Ivan Lendl To Return To Competitive Tennis

Written by: Staff on 14th September 2012

Ivan Lendl To Return To Competitive Tennis

epa02746224 Former tennis pro Ivan Lendl plays the ball in his 6:1, 3:6 and 6:1 loss in the Cup of Legends final against Pat Cash at Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 22 May 2011. Several former tennis pros competed in the cup that took place from 20 to 22 May. EPA/FREDRIK VON ERICHSEN |

Ivan Lendl, fresh from his success as coach to US Open champion Andy Murray, is returning to the competitive arena himself as a replacement for Jimmy Connors on four stops of the upcoming PowerShares Series alongside old foe John McEnroe.

The 52 year-old will contest the events in Chicago, Detroit, Boston and San Jose that PowerShares Series begins October 13 in Surprise, Arizona and concludes on November 30 in Anaheim, California.

Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and co-owner of the series, Jim Courier will also compete with Michael Chang stepping in as Connors’ substitute in the initial event in Surprise along with dates in Tampa and Atlanta. Todd Martin and Mats Wilander make up the cast list.

Connors is still recuperating from hip surgery while Lendl has been privately working at his fitness in preparation. The winner of eight Grand Slam titles revealed: “I’ve lost about 25lbs since Wimbledon and have another 25 to go. You will find out why in Australia. I did a lot of practice sessions with Andy at the Open so I am hitting the ball well.

“If I can start moving it will be better and the best way to start moving is to lose some weight. So that is what I’ve done and it’s a work in progress.”

Each event will feature four players with a one-set semifinals and a first to eight games pro-set final. The players will earn points over the course of the schedule, with the top three finishers splitting a $1 million purse.

Aside from his Grand Slam triumphs at the Australian, French and US Opens, he won 94 tournaments overall during a 17-year career on the ATP World Tour spending a total of 270 weeks at no. 1 in the world rankings.

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Ana Ivanovic, Andy Murray, Atp World Tour, Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors, Sports, Tennis News, US Open 2012