TOKYO — On 18 October 1993, Ivan Lendl defeated Todd Martin 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the Tokyo Indoor Open at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium to win his 94th and last ATP singles title. The straight-sets victory gave the former world No 1 and eight-time Grand Slam champion his fifth crown in Tokyo, adding to titles won in 1983, 1985, 1990 and 1992.
Lendl arrived in Tokyo as defending champion but seeded only ninth in a field that included Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker and Goran Ivanisevic. Ranked No 18 in October, his lowest since April 1980, he had endured his worst season since 1979, failing to reach the quarter-finals at any major for the first time since 1979 while struggling with hip mobility and after knee surgery. As Andre Agassi had noted in August, "there [were] some days when he still hits the ball like a top four player" — and Lendl proved it. "I don’t think I belong out of the top 10 yet, but there are reasons why it happened that I couldn’t control," Lendl said, quoted by The New York Times. "I’m going to have another crack at it, but if I play lousy, there’s a good chance 1994 could be my last year."
The Czech, who at the time held the record of 270 weeks at world No 1, survived two deciding-set tie-breaks to reach the final. He beat Becker in the quarter-final 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 and then overcame Paul Haarhuis — who had eliminated Ivanisevic in the third round — 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 in the semi-finals. Martin, the 6ft 6in American born in 1970 in Illinois who turned professional in 1990 after two years at Northwestern University, had ousted top seed Edberg 6-4, 6-4 in the quarter-finals. Ranked No 16, Martin had won his first title in Coral Springs against David Wheaton 6-3, 6-4 earlier in 1993 and finished runner-up in Memphis, Washington and Montreal after reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals, where he lost to Jim Courier 6-2, 7-6, 6-3.
The Tokyo Indoor Open had been held since 1978 at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium, famous for its suspension roof design, and formed part of the prestigious Grand Prix Circuit in the 1980s. Lendl had set new standards with his powerful topspin forehand and relentless work ethic on fitness and diet, having turned professional in 1978 and ranked among the top four from 1980 alongside Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors. After losing four Grand Slam finals — Roland-Garros in 1981 to Borg, the US Open in 1982 and 1983 to Connors and the Australian Open in 1983 to Mats Wilander — he won his first major at Roland-Garros in 1984 coming back from two-sets-to-love down against McEnroe, before adding the US Open in 1985 against McEnroe 7-6, 6-3, 6-4 and six further Slams at Roland-Garros in 1986 and 1987, the US Open in 1986 and 1987 and the Australian Open in 1989 and 1990. He finished runner-up at Wimbledon in 1986 to Becker 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 and in 1987 to Pat Cash 7-6, 6-2, 7-5.
Lendl started 1994 with a final in Sydney and a fourth-round run at the Australian Open, both times defeated by Pete Sampras, before his ranking slipped to No 30 and he played his final match at the US Open, retiring against Bernd Karbacher at 6-4, 7-6, 1-0 ret. Martin was named the ATP’s Most Improved Player in 1993 and reached his peak in 1994, entering the top 10 after finishing runner-up to Sampras at the Australian Open 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 and reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open.