Ivan Lendl was generally overshadowed by bigger personalities such as John McEnroe and Boris Becker during the 1980s, but his achievements should not be under-estimated.

Part of the reason why he is often overlooked may be that he never won Wimbledon, but eight Grand Slam titles mark him down as one of the greats.

Czech-born on March 7th 1960 but now an American citizen, Ivan Lendl's heyday was the mid-1980s when he won the French Open three times in four years and completed a back-to-back hat-trick of US Open triumphs.

Success at the Australian Open came later, in 1989 and 1990, but while he reached two Wimbledon finals, his exploits at the All England Club are largely forgotten, for he had to play second fiddle to popular characters in Becker and Pat Cash. Grass was always the surface on which he was least effective.

Ivan Lendl's success owed much to his incredible physical fitness, the effort he put into striving to improve and his meticulous preparation.

He was the most consistent player throughout the 1980s after McEnroe took time out of the game and consequently spent much of that decade as world No 1, regularly reaching the latter stages of Grand Slams.

With an all-court game, he is credited as being one of the forefathers of the style of play adopted by many modern stars.

Following his retirement in 1994, Lendl resisted the lure of the senior circuit and channelled his energy into the sport of golf, in which he plays off scratch.