John McEnroe beat Ivan Lendl 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 in the US Open final, 1984 on hard court
The win would turn out to be McEnroe's last Slam title. Earlier in the year, he'd lost the French Open final to Lendl and won Wimbledon. For Lendl, it was his 3rd straight runner-up showing at the event but he would go onto win the next 3, starting with a win over McEnroe the following year
McEnroe won 91 points, Lendl 66
McEnroe serve-volleyed off all first serves and all but 4 seconds. Lendl serve-volleyed off about half his first serves
(Note: I'm missing 2 McEnroe service points, both won by Lendl. Commentary indicates neither were double faults. The points have been included in McEnroe's unreturned serve stats and Lendl's return rate - which are complete
Missing points - Set 2, Game 2, Point 1 and Set 3, Game 2, Point 1)
Serve Stats
McEnroe...
- 1st serve percentage (44/72) 61%
- 1st serve points won (37/44) 84%
- 2nd serve points won (18/28) 64%
- Unknown serve points (0/2)
- Aces 8 (1 second serve), Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 6
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (34/74) 46%
Lendl...
- 1st serve percentage (51/83) 61%
- 1st serve points won (32/51) 63%
- 2nd serve points won (15/32) 47%
- Aces 3
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (15/83) 18%
Serve Patterns
McEnroe served...
- to FH 30%
- to BH 59%
- to Body 11%
Lendl served...
- to FH 40%
- to BH 54%
- to Body 6%
Return Stats
McEnroe made...
- 67 (32 FH, 35 BH), including 1 runaround FH & 17 return-approaches
- 2 Winners (1 FH, 1 BH)
- 12 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (1 FH, 1 BH), including 1 return-approach attempt
- 9 Forced (2 FH, 7 BH)
- Return Rate (67/82) 82%
Lendl made...
- 34 (13 FH, 19 BH, 2 ??), including 1 runaround FH
- 3 Winners (3 BH)
- 25 Errors, comprising...
- 1 Unforced (1 BH)
- 24 Forced (7 FH, 17 BH)
- Return Rate (34/68) 50%
Break Points
McEnroe 5/7 (6 games)
Lendl 0/2 (1 game)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
McEnroe 28 (6 FH, 6 BH, 5 FHV, 9 BHV, 2 OH)
Lendl 21 (4 FH, 9 BH, 4 FHV, 4 OH)
McEnroe had 14 from serve-volley points
- 9 first volleys (3 FHV, 5 BHV, 1 OH)
- 5 second 'volleys' (2 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH, 1 FH at net)
- 2 from return-approach points (2 BHV)
- 1 other BHV was net-to-net
- FHs - 2 cc (1 return, 1 pass), 1 dtl pass, 1 inside-out and 1 lob
- BH passes - 2 cc (1 return), 1 dtl, 1 inside-out/dtl and 1 inside-out at net
- BH regular - 1 cc
Lendl's FHs (all passes) - 1 cc, 1 inside-out and 2 lobs
- BH passes - 5 cc (1 return) and 3 dtl (2 returns)
- BH regular - 1 cc
- 4 from serve-volley points - 1 first volley FHV and 3 second volleys (1 FHV, 2 OH)
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
McEnroe 22
- 11 Unforced (4 FH, 3 BH, 3 BHV, 1 OH)… the OH was a baseline shot
- 11 Forced (3 FH, 6 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.2
Lendl 28
- 7 Unforced (2 FH, 1 BH, 1 FHV, 3 BHV)
- 21 Forced (6 FH, 13 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BH1/2V)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.1
(Note 1: All 1/2 volleys refer to such shots played at net. 1/2 volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke numbers)
(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
McEnroe was...
- 59/77 (77%) at net, including...
- 43/53 (81%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 29/36 (81%) off 1st serve and...
- 14/17 (83%) off 2nd serve
---
- 10/17 (59%) return-approaching
- 0/1 forced back
Lendl was...
- 23/39 (59%) at net, including...
- 16/27 (59%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 16/25 (64%) off 1st serve and...
- 0/2 off 2nd serve
Match Report
McEnroe is on top of his game (especially the volleying and returning) while Lendl is a bit off (particularly on the serve and return), making for a very comfortable result for the winner
McEnroe crowding Lendl and constantly attacking is the chief dynamic of play. Serve-volleys off all but 4 serves and return-approaches regularly (rarely against the first serve even - and occasionally driving rather than chipping). From the baseline, he's also attacking with court opening shots and coming in - without being desperate to do so
Lendl takes something off the first serve to get more in and serves a hefty second serve. Doesn't stop Mac from chip-charging second serves - and makes it easier to deal with the firsts. He looks to come to net more and more as match goes on - probably to keep Mac away from it. His returning is well below standard it would have needed to be for him to have a shot at victory, and probably lower than his norm too
Serve & Return
Not Mac's best serving. He's not hitting lines or swinging Lendl out of court with serves. Healthy amount of body and body-ish serves (in other words, balls Lendl can reach without difficulty) and not powerful enough for such serves to guarantee cheap points. And a high 6 double faults to boot. He serve-volleys behind all but all of it
What can Lendl do? Mac volleys almost perfectly (more on that later), so safe, consistent returning is unlikely to bring Lendl much joy. Even so, Lendl doesn't return particularly well
Just 50% return rate for Lendl. Well as Mac serves, he doesn't serve 46% unreturned serves well. And court isn't particularly quick that Lendl couldn't have done better just making balls he can reach fairly comfortably. The quality of his better returns are based on them being firmly (occasionally, powerfully) struck but not placed particularly well. In the volleying form Mac's in, it doesn't bother him at all - just picks off volleys
Mind you, even the rare low or wide ball is volleyed back in play about as well as possible. Still, a blackmark against Lendl's returning
Lendl doesn't serve too well either. Particularly from second set on, he takes something off first serves, since second serves were being fiercely attacked. Mac is able to comfortably return. 18% unreturned rate is very low for Ivan. Just 3 aces serving at 61% speaks to his holding back on the first serve
Mac though, returns splendidly - that along with his volleying (which is interconnected) - are the two keys to the match. While Lendl's eased up on first serves, the seconds are quite heavy... and Mac's ability to approach off it so consistently (misses 1 in 18 attempts) is excellent. He also apt to 'charge'-return and take balls so early that even blocked shots leave Lendl struggling on the third ball
82% return rate, even against three-quarter power serving from Lendl is good. Only area Mac isn't too proficient at is against the serve-volleying of Lendl. Most of his 9 return FEs come against such serves and the ones he makes leave Lendl with comfortable volleys. Strategically, its not too sound as Lendl's volleying in the match is suspect enough that just making him hit the shot is worth ago. Mac could have done even better than he did at making Ivan hit a volley
The win would turn out to be McEnroe's last Slam title. Earlier in the year, he'd lost the French Open final to Lendl and won Wimbledon. For Lendl, it was his 3rd straight runner-up showing at the event but he would go onto win the next 3, starting with a win over McEnroe the following year
McEnroe won 91 points, Lendl 66
McEnroe serve-volleyed off all first serves and all but 4 seconds. Lendl serve-volleyed off about half his first serves
(Note: I'm missing 2 McEnroe service points, both won by Lendl. Commentary indicates neither were double faults. The points have been included in McEnroe's unreturned serve stats and Lendl's return rate - which are complete
Missing points - Set 2, Game 2, Point 1 and Set 3, Game 2, Point 1)
Serve Stats
McEnroe...
- 1st serve percentage (44/72) 61%
- 1st serve points won (37/44) 84%
- 2nd serve points won (18/28) 64%
- Unknown serve points (0/2)
- Aces 8 (1 second serve), Service Winners 1
- Double Faults 6
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (34/74) 46%
Lendl...
- 1st serve percentage (51/83) 61%
- 1st serve points won (32/51) 63%
- 2nd serve points won (15/32) 47%
- Aces 3
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (15/83) 18%
Serve Patterns
McEnroe served...
- to FH 30%
- to BH 59%
- to Body 11%
Lendl served...
- to FH 40%
- to BH 54%
- to Body 6%
Return Stats
McEnroe made...
- 67 (32 FH, 35 BH), including 1 runaround FH & 17 return-approaches
- 2 Winners (1 FH, 1 BH)
- 12 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (1 FH, 1 BH), including 1 return-approach attempt
- 9 Forced (2 FH, 7 BH)
- Return Rate (67/82) 82%
Lendl made...
- 34 (13 FH, 19 BH, 2 ??), including 1 runaround FH
- 3 Winners (3 BH)
- 25 Errors, comprising...
- 1 Unforced (1 BH)
- 24 Forced (7 FH, 17 BH)
- Return Rate (34/68) 50%
Break Points
McEnroe 5/7 (6 games)
Lendl 0/2 (1 game)
Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
McEnroe 28 (6 FH, 6 BH, 5 FHV, 9 BHV, 2 OH)
Lendl 21 (4 FH, 9 BH, 4 FHV, 4 OH)
McEnroe had 14 from serve-volley points
- 9 first volleys (3 FHV, 5 BHV, 1 OH)
- 5 second 'volleys' (2 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH, 1 FH at net)
- 2 from return-approach points (2 BHV)
- 1 other BHV was net-to-net
- FHs - 2 cc (1 return, 1 pass), 1 dtl pass, 1 inside-out and 1 lob
- BH passes - 2 cc (1 return), 1 dtl, 1 inside-out/dtl and 1 inside-out at net
- BH regular - 1 cc
Lendl's FHs (all passes) - 1 cc, 1 inside-out and 2 lobs
- BH passes - 5 cc (1 return) and 3 dtl (2 returns)
- BH regular - 1 cc
- 4 from serve-volley points - 1 first volley FHV and 3 second volleys (1 FHV, 2 OH)
Errors (excluding serves and returns)
McEnroe 22
- 11 Unforced (4 FH, 3 BH, 3 BHV, 1 OH)… the OH was a baseline shot
- 11 Forced (3 FH, 6 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.2
Lendl 28
- 7 Unforced (2 FH, 1 BH, 1 FHV, 3 BHV)
- 21 Forced (6 FH, 13 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BH1/2V)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 47.1
(Note 1: All 1/2 volleys refer to such shots played at net. 1/2 volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke numbers)
(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
McEnroe was...
- 59/77 (77%) at net, including...
- 43/53 (81%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 29/36 (81%) off 1st serve and...
- 14/17 (83%) off 2nd serve
---
- 10/17 (59%) return-approaching
- 0/1 forced back
Lendl was...
- 23/39 (59%) at net, including...
- 16/27 (59%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 16/25 (64%) off 1st serve and...
- 0/2 off 2nd serve
Match Report
McEnroe is on top of his game (especially the volleying and returning) while Lendl is a bit off (particularly on the serve and return), making for a very comfortable result for the winner
McEnroe crowding Lendl and constantly attacking is the chief dynamic of play. Serve-volleys off all but 4 serves and return-approaches regularly (rarely against the first serve even - and occasionally driving rather than chipping). From the baseline, he's also attacking with court opening shots and coming in - without being desperate to do so
Lendl takes something off the first serve to get more in and serves a hefty second serve. Doesn't stop Mac from chip-charging second serves - and makes it easier to deal with the firsts. He looks to come to net more and more as match goes on - probably to keep Mac away from it. His returning is well below standard it would have needed to be for him to have a shot at victory, and probably lower than his norm too
Serve & Return
Not Mac's best serving. He's not hitting lines or swinging Lendl out of court with serves. Healthy amount of body and body-ish serves (in other words, balls Lendl can reach without difficulty) and not powerful enough for such serves to guarantee cheap points. And a high 6 double faults to boot. He serve-volleys behind all but all of it
What can Lendl do? Mac volleys almost perfectly (more on that later), so safe, consistent returning is unlikely to bring Lendl much joy. Even so, Lendl doesn't return particularly well
Just 50% return rate for Lendl. Well as Mac serves, he doesn't serve 46% unreturned serves well. And court isn't particularly quick that Lendl couldn't have done better just making balls he can reach fairly comfortably. The quality of his better returns are based on them being firmly (occasionally, powerfully) struck but not placed particularly well. In the volleying form Mac's in, it doesn't bother him at all - just picks off volleys
Mind you, even the rare low or wide ball is volleyed back in play about as well as possible. Still, a blackmark against Lendl's returning
Lendl doesn't serve too well either. Particularly from second set on, he takes something off first serves, since second serves were being fiercely attacked. Mac is able to comfortably return. 18% unreturned rate is very low for Ivan. Just 3 aces serving at 61% speaks to his holding back on the first serve
Mac though, returns splendidly - that along with his volleying (which is interconnected) - are the two keys to the match. While Lendl's eased up on first serves, the seconds are quite heavy... and Mac's ability to approach off it so consistently (misses 1 in 18 attempts) is excellent. He also apt to 'charge'-return and take balls so early that even blocked shots leave Lendl struggling on the third ball
82% return rate, even against three-quarter power serving from Lendl is good. Only area Mac isn't too proficient at is against the serve-volleying of Lendl. Most of his 9 return FEs come against such serves and the ones he makes leave Lendl with comfortable volleys. Strategically, its not too sound as Lendl's volleying in the match is suspect enough that just making him hit the shot is worth ago. Mac could have done even better than he did at making Ivan hit a volley
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