French Open Betting / Ralph Ellis / 15 April 2009 / Leave a comment

Ralph Ellis takes a trip down memory lane to recall interviewing Ivan Lendl and being told he was desperate to win Wimbledon. Fast forward twenty years and Federer's interviews in which he talks about winning the French Open has echoes of Lendl's tune.

I first covered Wimbledon in 1987 when Ivan Lendl was the figure who dominated world tennis. Number one for a what was then a record 270 weeks, the tall, slim Czech with a steely eyed commitment to winning was the man who began every tournament as favourite to take the trophy.

That year he had just collected the French Open, and was a racing certainty to add the grass court title to his collection until he ran into the booming serve of 17-year-old Boris Becker in the final. It hurt like hell, and it hurt for two further years as his quest at SW19 ended in the semis.

By the time 1990 came round, Lendl, then aged 30 had won two Australian Opens as well as three US titles and two at Roland Garros and all he wanted was Wimbledon before he retired. He didn't even compete in France that year and I can remember interviewing him at a tiny tournament somewhere in Kent where he'd gone to play on grass instead. All he talked about was his quest to be a Wimbledon winner.

It didn't happen - Stefan Edberg wiped him away in straight sets in the semis and after that he never won another Grand Slam.

Apologies for the trip down memory lane, but I was reminded of it all as I read Roger Federer's interview before he began this year's clay court campaign at the Monte Carlo Masters. The Swiss giant is to Roland Garros what Lendl was to Wimbledon, the master determined to add the one missing piece of silverware before it's too late. And win or lose in today's opening match in the Principality, it's clear that's all he cares about.

"I have been the second best clay-court player for a long time and I hope to be able to win the big one, the French Open, at the end of the road," he said. "It's on this objective that I am concentrating. Here it's more a question of getting the rhythm, of winning a few matches and of playing well. I do like the exchanges on clay. I feel fresh and am now ready to attack. A fresh mind is key to my game."

Oh dear, substitute grass for clay and it's almost exactly what Lendl was telling me in a tent in Beckenham while the rain was pouring down outside all those years ago. And it is just as certain to end in disappointment (just as it always did for Pete Sampras, incidentally, who also failed to add the French to all his other titles). Federer is [10.5] second favourite to triumph in Paris this year but it might as well be [100.0]. When the going gets tough the memory of how easily he was wiped away by Rafael Nadal in last year's final will surely come back to haunt him. And don't be surprised if he goes out early in any of the tournaments between then and now. When you are trying too hard for something it often brings mistakes.

Five things you might not know about Ivan Lendl

1.Born in Ostrava, his Mum Olga was at one time ranked number two in Czechoslovakia

2.He moved to the States after turning professional, but a bill to allow him to become a US Citizen in time for the 1988 Olympics failed to get through Congress. He eventually became an American in 1992.

3.He is credited with being the first tennis player to embrace modern fitness and training ideas

4.A scratch golfer, after retiring from tennis he tried to turn pro in that sport but never got further than a win on the Celebrity tour.

5.Three of his five daughters, Marika (18), Isabella (17) and Daniela (15), play golf at US Junior Girls level and he now devotes much of his time to managing their progress