Ivan Lendl’s rise to the top of the PIF ATP Rankings on 28 February 1983 was a testament to the value of consistency over the course of the tour-level season. As the ATP Tour’s campaign for the 2025 season says, “It all adds up.”
Yet to earn his first major trophy, Lendl nonetheless claimed the No. 1 spot soon after a 15-title season in 1982. The biggest of those 15 crowns came at the 1982 Masters, now the Nitto ATP Finals, which he won for the second straight year by defeating then-No. 2 Jimmy Connors and then-No. 1 John McEnroe in the last two rounds.
Lendl's no-nonsense personality translated to his game. The Czech-American was all business on the court, known to occasionally tag his opponent with punishing groundstrokes. While he kept his emotions in check, his drive was evident in the way he took fitness to a new level with his intense training regimen.
Lendl began the 1983 season at World No. 3, but soon claimed the top spot after a title run in Detroit and a runner-up finish in Philadelphia.
“I was between two and three in the world for two, three years. That’s not exactly where I wanted to be,” he recalled of his chase for No. 1.
Americans McEnroe and Connors exclusively shared the top spot from August 1981 until Lendl’s No. 1 debut in 1983. With the duopoly turned into a triumvirate, the No. 1 PIF ATP Ranking frequently changed hands through the mid-80s. McEnroe firmly established himself as top dog with a 53-week run from 1984-85, only for Lendl to eventually take over for 157 weeks from 1985-87.
All told, Lendl spent 270 weeks at No. 1 across eight stints. His 270 weeks at the summit remained a record until Pete Sampras (who finished with 286 weeks at No. 1) passed him in 1999. Since then, Roger Federer (310 weeks) and Novak Djokovic (428) have further raised the bar for weeks at No. 1.
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