Tennis great Ivan Lendl has recommitted to coaching recent Wimbledon winner Andy Murray, and he's recommitted to selling his grand Connecticut estate, recently relisting it for $19,750,000. The eight-time Grand Slam winner had previously listed the 450-acre property in 2014 for the same price.
Lendl bought the property in the late 1980s for about $4.2 million, then spared no expense building a lavish Georgian Colonial -- style manor house, according to Variety.
Lendl and his wife, Samantha, have five daughters, and they spent quite a few years growing up there, developing into golf and equestrian phenoms. Now that his youngest daughter is 18 and Lendl has publicly committed to working with Murray for at least 20 weeks per year, perhaps he and Samantha will be spending more time in their home in Vero Beach, FL.
There's no doubt they'll miss driving down a tree-lined lane, through meadows and pastures, to reach the entrance to their 25,000-square-foot mansion with 10 bedrooms,12 bathrooms, and three half-baths. The grand rooms, including a ballroom-size living room, feature polished wood plank floors, ornate custom molding and wainscoting, crystal chandeliers, and raised paneling.
Of course, no professional athlete oasis would be complete without a stellar gymnasium, basketball and tennis courts, indoor and outdoor pools, an exercise room, and a steam room. There are also professional equestrian facilities, including stables, a barn, a paddock, and pastures, and a sizable kennel for dogs.
To give you an idea of the off-court competition Lendl faces, there's another grand estate for sale on 5 1/2 Mile Road. It includes over 1,000 acres, apple orchards, and an exquisite Tuscan-style villa. It's listed for $19,817,000.
Lendl, 56, is originally from Czechoslovakia, but is now a U.S. citizen. During the 1980s and into the early '90s, he dominated the world tennis scene, playing and beating greats of the day, including John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, and Jimmy Connors. After retiring in 1994, Lendl dedicated himself to raising his family, charity work, and golf.
At the end of 2011, Lendl began coaching Murray, guiding him to his first two Grand Slam victories. In 2014, the same year he put his estate on the market, Lendl took a break from coaching the Scot, but started up again in 2016, just in time to lead Murray to his second Wimbledon title and a recent Olympic gold medal.