Lendl gets ahead in fashion stakes

If I asked you to name a tennis star who started a fashion trend, which names would spring to mind?

Maria Sharapova? Anna Kournikova? Gabriela Sabatini perhaps?

You wouldn't exactly be thinking of Ivan Lendl when you have those names at the forefront of your mind.

Yup, I'm talking Lendl. And I'm not talking about that distinctive Adidas line that bore his name, with the blue-and-white diamonds on a white background.

Lendl, if you remember, was quick to realise just how hot the Australian summer sun really is. During the Australian Open, while the rest of the world's leading players tried to come up with the most scientific and legal ways of keeping cool during changeovers, Lendl was a step ahead.

He wanted to use the simplest way of ensuring that he didn't fall victim to heatstroke. Fashion gurus do not record who actually crafted the first of Lendl's impromptu legionnaire's caps, but they acknowledge that it was the Czech-born champion who initiated the look.

It was breathtakingly simple. Lendl got someone to stitch a Foreign Legion-style neck protector on the back of a normal white cap.

Throughout that Australian Open, he was the only player who had his neck protected. You see, the Australian Open is a strange beast in meteorological terms. It's played in Melbourne, where you can literally have four seasons in one day. Rapid falls in temperature here mean the mercury can drop from 42C to 25C in 15 minutes.

And Lendl's simple idea brought about a major change in Melbourne school uniforms as well. Within a year, several primary schools had introduced new-style caps for all pupils.

Yes, you guessed right. The caps were exact clones - albeit in school colours, of Lendl's style. Iavn Lendl, fashion icon. I never thought I'd say that.