lead once again, but this time he maintained his composure to close out the set at 6-3. The game was an exhibition of cat-and-mouse play as both players played the waiting game in the rallies, hoping that the other would err and lose the point.

Ivan Lendl (File Photo)

Wilander broke Lendl’s serve in the fourth set to lead 4-3, but was unable to capitalize on it, as Lendl broke back immediately to level the set at 4-4. Both players managed to hold serve comfortably till the twelfth game with Wilander serving at 5-6, when Lendl attacked the serve to grab two set points at 15-40. He missed the first chance, but placed a forehand right on the line to win the set on the second set point, thereby levelling the match at 2 sets each.

It was the first time since the 1980 final between John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg that the US Open men’s singles final headed into the fifth set. Wilander broke Lendl’s serve in the very first game of the set, and held his serve to lead 2-0. Lendl was still not finished, as he bounced back to win the next three games to go up 3-2, and the final set was back on serve. In the seventh game, Wilander tried to advance to the net and the move worked as he was able to break once again to go up 4-3.

Wilander managed to hold his serve thereafter, though he had to save two breakpoints. The victory finally came when Lendl hit a backhand into the net. The final had begun at 4:22 pm and ended at 9:17 pm, with the crowd attendance went down from 20036 to 8000 as play crept along at snail’s pace. But the quality of tennis improved as the game went on.

Wilander had lost to Lendl in the last six meetings that the two had, which prompted him to famously quote: ”Nobody beats me seven times in a row!”

But it was the day when Mats Wilander had his tryst with destiny. The Swedish Grand Slam of 1988 had been achieved. He had capped the finest year of his career with the US Open crown and World No. 1 ranking. After the victory, he said: “I realized tonight why it was hard for Borg to win. It is so tough, mentally and physically. Because it’s a tournament that I’ve never won, or a Swede has never won, and because I’m going to be number one, it’s the biggest match I ever played. It meant so much.”

Wilander could hold on to the number one ranking for only 20 weeks, before Lendl reclaimed it in January 1989. However, it was on the magical day of September 11, 1988 that Mats Wilander entered into the history books and the US Open final between him and Lendl will be remembered as one of the finest ever.