📍Ostrava, Czech Republic
1960 – 1978“Ivan Lendl was born in Ostrava, a coal-mining and steel-making city in the north of Czechoslovakia, near the Polish border, in March 1960, the only child of two fine tennis players. His mother, Olga Lendlová, was ranked as high as second among Czechoslovak women, and his father, Jiří, a lawyer for a building company, was ranked fifteenth among the men and was also a junior chess champion. Tennis was the family's life, and they spent much of their free time at the local club. He began playing at about six on the clay courts of Ostrava, and both parents coached him; his mother, in particular, was demanding and competitive, and the young Ivan was often beaten by her. He was a serious, determined, rather solitary boy who loved order and discipline. In Communist Czechoslovakia, sport was strictly organised, and as he improved he was drawn into the national sports system, training hard on the city's courts in all weathers. He developed his powerful forehand and iron fitness through relentless practice, and in 1978 he won the junior titles at Wimbledon and the French Open and became the world's top junior. He turned professional and helped Czechoslovakia win the Davis Cup in 1980. He went on to win eight Grand Slam titles and spent 270 weeks as world number one, becoming known for his fitness and professionalism. He later settled in the United States and became a coach, guiding Andy Murray to his first Grand Slam titles. His father became president of the Czechoslovak Tennis Federation.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today