French Open: Mats Wilander goes from junior to French master velum

It was an astonishing start to a career that saw Wilander win seven grand slam titles and climb to the top of the world rankings before retiring to Colarado's Rocky Mountains.

Aged just 17 and playing as an unseeded junior, the unknown Swede had shocked the world of tennis by winning the famous clay court grand slam.

It was 1982 and super-Swede Bjorn Borg, a winner of six French Open titles, was turning into a tennis recluse but the Nordic nation seemed to have found a successor.



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'It made headlines around the world,' recalled Open Court presenter Pat Cash, who grew up on the tennis tour with Wilander.

'I was still playing the junior event at Roland Garros but Mats won the French Open as a junior! It was absolutely monumental.'

Even for the laidback Wilander the victory -- which saw him become the youngest grand slam male singles champion on record at that time -- took him aback.

'When I was 14 I wasn't even thinking of playing professional tennis,' Wilander told Cash in conversation. 'I was thinking of going to high school in Sweden then getting a job.

'I wasn't thinking about the future. So that was a surprise ... winning at 17.'

Mind games

On his way to the final, the precocious Swede swept aside Ivan Lendl, American grand slam winner Vitas Gerulaitis and Argentine hero Guillermo Vilas in what would be his last major final.

'I felt they couldn't hang with me mentally even though I was only 17 years old,' explained Wilander. 'I played Vilas in the final and I think he got really nervous when he realized he might not beat me. He just went to pieces.

'I didn't get physically tired. That all came from Bjorg. His game was never missing, never getting tired and never showing any emotions. It was easy to copy.

'I also didn't really put any pressure on myself to do more than I could. When you're younger, you just do your thing.'

Wilander continued to 'do his thing' at Roland Garros, returning to win the French Open crown in 1985 and 1988.

The Swede, who now follows the game from the TV commentary box, believes the same mind games that forged his success fires up Nadal. Wilander considers the Spaniard the greatest-ever clay court player

The Spanish world No.2 is gunning to extend his record to a 10th title at the 2015 French Open and plays Novakin the quarterfinals Wednesday.

'More than half of the matches are won in the dressing room for him,' argued Wilander.

'The guy he's playing against is sitting in the locker-room thinking 'oh my God, I'm going to play Rafa Nadal on clay in five sets, that's going to be painful.' I wouldn't want to do that!

'Nadal is just more at home on clay. It looks like he feels safer on clay courts. He can get to a few more balls, he can play a bit further behind the baseline when he defends, and he's also able to get the ball to bounce higher. It's unbelievable.

'Although I have to say that I don't think he's as good now as he was four or five years ago on clay. He's not as dominant.'

Flashback: Rafael Nadal wins record ninth French Open title

Wilander almost reached impossible heights at the peak of his game in 1988 when he finished the season as the world No.1 and came close to capturing an elusive Grand Slam, winning the Australian, French and U.S. Open titles but losing in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

In typical mellow manner, Wilander downplays his purple patch as 'a slight over-achievement.'

When Cash, who he beat to the Australian Open crown that year, disagreed, Wilander countered, 'No, no, it really was.

'I think I got lucky and it [changing to a serve and volley game] worked for me for one year, in 1988, and then I lost it after that.'

American Don Budge and Australian Rod Laver remain the only men to complete the Grand Slam in the men's singles game.

But can today's golden generation of Nadal and his illustrious playing peers Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic break the barrier?

'Yes I can see them winning four,' said Wilander. 'I'm really surprised that Federer hasn't done it already.

'I'm not sure he has the chance now though. He's maybe getting too old, maybe too many kids! I'm also not sure Nadal can get it together on all the different surfaces.

'But I'd be surprised if Djokovic didn't have another great year like 2011 where he's really close to winning all four.'

After bursting onto the scene as a grand-slam winning 17-year-old -- a feat later echoed by Boris Becker and Michael Chang -- Wilander is now eager to find the next generation of tennis talent.

'It's great for the game that we hold on to our stars for longer,' Wilander said. 'What Federer is doing, trying to be more aggressive, is helping him have a longer career.

'But at some point we need more 19 and 20-year-olds breaking through. It's exciting, and for younger fans they want to latch onto someone closer in age.'

To help players break through, Wilander argues that the number of seeds [players which are given preferential positions in a tournament draw] should be halved from 32 for grand slams.

'There is something that can be done with the ranking points or taking the seeds down to 16 for grand slams to help give young players a chance,' he said.

'They don't get a chance to play against the best players on the biggest stage because they can't break into the top 100.'

Wilander has his own maverick approach to tutoring the next generation of tennis players -- 'Wilander on Wheels' -- where he coaches rising stars.

The 50-year-old travels regularly from his 'middle of nowhere' family home in Idaho in a Winnebago to give private lessons. A full day of coaching with the former world No.1 starts at $10,000.

'Myself and Cameron Lickle travel around North America in an RV and we conduct tennis clinics in clubs,' Wilander explains.

'We've seen about 450 tennis clubs so far. It's a really cool thing and it's fun.'



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