What Happened to Wilander from 1984-1986

[Paul Murphy]

Thanks for posting the Bodo piece - interesting to look back on it knowing as we do how his career panned out.

[Tombers]

between 84 and 86 either mcenroe or Lendl were pretty unbeatable.

[benmarks1984]

To be fair to Wilander, its not like he dropped of the map in 84-86. He still remained in the top 5 rankings and won the French and Davis cup in 85', R/up in the Austrialian in 85', plus he took Mcenroe to 5 sets in US Open S/final in 85'.

Think this thread should be more like "What Happened to Wilander after 1988." Such a shame he couldnt continue his 87/88 form into the 1990s. If he had, he could have easily beat Roy Emerson's record at the time of 12 majors

[Tombers]

Originally Posted by benmarks1984

To be fair to Wilander, its not like he dropped of the map in 84-86. He still remained in the top 5 rankings and won the French and Davis cup in 85', R/up in the Austrialian in 85', plus he took Mcenroe to 5 sets in US Open S/final in 85'.

Think this thread should be more like "What Happened to Wilander after 1988." Such a shame he couldnt continue his 87/88 form into the 1990s. If he had, he could have easily beat Roy Emerson's record at the time of 12 majors

No way could wilander of beat emerson's dodgy record. Lendl had on off year in 88 which in my opinion contributed to wilander's three slams that year, lendl 89-90 would have beat wilander 88.

[Blocker]

Wilander was one of those players who could get blown off the court in a 'smaller' event by a player ranked 150 in the world and then 3 weeks later hold up a grand slam trophy, beating that same player en route to the GS final. I always got the impression when watching him play that he wasn't too fussed about the non slams. But in the grand slams, boy he was tough. He would beat you in the matches that count but still have a lising H2H record against you.

[hoodjem]

Originally Posted by Zimbo

Here's an article written in June '88 by Peter Bodo (when I felt he knew what he was talking about) on Wilander. Its a pretty good read.


In the past, it was always difficult to imagine Mats Wilander "living on the edge", unless the edge in question was the shoreline of a pristine Scandinavian fjord. From the time Wilander became the youngest male champion in French Open history, at age 17, in 1982, his game was much like his person: elegant but passive, effective but uninspiring. Looking back, Wilander freely admits, "I was never a gambler, not in tennis, not in golf, not in cards, not in anything. Not even in life. Some guys, when the chance comes up, they think, "O.K., I'm going to throw my card in, take a chance and see what happens". I just never liked that feeling. I don't like to give up control or put myself in the hands of fate."

Over the course of three years ending in 1985, Wilander harvested three more Grand Slam titles (two Australian Opens and another French at Stade Roland Garros). But his conservatism ultimately led him into a cul-de-sac, personally and professionally. From the summer of 1985 on, he was a player adrift - uncommitted to challenging for the no. 1 ranking, but happy to bank the king's ranson bestowed upon a top five player. He was not a materialist, a cynic or a flawed competitor - just a thoughtful 21-year-old kid going through the motions required to keep his place in the game.

Was Wilander too intelligent for tennis supremacy?

[kiki]

Matts won the 84 Ao and the 85 FO...isn´t that enough?