1983 Lite Challenge of Champions

Singles
1983 Lite Challenge of Champions
Champion	Ivan Lendl
Runner-up	Jimmy Connors
Score	4–6, 6–4, 7–5, 6–4
Draw	8

Main article: Challenge of Champions

The Chicago Challenge of Champions tennis exhibition tournament was held on January 4–9, 1983 at the Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois.^[1] The promoter was Andrzej Kepinski, and this was the first year of sponsorship by Miller Lite.^[1] This was the third year of the Challenge.

Ivan Lendl won in the final 4–6, 6–4, 7–5, 6–4 against Jimmy Connors.

Dates, schedule and attendance

Match play began at 6:30 p.m. each evening from Tuesday, January 4, 1982 through Friday, January 7, 1982. The semi-finals were held at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 8, 1982, and the finals were held at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 9, 1982.^[1]

Round robin Match Dates and Matches

Date	Match 1	Match 2	Match 3
January 4	Jimmy Connors vs. Henri Leconte	Bjorn Borg vs. Vitas Gerulaitis	Ivan Lendl vs Sandy Mayer
January 5	Vitas Gerulaitis vs. Henri Leconte	John Mc Enroe vs Sandy Mayer	Ivan Lendl vs. Eliot Teltscher
January 6	Vitas Gerulaitis vs. Jimmy Connors	Bjorn Borg vs. Henri Leconte	John Mc Enroe vs. Eliot Teltscher
January 7	Sandy Mayer vs Eliot Teltscher	Ivan Lendl vs. John Mc Enroe	Bjorn Borg vs. Jimmy Connors

The attendance for Friday's matches was approximately 15,000.^[2] Attendance at Saturday's semi-finals was 15,820, and according to the promoter this was a sell-out of the stadium when configured for tennis.^[3][4] Attendance at Sunday's finals was 11,416 ^[5]

Purse

The total purse was $250,000. The winner received $100,00, the runner-up $50,000, third and fourth-place finishers received $30,000 each, fifth and sixth-place finishers received $12,500, and the seventh and eighth-place finishers received $7,500.^[1] Individual players also received undisclosed amounts for appearing at the event from the sponsors/promoters.^[6]

Players

1. Ivan Lendl (champion)
2. Jimmy Connors (final)
3. John McEnroe (semifinals)
4. Björn Borg (semifinals)
5. Vitas Gerulaitis (round-robin)
6. Eliot Teltscher (round-robin)
7. Henri Leconte (round-robin)
8. Sandy Mayer (round-robin)

Draw

Finals

	Semi-finals [7]							Final [8]
		John McEnroe	1	7	2
		Jimmy Connors	6	5	6
									Jimmy Connors	6	4	5	4
									Ivan Lendl	4	6	7	6
		Ivan Lendl	6	7
		Björn Borg	1	5

Group A

		John McEnroe	Ivan Lendl	Eliot Teltscher	Sandy Mayer	RR W–L	Set W–L	Game W–L	Standings
	John McEnroe		6–3, 6–2 [9]	7–6, 6–4	6–3, 6–4	3-0	6-0	37-22	1
	Ivan Lendl	3–6, 2–6		7–6, 2–6, 6–2 [10]	6–2, 7–5	2-1	4-3	33-33	2
	Eliot Teltscher	4–6, 1–6	6–7, 6–2, 2–6		6–3, 7–6	1-2	3-4	37-37	3
	Sandy Mayer	3–6, 4–6	2–6, 5–7	3–6, 6–7		0-3	0-6	23-48	4

Group B

		Björn Borg	Jimmy Connors	Vitas Gerulaitis	Henri Leconte	RR W–L	Set W–L	Game W–L	Standings
	Björn Borg		6–4, 1–6, 6–2	4–6, 6–2, 6–4	6–2, 6–7, 6–1	3-0	6-3	47-34	1
	Jimmy Connors	4–6, 6–1, 2–6		6–1, 6–4	6–4, 2–6, 6–1	2-1	5-3	38-29	2
	Vitas Gerulaitis	6–4, 2–6, 4–6	1–6, 4–6		7–6, 6–2	1-2	3-4	30-36	3
	Henri Leconte	2–6, 7–6, 1–6	4–6, 6–2, 1–6	6–7, 2-6		0-3	2-6	29-45	4

References

1. Kay, Linda (November 16, 1982). "Chicago's Challenge Accepted". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. p. C3.
2. "This year, the Challenge a box-office success". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. January 7, 1983. p. D2.
3. Kay, Linda (January 9, 1983). "Connors, Lendl again". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. p. C2.
4. Kay, Linda (January 8, 1983). "Borg turns back Connors". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. p. N1.
5. Kay, Linda (January 10, 1983). "Lendl's mighty serves too much for Connors". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. p. C1.
6. Kay, Linda (January 2, 1983). "Challenge courts top stars". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. p. C6.
7. "NY Times 'Connors and Lendl Will Meet in Final'". The New York Times. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
8. "NY Times 'LENDL DEFEATS CONNORS'". The New York Times. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
9. "NY Times 'McENROE DEFEATS LENDL FOR FIRST TIME IN YEAR'". The New York Times. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
10. "Del Rio News Herald excerpt". January 6, 1983. Retrieved November 23, 2014.