Larry Stefanki remains the lowest-ranked player in tennis history to win the Indian Wells Masters.
Stefanki, from America, won Indian Wells in 1985 while ranked 143rd in the world after receiving a wildcard into the main draw.
The tournament featured the likes of Jimmy Connors and Henri Leconte. However, it was Stefanki who emerged triumphant at the end of the event.
Stefanki’s achievement remains one of the most impressive in tennis history.
So, how did he win the title?
Larry Stefanki’s path to the 1985 Indian Wells title
As a wildcard ranked 143rd in the world, Stefanki was a clear outsider for the 1985 Indian Wells title.
However, he received a fortunate first-round draw and was pitted against qualifier Kelvin Belcher.
After beating Belcher 6-3, 6-2, the American knocked out seventh seed Juan Aguilera in three close sets.
Stefanki’s remarkable run continued against 12th seed Scott Davis. Stefanki defeated his compatriot 6-4, 6-4, before knocking out unseeded Frenchman Tarik Benhabiles in the quarter-finals.
Jimmy Connors, the top seed, had been knocked out by Greg Holmes in the quarter-finals; and Stefanki took full advantage.
Stefanki defeated Holmes 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in the semi-finals, setting up a final against David Pate.
Pate was unable to halt Stefanki’s charge to the title, losing the championship match 1-6, 4-6, 6-3, 3-6.
Remarkably, despite winning Indian Wells, Stefanki never made the second week of a major event in singles or doubles.
He had his best performances at Wimbledon, reaching the third round of the singles event in 1982 and the third round of the doubles event in 1985.
Larry Stefanki’s coaching career
Stefanki is one of the most well-recognised tennis coaches on the planet, having worked with John McEnroe, Marcelo Ríos, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, and Tim Henman.
During his coaching career, Stefanki has guided one player to a Grand Slam singles title: Yevgeny Kafelnikov at the 1999 Australian Open.
Stefanki, who has also worked with Fernando González, last coached on the Tour from 2009 until 2012, working with Andy Roddick until the American’s retirement.
In 2009, Roddick discussed why the opportunity to work with Stefanki was too good to turn down.
He told The Ledger: “I think it’s good, because you know he’s exposed to big matches and big-time kind of personalities, and this, that and the other,” Roddick said of Stefanki. “What intrigued me was the fact that he’s worked with lefties, righties, guys who come in, guys who stay back, absolute head cases, guys who are quiet on the court. There’s a lot of variety there, and he’s had success with each one.
” The fact that he’s American also helped. Obviously, you’ve got to live with these people. They are like your family, so that was big.
“We’d always gotten along in the past. I’ve actually always gotten along with the people he’s coached, too, whether it’s Fernando or Tim.”