Brian Gottfried was the defending champion but lost in the final 1–6, 6–0, 6–1, 6–2 to Ivan Lendl.
Seeds The draw allocated unseeded players at random; as a result seven seeds received a bye into the second round.
Ivan Lendl (champion) Brian Gottfried (final) Stan Smith (semifinals) Tomáš Šmíd (semifinals) Sandy Mayer (quarterfinals) Rolf Gehring (quarterfinals) Carlos Kirmayr (quarterfinals) Shlomo Glickstein (second round) John Austin (third round) Sammy Giammalva Jr. (second round) Stanislav Birner (third round) Pavel Složil (third round) Ulrich Pinner (first round) Trey Waltke (first round) Ángel Giménez (first round) Nick Saviano (third round)
Draw
Finals
Top half
Section 1
Section 2
Bottom half
Section 3
Section 4
External links 1981 Fischer-Grand Prix draw