McEnroe had no coach. He was an artist on the court. I was a lefty. Tried to emulate his game. Rarely succeeded. But, he made a tennis fan out of me for life.
Arthur Ashe on the PBS-TV "Charlie Rose" show told Rose regarding McEnroe's game, that " McEnroe does instinctively what the rest of us have to think about". So true Arthur!
Arthur Ashe on the PBS-TV "Charlie Rose" show told Rose regarding McEnroe's game, that "McEnroe does instinctively what the rest of us have to think about". So true Arthur!
The 40-30 point, 3rd set, 4 games to 3 McEnroe leading with Connors serving, is a perfect example of what Lendl said about McEnroe during the 2019 roundtable discussion of tennis between Lendl, McEnroe, Becker and Wilander at the U.S. Open, when Lendl said that he had never played against a player like McEnroe who could hit the ball with such pace off a ball that landed at McEnroe's feet! In that point, McEnroe hit the forehand return-of-serve on-the-rise and sharply crosscourt with pace and then moved into the net and Connors' reply landed at his feet and McEnroe with just incredible timing, hit a driving half-volley crosscourt with tremendous pace for an outright winner. McEnroe made that shot look so easy when it is not!
Actually McEnroe had a coach in the sense that whenever he had difficulty with his serve, he consulted Tony Palafox who had a left-handed serve similar to McEnroe.
I remember sneaking out of my bedroom to watch this match in 1984 as a 12 year old. Connors put up a great fight given that Mac had just destroyed him the Wimbledon final. I was so disappointed he lost since he was my favorite player but Mac was practically unbeatable that year. Great memories!
McEnroe at his PEAK, but Connors giving him one hell of a fight. Nobody played Mac better in that time period. I've grown to respect Mac for what he brought to the game, but Jimmy was my favorite player of all time.
this was just a different era, altogether...and my favorite era, because each player had their particular brand of tennis that fit their own personalities as human beings, perfectly. I could never imagine Jimmy playing like McEnroe...just like I could never imagine a Vilas playing like Connors or Gueralitis. And the names then, were iconic. Today?....there are some players that have flair and power. But POWER has become the common denominator in every single player's repertoire...and there is no middle ground or alternative. And it starts with how racquets are made.
You are absolutely right. While all the players hit harder now, they all train in similar ways and have become less definable- like a group of tennis robots hitting from the baseline. During this era in the 70s and 80s, there were unique players with definable styles and the club player sitting at home could still appreciate the tennis and the stroke production. Now the racquet technology and power has increased to a point where it is just less enjoyable from a fan's perspective. The audience numbers show that clearly.
Yes, back then they were like superheroes with their own special super-powers. And the different combinations of these players then made it so interesting to watch. Today they play with so much more power but it's also more boring.
Gerulaitis...rip...and if you want to be so clever about tennis then at least write the names correctly...especially those of the deceased players...thanks
The way Jimmy Connors resist during this match where Mac Enroe was at his top is simply incredible. Especially when we have a look on John's 1984-year. Nobody else could return the first service of John as he did.
Connors had a habit of playing great tennis shots. The guy was already 32 years old during this tournament, competing well against John's brutal artistic serve volley genius game.
@@KingCast65 Man do I miss 70's and 80's men's tennis. LEGENDS all over the place, semi final and final matches were all out wars !! I was a Johnny Mac guy myself, in the minority, many hated him but I loved his competitiveness.
even back then, i found Pat and Tony boring. just too bland and by the book. Newk was ok. tennis announcing has gotten a lot better over the last 35 years. and fortunately a lot more of it, with the rise of ESPN and TennisChannel.
Connors vs McEnroe back in the early 1980's. Pure magic. I'm so glad I was alive to watch this era of tennis. So many superstars in tennis back then. Jimmy and john didnt particularly like eachother and that made for great tennis. Both had such outgoing personalities. Racket technology hadnt taken over the game yet and the tennis was much better. IMO anyway. I played USTA tennis locally for ten years starting in the early 1990's. I rarely watch tennis anymore. I couldnt name 5 pro players now. For me, the mid 1970's to the early 1990's was the best years for tennis.
From one of the greatest days in tennis history, if not THE greatest. I love the camera angle - almost ground level, the best way to show tennis! @ 10:40. My favorite players to watch are; Edberg, Rafter, Guga, Krajicek + Haas, Federer but this clash of Giants from 1984 is one of the best matches.
Yes.! What a great era. As an Aussie we loved Cash... With so many champion players then he was only able to win one Wimbledon. In another era he may have won a lot more slams. But in every tournament, there seemed to be a least 6-8 genuine contenders.
I was always a Jimbo fan. Just loved watching him play that uncompromising style. I ran around my forehand to hit the two hander too. Couldn't relate to the finesse, touch, and timing of Mac. Kind of interesting that Wilson invented the Pro Staff for Connors but he just couldn't make it work for him but others took it to great heights (Sampras, Courier, Edberg, early Fed, etc).
Thank you for uploading, for the first time ever, the entire match including the "cameraman incident" at 6:00......I always remembered this and loved how the crowd cheered when Jimbo got involved. This match is awesome. Thanks again.
@@maddymud he really got him with that one. LOL. then he tosses the tennis ball at him trying to hit him in the head....ballboy runs over to find it. classic stuff.
These two jerks sure do play great tennis. The aesthetics of McEnroe's game--his strokes, spins, and movement--are beautiful. Connors hits monster ground strokes. Wow!
Aesthetics also came into play as far as Mac using the cool Maz 200G Dunlop raquet, the Sergio Tacchini clothing and Nike sneakers. In turn Connors used JCPenney sportswear, converse shoes and that Wilson T5000 Raquet. Mac had a distinct edge there... Great players both of them.
@@brandnew9834 i think they mention that a match between Stan Smith and John Newcombe began before the 1st mens semi.the women's final was sandwiched in between.
Jimmy’s influence on tennis in the 70s and 80s bringing money huge viewership popularity and his gunners style lives on today he definitely moved tennis from pity par to bombing shots I my opinion the greatest to ever play
The greatest player of all time. I'm not especially a big tennis fan, but when I watched McEnroe, tennis became magic. Back then, McEnroe, Connors, Borg were great to watch. Now I'm not interested.
Same here. Tennis has become so one-dimensional that it´s almost impossible to sit through a whole match. Those days were the true Golden Age of tennis!
Their racquets re all time classics and could more than hang with the junk that is being played with today. Love the contrasting styles but Mac overall the better player I feel, he could hold his own on the baseline was a master at net and at that time had an amazing serve
Brilliant warriors of tennis toe to toe ! What a match thank you for sharing as McEnroe is my idol ! Btw anyone know if you can still get those fab sneakers that Mac is wearing??
Massively entertaining. So much skill from these two - it fairly amounts to genius. The apparent clumsiness of their groundstrokes belies mastery that owes nothing to anybody today. And Mac at the net - a thing of beauty! Great athleticism, too.
The two bad boys of tennis 😁. Watching this reminds me of how much I dislike the pace of contemporary tennis. Back then they didn't get the towel on _every_ point, didn't ask every ball kid for multiple balls and examine each ball like it's a diamond, didn't take forever bouncing the ball before their serve. The game was just overall faster-paced and more enjoyable to watch.
This was my coming of age to tennis...starting in the mid 1970's. I literally used to eat and breathe it. Borg, Connors & McEnroe. But as I watch it today, nothing can compare to the Fed, Nadal & Djoker era.
The technology allowed players to play a certain way. Plenty of shots Mac and JC played would be crushed by todays players. But I have to question if todays players would be in the top 10 if they played with racquets from the 70s and 80s.
i played tennis for my high school team and had my dad buy me a Max200G because Mac used one. Steffi Graf also used one. Her forehand was devastatingly awesome!
The good 'ol days and back was tennis was enjoyable to watch and listen to. Pat Summeral, Tony Trabert and John Newcombe are announcing legends. Young people today have no idea as to how much better just about everything was 40 years ago..
This was the last time McEnroe would go on to win a GS. Lendl ,Edberg,Becker ensured he never won a GS again but his artistry at the net along with Martina's remains the best....
I really miss the old courtside scoreboards at the Louis Armstrong Stadium at the U.S. Open and the soft "beep" sound of the Cyclops machine that was used to make service line calls! It was so cool hearing the dull thud sound that a player's serve would make when it hit the courtside metal scoreboard! And they should bring back the courtside corner champion's box in which you would see the game's all-time greats like Don Budge and Jack Kramer, and the game's almost greats like Bobby Riggs, Pancho Segura and Anthea Gibson watching a match!
@ Greased Lightening. I know her name was Althea Gibson not Anthea. Cellphones have an annoying spellcheck feature which frequently wrongly corrects correctly spelled names and words.
The last time Connors was a defending grand slam champion and the last time he would ever win a set in a grand slam semi final: 1985 US Open Lendl 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 1987 Wimbledon Cash 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 1987 US Open Lendl 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 1991 US Open Courier 6-3, 6-3, 6-2
You never loose interest in watching John, timing is or was just superb. A lesson in not taking too big a back swing. My all time favourite player to watch.... A few dodgy calls for them both Rob Antolik
Notice how Mac changes his serve positioning when Playing the left-handed JImmy? He's right on the T in the ad court, and way out wide on the deuce court...usually he's just the opposite. He hit some beautiful down the middle aces on the ad court. I always felt that this was the shot he lost when he came back form his 6 month hiatus. HIs ability to swing that can opener out wide or go down the middle on the ad court, both with great disguise, made him really tough on big points.
@ LanguageLearner. The reason McEnroe lost that 1984 French Final to Lendl has been erroneously attributed by many tennis fans and sports writers to McEnroe's outburst against a TV camerman's noisy courtside microphone. That incident occurred in the 3rd set and had no impact whatsoever on the eventual outcome of that match. McEnroe not once but twice in a row in the 4th set broke Lendl's serve at 3-3 and then again at 4-4 in that 4th set, but failed both times to consolidate his lead by holding his serve in his next service game. He served for the match at 5-4 in the 4th set. His lack of physical stamina cost him that match because McEnroe for most of his tennis career hated to do the necessary off-court workouts that get an athlete into top physical condition. McEnroe also hated to practice and would substitute playing a lot of doubles matches for practice.
@@michaelbarlow6610 That camera man incident seemed to break his concentration, though. It was only a couple of minutes later that he failed to convert four break points (three in a row!). And no, he did NOT save for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set. On the contrary, he served for a 5-3 lead at 4-3, but couldn´t win a crucial game point, so Lendl leveled things at 4-4.
@ fundhund62. Although you are correct that McEnroe did not serve for the match at 5-4 in the 4th set of the '84 French Open final, he was twice in that set up a service break and both times failed to consolidate his lead by holding serve. The incident with the TV cameraman in the 3rd set cannot be used as an excuse for McEnroe losing the match and it cannot be said that McEnroe lost his concentration because of that incident because after that incident he broke Lendl's serve not once but twice in the 4th set!
@@michaelbarlow6610 Would a single win at Roland Garros in 84 made him a better player? McEnroe won his last grand slam in 1984. He failed to get better groundstrokes.
@vanLendl1. If McEnroe had won the 1984 French Open (as he should have) and had gone on to win the 1984 Australian Open to complete the first Grand Slam since Laver accomplished the feat in 1969, McEnroe would have been regarded by most tennis experts as the greatest male tennis player of all-time. Granted that would be debatable, but that would have been the generally held opinion because McEnroe would have won the Grand Slam on 3 different surfaces(grass courts, clay and hard court) whereas Laver and Budge won it in only 2 different surfaces (grass courts and clay).
That was a fantastic match. Are these older matches more physical in terms of the players being all over the court? I am no tennis expert but I love playing and watching.
Are you fucknig kidding me with this question?! Are you for fucking real right now?! LOL This compared to what tennis todays feels like a freaking slow motion! Players hit harder these days, so much that it exceeds speeds for nearly twice (except for serves, which still holds up even till these days, especially when taking big servers into account, which McEnroe clearly belonged to! Even 90's era was not nearly as hard hitting as modern days! ut 80's?! Give me a fucking break dude!) Today players move significantly faster, hit significantly harder and some (like Federer!) are even technically superior! Jesus Lord these kind of questions! Haha Just find some youtube matches of Djokovic and Nadal highlights or something! For example this year's French Open and you'll see how animalistic their groundstrokes and movements speed is in comparison to this! LMAO
Connors was a lot more physical and quicker than any player in the last 50 years. He was like Super Man out there chasing down those balls. He would run, leap, dive, spin, rotate, swoop n loon, and chuck pack the hardest of balls that even a robot could not get a racquet on. He was so good in fact, so superior to any tennis 🎾 buff or contester, that eventually he would walk away from the game it just became a rather hum drum existence of swatting a green fuzzy ball back and forth He eventually found his way into new and ever increasing challenges that made the game of tennis seem like it should be left to the dust bin of been there done that time to move its rather lonesome out here not really playing against anyone that could earnestly beat his style of hustle. Now let us pray 🙏
The point that begins at 10:45 ...in the immortal words of Dick Enberg "Oh my!" For sure it wasn't McEnroe's intention to become involved in long baseline rallies against the Belleville Bomber, but he certainly held up well there and ended up winning the point. Commentating alongside Pat Summerall for this is Tony Trabert, a great champion in his own right, still with us in 2020...will be celebrating his 90th birthday soon.
Dos jugadores de temperamento muy fuerte pero muy buenos en ese tiempo eran tres los que dominaban el tenis estos dos y borg después vinieron lendl y boris becker.....posterior agasi y pete sampras hasta la actualidad que ya sabemos quienes dominan este deporte son nadal....federer y djocovik
1984 : a golden year for John McEnroe. He achieved an 82-3 win-loss tally that year. Winning Wimbledon and the US Open, in the process, and in straight sets. And losing the French Open Final in 5 sets, despite going 2 sets up, against Lendl. That calendar-year win tally has never been equalled or bettered, since. The best tally in the Open Era ( 1968 ).
@tom jagger : yes, that defeat hurt McEnroe. In an interview once, he said that if a match lasted more than 2 hours, he stood less of a chance winning it. Statistically, what John said was correct : he lost to Borg in 5 sets in 1980's Wimbledon Final, to Connors in 5 sets in 1982's Wimbledon Final, and again in 5 sets, to Lendl, in the 1984 French Open Final.
He lost 1 game in grand slam in 5 sets on clay, 1 game in davis cup in 5 sets in sweden vs sundstrom on clay and 1 on an exibition tournament at the end of the season vs Armitraji
yes, definitely. Its beyond stupid that in Wimbledon the balls are large and the grass is short. Sooo slooowww.... At least one GS should have stayed so that there would be a possibility to win with serve-volley.
nadal federer was more entertaining than anything you saw in the 70s and 80s and you know it,the best match ever of clay,hard and grass is played by them rome 2006 australian open 2009 wimbledon 2008
@ Juan Esteban Kruh Sanmguel. If you actually believe that a Federer versus Nadal match is more entertaining than Borg-McEnroe, Borg-Connors, Connors-McEnroe, Sampras-Agassi, McEnroe-Lendl, Lendl-Connors, Becker-McEnroe, Vilas-Connors, Vilas-McEnroe , Becker-Lendl and Edberg-Lendl, then you mind is on planet Mars which is another way of saying as Vincent Bugliosi used to phrase it, that "your mind has taken leave of your body"!
@@michaelbarlow6610 I would take any Roger vs Rafa match before Connors and Lendl games even if I love old school. Both Jimmy and Ivan were dull players, not interesting to watch. Last years Wimbledon final might be the best match ever played in tennis. It would have been even better had Roger won. Borg vs McEnroe, Becker vs Edberg, Goran and Roger vs Rafa or Novak. I think those are the best matchups in history.
A little glimpse of what's to come when the announcer talks about the Aussie player winning the US Open Juniors that year... He mentions how he beat the young German boy Becker. :)
For those under 55, racket technology was JUST beginning then. They used WOODEN rackets just a couple years prior. So these guys never had access to oversize rackets, ceramics/graphites, special tensions, special guts, etc.
Imagine someone said after this US Open that it would be the last major the 25-year-old McEnroe would win. People would have said you're nuts! I reckon McEnroe was a victim of the sudden change in racquet technology in the mid-80s where power started to dominate... Mac was a genius with touch, skill and finesse, but got blown off the court often in later years...
Mac is a pure artist, hence why he went into music and art after tennis, nothing overwhelming, just pure touch and angles and artistry, no player today or child today could appreciate 1% of his game, they simply don't understand it, today it's a bore fest all baseline, all power serve, advanced materials, the serve and volley is the way tennis was meant to play, its like taking the infield away from baseball in todays tennis game. Tennis was re-born and grew only because of Mac, Connors, Lendl, Borg, maybe Edberg and Becker as well, Eli, Laver and Ashe were the generation before. The one liability was Mac's racket, it was horrible, I used it, and he strung at like 35 pounds, you could hear the ball coming off the racket like a super ball, Connors, Lendl and Borg had quality rackets, I believe Borg still used a wooden Donnay, but Mac's racket and the string tension caused a lot of balls to go flying out, where if he used a tighter string and maybe a pro staff he would have won more, he did well with what he had but his career ended at what like 33, way too early....
i disagree,watch wimbledon 2008 is the peak of tennis and it is how it should be played,tennis can be played in any ways,what it is needed its variety of styles,only baseliners is boring but if there were only serve and volley players it would be boring sampras agassi was fun because it was baseline vs serve and volley nadal federer was fun because it was offensive vs defensive tennis murray djokovic is boring because both players play the same style variety is what makes tennis fun,thats why there are different surfaces,to have many types of players who can produce interesting match ups
@ Healthy Wonders. John McEnroe's Dunlop Max200G graphite midsize racket was an excellent racket , but the drawback to that racket was that it absorbed the impact of the ball on the strings so well that you could not feel the ball hitting the strings which was disconcerting. That racket reminds me of the Yamaha Secret4 graphite widebody racket which had the same disconcerting characteristic. The Dunlop Max200G racket was arguably the first widebody racket because it was noticeably wider than traditional width rackets (e.g., the Wilson Sting and Sting2 rackets, the Estusa midsize rackets, the Wilson Ceramic rackets, the Wilson Graphite Matrix racket, the Wilson Ultra graphite racket, etc.) at that time when the Dunlop Max200G was introduced in 1983.
@@michaelbarlow6610 Interesting, he did well with it, I am unsure what year he adopted it as he probably won a few large tournaments prior to using this racket, but I am sure he won many with it as well. He had the most unusual string tension which generated more power than it controlled the ball, it was just amazing what he did with the racket / string tension combination. But I still stick to my analysis that the string tension caused a lot of his balls to fly that would not have if the tension was different, but his swing and placement and touch was so different than any other player, I just didn't think that that racket was the best choice for him but to each their own and he certainly won with it.
What a memory! - I remember staying up to watch this great battle between two of the best. John McEnroe: The racquet was a painters’s brush in his hand. He was the ultimate artist. He was a surgeon. The court was his canvas. He saw the court dissected in small squares. He knew in which square to place the ball! - He feathered, guided, placed the ball with precision and accuracy like no one else. - He was a full court player. Even though we consider him a serve a volleyer. - How he maneuvered the racquet with the same grip on both sides is pure talent. - He was a genius. Jimmy Connors: He was ferocious, scrappy and relentless. You were in a death match with him. He was never going to give it to you. You had to take it from him. To take, you had to get in the arena - not as a tennis player - but as as a gladiator. - Punch for punch. Ball for ball. Breath for breath. He was going to stand one minute more than you. He was going to hit one more ball than you. You were going to earn the point. It was never going to be given to you. Never! - He was the ultimate gladiator! He was the guy that you wanted on yours side in a fight. Pure guts!
Sampras was better than both of them, IMO. Watch '89 or '90 USO QF & SF where he dispatches Lendl in QF and dethrones McEnroe in the SF. Straight sets over Agassi in the Final.
I never get tired of tennis in the 1970s and 1980s. I miss it dearly.
Could not agree with you more, friend!
マック久しぶり
Definitely! Also long for commentators like Pat Summerall, Tony Trabert, and John Newcombe. They made the matches even better.
I agree.
Same here
Nice to hear Pat Summerall. Great football and tennis commentator!!!
R.I.P.
The Best
McEnroe had no coach. He was an artist on the court. I was a lefty. Tried to emulate his game. Rarely succeeded. But, he made a tennis fan out of me for life.
Arthur Ashe on the PBS-TV "Charlie Rose" show told Rose regarding McEnroe's game, that " McEnroe does instinctively what the rest of us have to think about". So true Arthur!
Arthur Ashe on the PBS-TV "Charlie Rose" show told Rose regarding McEnroe's game, that "McEnroe does instinctively what the rest of us have to think about". So true Arthur!
The 40-30 point, 3rd set, 4 games to 3 McEnroe leading with Connors serving, is a perfect example of what Lendl said about McEnroe during the 2019 roundtable discussion of tennis between Lendl, McEnroe, Becker and Wilander at the U.S. Open, when Lendl said that he had never played against a player like McEnroe who could hit the ball with such pace off a ball that landed at McEnroe's feet! In that point, McEnroe hit the forehand return-of-serve on-the-rise and sharply crosscourt with pace and then moved into the net and Connors' reply landed at his feet and McEnroe with just incredible timing, hit a driving half-volley crosscourt with tremendous pace for an outright winner. McEnroe made that shot look so easy when it is not!
Actually McEnroe had a coach in the sense that whenever he had difficulty with his serve, he consulted Tony Palafox who had a left-handed serve similar to McEnroe.
@@michaelbarlow6610 you got coach P's number. My serve is off🤪
I remember sneaking out of my bedroom to watch this match in 1984 as a 12 year old. Connors put up a great fight given that Mac had just destroyed him the Wimbledon final. I was so disappointed he lost since he was my favorite player but Mac was practically unbeatable that year. Great memories!
I was also 12 when I watched this on TV in '84. Tennis became my favorite sport because of players like these!
Yes Jimbo was my fav too although Mac was indeed a special talent.
Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe are American icons, athletes that shined brightly in their time.
One of the golden ages of tennis!
Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine
for such an old tennis match... it never gets old....
Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine
Mac Enroe was at his absolute peak in 1984 - so the fact Connors was able to make a match of this speaks volumes for him 👌
Their matches are legendary! I could watch them battle for 24 hours straight!
tennis always reminded me of boxing. a good player floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee :))
McEnroe at his PEAK, but Connors giving him one hell of a fight. Nobody played Mac better in that time period. I've grown to respect Mac for what he brought to the game, but Jimmy was my favorite player of all time.
probably the most if not one of the most naturally gifted players of all time, just imagine what he could have done if he acctually trained.
Mcenroe is my favorite player but Jimmy was his equal. The big Wimbledon win over Mcenroe was a classic for Jimmy. Got to admire him.
The two divas. Great players, though.
this was just a different era, altogether...and my favorite era, because each player had their particular brand of tennis that fit their own personalities as human beings, perfectly. I could never imagine Jimmy playing like McEnroe...just like I could never imagine a Vilas playing like Connors or Gueralitis. And the names then, were iconic. Today?....there are some players that have flair and power. But POWER has become the common denominator in every single player's repertoire...and there is no middle ground or alternative. And it starts with how racquets are made.
You are absolutely right. While all the players hit harder now, they all train in similar ways and have become less definable- like a group of tennis robots hitting from the baseline.
During this era in the 70s and 80s, there were unique players with definable styles and the club player sitting at home could still appreciate the tennis and the stroke production. Now the racquet technology and power has increased to a point where it is just less enjoyable from a fan's perspective. The audience numbers show that clearly.
Connors had power, but McEnroe had artistry and finesse.
Yes, back then they were like superheroes with their own special super-powers. And the different combinations of these players then made it so interesting to watch. Today they play with so much more power but it's also more boring.
Gerulaitis...rip...and if you want to be so clever about tennis then at least write the names correctly...especially those of the deceased players...thanks
@@user-zn8bp2wp8eI dont feel like correcting the spelling....FUCK YOU. And if thats something that annoys you, then Im thrilled. THANKS!
This one day at Flushing Meadow was the absolute peak for professional tennis. The game is different today.
@humanbeing2420 it was called super Saturday. 3 matches going the distance.
The way Jimmy Connors resist during this match where Mac Enroe was at his top is simply incredible. Especially when we have a look on John's 1984-year. Nobody else could return the first service of John as he did.
Yes it was incredible. But Connors mostly had to make great shots to win points. While McEnroe won points easier.
Connors had a habit of playing great tennis shots. The guy was already 32 years old during this tournament, competing well against John's brutal artistic serve volley genius game.
excellent video quality ,,, never grow tired of listening to these announcers
Especially sometimes Arthur or Vitas would be in the booth..... so good.
@@KingCast65 Man do I miss 70's and 80's men's tennis. LEGENDS all over the place, semi final and final matches were all out wars !! I was a Johnny Mac guy myself, in the minority, many hated him but I loved his competitiveness.
@@ANTHONY0808able I know right. John, Arthur, Borg, Vitas my heroes. I met Arthur and John, John 3 times. th-cam.com/video/5NwtFpQxv8E/w-d-xo.html
Is that Newcomb mixed in with Trabert and Summerall?
even back then, i found Pat and Tony boring. just too bland and by the book. Newk was ok. tennis announcing has gotten a lot better over the last 35 years. and fortunately a lot more of it, with the rise of ESPN and TennisChannel.
Nothing will ever beat this era. The game has evolved but is nowhere near as entertaining as the 70s & 80s.
i think that modern female tennis is more entertaining than male tennis. because a shorter net height
Fantastic match. These two were great warriors as well as players. Mac in 84 was awesome.
Agree completely!
You know who was also awesome in 84....Lendl!
@@joshcostanza7250 That's true, but Mac beat him 6-1 that year (including two straight set victories on clay).
Johnny MAC supreme ! What a great player!
gotta love the serve and volley. fast and entertaining. 2 baseliners usually make for a real slug-fest and that can be spectacular or boring.
Connors vs McEnroe back in the early 1980's. Pure magic. I'm so glad I was alive to watch this era of tennis. So many superstars in tennis back then. Jimmy and john didnt particularly like eachother and that made for great tennis. Both had such outgoing personalities. Racket technology hadnt taken over the game yet and the tennis was much better. IMO anyway. I played USTA tennis locally for ten years starting in the early 1990's. I rarely watch tennis anymore. I couldnt name 5 pro players now. For me, the mid 1970's to the early 1990's was the best years for tennis.
Damn if connors ever learned a serve he would have won even more
From one of the greatest days in tennis history, if not THE greatest. I love the camera angle - almost ground level, the best way to show tennis! @ 10:40.
My favorite players to watch are; Edberg, Rafter, Guga, Krajicek + Haas, Federer but this clash of Giants from 1984 is one of the best matches.
Yes.! What a great era. As an Aussie we loved Cash... With so many champion players then he was only able to win one Wimbledon. In another era he may have won a lot more slams. But in every tournament, there seemed to be a least 6-8 genuine contenders.
Connors was a tremendous talent and gave 100% but Johnny Mac was just a genius in the court.
Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine
I was always a Jimbo fan. Just loved watching him play that uncompromising style. I ran around my forehand to hit the two hander too. Couldn't relate to the finesse, touch, and timing of Mac. Kind of interesting that Wilson invented the Pro Staff for Connors but he just couldn't make it work for him but others took it to great heights (Sampras, Courier, Edberg, early Fed, etc).
Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine
great video quality and great court camera angles. Couldn't get more american that this - John and Jim playing in New York XD
I never get tired of watching JPMcEnroe play tennis. Especially once he and Jimmy or Bjorn got into baseline rallies, or with Vitas too.
They were all great.
Thanks for posting! Sure brings back some memories.
Thank you for uploading, for the first time ever, the entire match including the "cameraman incident" at 6:00......I always remembered this and loved how the crowd cheered when Jimbo got involved. This match is awesome. Thanks again.
Also enjoyed the nice, loud "Fuck!" from Mac at 2:27, back before the American public was saturated with it.
“butt breath”
@@maddymud he really got him with that one. LOL. then he tosses the tennis ball at him trying to hit him in the head....ballboy runs over to find it. classic stuff.
@@dthorne4602- did the official say “do you want your eggs scrambled?”
The wood racket era was the most creative and entertaining.
Gone forever.
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These two jerks sure do play great tennis. The aesthetics of McEnroe's game--his strokes, spins, and movement--are beautiful. Connors hits monster ground strokes. Wow!
Both were built like feminine girls.
That's why Becker and Sampras beat raped and murdered these fruits.
Aesthetics also came into play as far as Mac using the cool Maz 200G Dunlop raquet, the Sergio Tacchini clothing and Nike sneakers. In turn Connors used JCPenney sportswear, converse shoes and that Wilson T5000 Raquet. Mac had a distinct edge there... Great players both of them.
These two divas sure play great tennis.
I remember the greatest day of tennis. Started watching at 9 am and finished up about 11 pm.
Matches started at 9am back then?
@@brandnew9834 i think they mention that a match between Stan Smith and John Newcombe began before the 1st mens semi.the women's final was sandwiched in between.
@@brandnew9834 I think it was mixed doubles. Memory is dodgy, though.
I like when they used to have the corner for the old champions to sit and watch. You can see Don Budge and poncho Segura sitting courtside.
Jimmy’s influence on tennis in the 70s and 80s bringing money huge viewership popularity and his gunners style lives on today he definitely moved tennis from pity par to bombing shots I my opinion the greatest to ever play
I’ve heard this said about Jimmy and I agree...he may not have been the best tennis player ever but he is probably the most important.
Merci pour les vidéos un duel de titans. Deux gauchers avec un toucher de balle qui s avère pour l époque les 2 meilleurs du monde
I could not agree more...
Legends, pure and simple!!!!
Both left handed. Two genius
The greatest player of all time. I'm not especially a big tennis fan, but when I watched McEnroe, tennis became magic. Back then, McEnroe, Connors, Borg were great to watch. Now I'm not interested.
Same here. Tennis has become so one-dimensional that it´s almost impossible to sit through a whole match. Those days were the true Golden Age of tennis!
You mean Connors? Couldn’t agree more. But not this night unfortunately.
Pete Sampras was the most dominate player ever.
Greatest? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Their racquets re all time classics and could more than hang with the junk that is being played with today. Love the contrasting styles but Mac overall the better player I feel, he could hold his own on the baseline was a master at net and at that time had an amazing serve
agreed... i see mcenroe using his max 200g... is connors using a prostaff?... if so, cool... im still rocking one!
@@eleven.eastgate.twelve967 Jimmy used the pro staff for only one playing season and then I think he went to Slazenger for awhile
What a sincere handshake at the end!
forse il miglior match che ho visto
Brilliant warriors of tennis toe to toe ! What a match thank you for sharing as McEnroe is my idol !
Btw anyone know if you can still get those fab sneakers that Mac is wearing??
Massively entertaining. So much skill from these two - it fairly amounts to genius. The apparent clumsiness of their groundstrokes belies mastery that owes nothing to anybody today. And Mac at the net - a thing of beauty! Great athleticism, too.
Why does everything seem better back then even.......Much more entertaining
The good ol days... miss em.
The serve and volley is a lost art. Hardly anyone does it these days on a regular basis.
The two bad boys of tennis 😁.
Watching this reminds me of how much I dislike the pace of contemporary tennis. Back then they didn't get the towel on _every_ point, didn't ask every ball kid for multiple balls and examine each ball like it's a diamond, didn't take forever bouncing the ball before their serve. The game was just overall faster-paced and more enjoyable to watch.
This was my coming of age to tennis...starting in the mid 1970's. I literally used to eat and breathe it. Borg, Connors & McEnroe. But as I watch it today, nothing can compare to the Fed, Nadal & Djoker era.
i saw this in 2003 on eurosport and i was thinking "my godness 19 years have passed since then". now 36
F'in scary...
We are all gonna be kicking up daisies before we know it
Better filming angles than today, incredibly good sensations for the TV watchers !!!!! Really, nowadays everything is going lame !
félicitations ! c'est magnifique connors avec une wilson graphite c'est géant ont dirait un combat Ali-Frazier !
McEnroe il più grande tennista di tutti i tempi
this is tennis with a capital T. such a boxing match it was
The technology allowed players to play a certain way. Plenty of shots Mac and JC played would be crushed by todays players. But I have to question if todays players would be in the top 10 if they played with racquets from the 70s and 80s.
I love Connors intensity!!
Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine
These guys hated each others' guts.
IDK where this guy gets this stuff but if I'm not with my GF I fall asleep to it every night. It's fucking GOLDEN.
That handshake in the end😂
Just love to watch Mac's volleys and half volleys.
He had a magic touch with his racquet.
The year i graduated High school, i was on the tennis team, my last name is conner, i guess you know who i was rooting for :) thanks!!
Mack's lefty seemed to give a huge advantage.
Great match. The days of the Dunlop Max200G
that's a great stick. Cheers
i played tennis for my high school team and had my dad buy me a Max200G because Mac used one. Steffi Graf also used one. Her forehand was devastatingly awesome!
That’s what you call a Natural
The good 'ol days and back was tennis was enjoyable to watch and listen to. Pat Summeral, Tony Trabert and John Newcombe are announcing legends. Young people today have no idea as to how much better just about everything was 40 years ago..
Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine
"Everything was better 40 years ago"
Really?
How?
😂
@@livingtribunal4110 --Well for one thing you weren't around (assuming). If not then things were definitely better..
@@robertwheatley2471 Thanks so much for the love and support shown towards me, gratitude 🙏
@@robertwheatley2471 I do would love to continue this conversation on gmail
This was the last time McEnroe would go on to win a GS. Lendl ,Edberg,Becker ensured he never won a GS again but his artistry at the net along with Martina's remains the best....
I really miss the old courtside scoreboards at the Louis Armstrong Stadium at the U.S. Open and the soft "beep" sound of the Cyclops machine that was used to make service line calls! It was so cool hearing the dull thud sound that a player's serve would make when it hit the courtside metal scoreboard! And they should bring back the courtside corner champion's box in which you would see the game's all-time greats like Don Budge and Jack Kramer, and the game's almost greats like Bobby Riggs, Pancho Segura and Anthea Gibson watching a match!
@ Greased Lightening. I know her name was Althea Gibson not Anthea. Cellphones have an annoying spellcheck feature which frequently wrongly corrects correctly spelled names and words.
@ Greased Lightening. I mistyped the word "correct" as "corrects" in my previous posted comment.
The last time Connors was a defending grand slam champion and the last time he would ever win a set in a grand slam semi final:
1985 US Open Lendl 6-2, 6-3, 7-5
1987 Wimbledon Cash 6-4, 6-4, 6-1
1987 US Open Lendl 6-4, 6-2, 6-2
1991 US Open Courier 6-3, 6-3, 6-2
One if the BEST....Well two of the BESTs! 😁😁
Grandiosos jugadores
You never loose interest in watching John, timing is or was just superb.
A lesson in not taking too big a back swing.
My all time favourite player to watch....
A few dodgy calls for them both
Rob Antolik
Notice how Mac changes his serve positioning when Playing the left-handed JImmy? He's right on the T in the ad court, and way out wide on the deuce court...usually he's just the opposite. He hit some beautiful down the middle aces on the ad court. I always felt that this was the shot he lost when he came back form his 6 month hiatus. HIs ability to swing that can opener out wide or go down the middle on the ad court, both with great disguise, made him really tough on big points.
Jimmy was said to hace the best return of serve in history at this time, but John's return was astonishing.
Thanks for the vídeo by the way .
Loved to watch those 2 battle it out...
Glory days of tennis
Connors backhand is awesome!!
Ryan Friesen ooh. Good comeback. Connors backhand was better.
Mcenroe was on fire in '84....he should've won that French Final in straight sets earlier in the year, a shame he lost that one.
@ LanguageLearner. The reason McEnroe lost that 1984 French Final to Lendl has been erroneously attributed by many tennis fans and sports writers to McEnroe's outburst against a TV camerman's noisy courtside microphone. That incident occurred in the 3rd set and had no impact whatsoever on the eventual outcome of that match. McEnroe not once but twice in a row in the 4th set broke Lendl's serve at 3-3 and then again at 4-4 in that 4th set, but failed both times to consolidate his lead by holding his serve in his next service game. He served for the match at 5-4 in the 4th set. His lack of physical stamina cost him that match because McEnroe for most of his tennis career hated to do the necessary off-court workouts that get an athlete into top physical condition. McEnroe also hated to practice and would substitute playing a lot of doubles matches for practice.
@@michaelbarlow6610 That camera man incident seemed to break his concentration, though. It was only a couple of minutes later that he failed to convert four break points (three in a row!).
And no, he did NOT save for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set.
On the contrary, he served for a 5-3 lead at 4-3, but couldn´t win a crucial game point, so Lendl leveled things at 4-4.
@ fundhund62. Although you are correct that McEnroe did not serve for the match at 5-4 in the 4th set of the '84 French Open final, he was twice in that set up a service break and both times failed to consolidate his lead by holding serve. The incident with the TV cameraman in the 3rd set cannot be used as an excuse for McEnroe losing the match and it cannot be said that McEnroe lost his concentration because of that incident because after that incident he broke Lendl's serve not once but twice in the 4th set!
@@michaelbarlow6610 Would a single win at Roland Garros in 84 made him a better player? McEnroe won his last grand slam in 1984. He failed to get better groundstrokes.
@vanLendl1. If McEnroe had won the 1984 French Open (as he should have) and had gone on to win the 1984 Australian Open to complete the first Grand Slam since Laver accomplished the feat in 1969, McEnroe would have been regarded by most tennis experts as the greatest male tennis player of all-time. Granted that would be debatable, but that would have been the generally held opinion because McEnroe would have won the Grand Slam on 3 different surfaces(grass courts, clay and hard court) whereas Laver and Budge won it in only 2 different surfaces (grass courts and clay).
That was a fantastic match. Are these older matches more physical in terms of the players being all over the court? I am no tennis expert but I love playing and watching.
No, even though they ran to the net more, they either won or lost points much quicker.
Are you fucknig kidding me with this question?! Are you for fucking real right now?! LOL This compared to what tennis todays feels like a freaking slow motion! Players hit harder these days, so much that it exceeds speeds for nearly twice (except for serves, which still holds up even till these days, especially when taking big servers into account, which McEnroe clearly belonged to! Even 90's era was not nearly as hard hitting as modern days! ut 80's?! Give me a fucking break dude!) Today players move significantly faster, hit significantly harder and some (like Federer!) are even technically superior! Jesus Lord these kind of questions! Haha Just find some youtube matches of Djokovic and Nadal highlights or something! For example this year's French Open and you'll see how animalistic their groundstrokes and movements speed is in comparison to this! LMAO
@@Summon256 Calm down, calm down, calm down...
@@Summon256 What's the highest level you've played at?
Connors was a lot more physical and quicker than any player in the last 50 years. He was like Super Man out there chasing down those balls. He would run, leap, dive, spin, rotate, swoop n loon, and chuck pack the hardest of balls that even a robot could not get a racquet on. He was so good in fact, so superior to any tennis 🎾 buff or contester, that eventually he would walk away from the game it just became a rather hum drum existence of swatting a green fuzzy ball back and forth He eventually found his way into new and ever increasing challenges that made the game of tennis seem like it should be left to the dust bin of been there done that time to move its rather lonesome out here not really playing against anyone that could earnestly beat his style of hustle. Now let us pray 🙏
The point that begins at 10:45 ...in the immortal words of Dick Enberg "Oh my!"
For sure it wasn't McEnroe's intention to become involved in long baseline rallies against the Belleville Bomber, but he certainly held up well there and ended up winning the point.
Commentating alongside Pat Summerall for this is Tony Trabert, a great champion in his own right, still with us in 2020...will be celebrating his 90th birthday soon.
great rally
We feel real love betwen them....Go John!!!!!!
Tennis Royalty! Johnny Mac v Jimbo…miss them!
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Iconic. McEnroe in tacchini Connors in cerutti
Whats better than this nowadays? Nothing
Nothing in terms of skill, variety, spin, change of pace, volleying, artistry.....
Dos jugadores de temperamento muy fuerte pero muy buenos en ese tiempo eran tres los que dominaban el tenis estos dos y borg después vinieron lendl y boris becker.....posterior agasi y pete sampras hasta la actualidad que ya sabemos quienes dominan este deporte son nadal....federer y djocovik
1984 : a golden year for John McEnroe. He achieved an 82-3 win-loss tally that year. Winning Wimbledon and the US Open, in the process, and in straight sets. And losing the French Open Final in 5 sets, despite going 2 sets up, against Lendl. That calendar-year win tally has never been equalled or bettered, since. The best tally in the Open Era ( 1968 ).
@tom jagger : yes, that defeat hurt McEnroe. In an interview once, he said that if a match lasted more than 2 hours, he stood less of a chance winning it. Statistically, what John said was correct : he lost to Borg in 5 sets in 1980's Wimbledon Final, to Connors in 5 sets in 1982's Wimbledon Final, and again in 5 sets, to Lendl, in the 1984 French Open Final.
He lost 1 game in grand slam in 5 sets on clay, 1 game in davis cup in 5 sets in sweden vs sundstrom on clay and 1 on an exibition tournament at the end of the season vs Armitraji
That was real tennis😢!
Serve n vole pros of the 70's and 80's was far more entertaining than tennis today.
lol
yes, definitely. Its beyond stupid that in Wimbledon the balls are large and the grass is short. Sooo slooowww....
At least one GS should have stayed so that there would be a possibility to win with serve-volley.
nadal federer was more entertaining than anything you saw in the 70s and 80s and you know it,the best match ever of clay,hard and grass is played by them
rome 2006
australian open 2009
wimbledon 2008
@ Juan Esteban Kruh Sanmguel. If you actually believe that a Federer versus Nadal match is more entertaining than Borg-McEnroe, Borg-Connors, Connors-McEnroe, Sampras-Agassi, McEnroe-Lendl, Lendl-Connors, Becker-McEnroe, Vilas-Connors, Vilas-McEnroe , Becker-Lendl and Edberg-Lendl, then you mind is on planet Mars which is another way of saying as Vincent Bugliosi used to phrase it, that "your mind has taken leave of your body"!
@@michaelbarlow6610 I would take any Roger vs Rafa match before Connors and Lendl games even if I love old school. Both Jimmy and Ivan were dull players, not interesting to watch. Last years Wimbledon final might be the best match ever played in tennis. It would have been even better had Roger won. Borg vs McEnroe, Becker vs Edberg, Goran and Roger vs Rafa or Novak. I think those are the best matchups in history.
レジェンドのプレーヤー､マッケンローさんのプレーです｡この試合､もう文句無いですよね｡
A little glimpse of what's to come when the announcer talks about the Aussie player winning the US Open Juniors that year... He mentions how he beat the young German boy Becker. :)
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Légendaire !!
For those under 55, racket technology was JUST beginning then. They used WOODEN rackets just a couple years prior.
So these guys never had access to oversize rackets, ceramics/graphites, special tensions, special guts, etc.
That 10:45 lobby was classic Mac n Jimmy. Beautiful.
Not only the players improved since then, but also the cameramen ;) I’d like to know who made a decision to place them so low in the first place.
I desagree totaly
Much better to be at the player level sometimes
It is ok to disagree. @@falsenotefest
@@screamstation yep indeed.....but I am damn right ah ah ! Have a beautiful day !
Mac and Martina ruled in '84 didn't they then!
Imagine someone said after this US Open that it would be the last major the 25-year-old McEnroe would win. People would have said you're nuts! I reckon McEnroe was a victim of the sudden change in racquet technology in the mid-80s where power started to dominate... Mac was a genius with touch, skill and finesse, but got blown off the court often in later years...
Reste toujours le grand match de l histoire
Johnny Mac at his best!! :)
What would happen if one of today's majors was played with wood racquets. I thought Mac Sr. was Ebert, the movie critic :)
Mac is a pure artist, hence why he went into music and art after tennis, nothing overwhelming, just pure touch and angles and artistry, no player today or child today could appreciate 1% of his game, they simply don't understand it, today it's a bore fest all baseline, all power serve, advanced materials, the serve and volley is the way tennis was meant to play, its like taking the infield away from baseball in todays tennis game. Tennis was re-born and grew only because of Mac, Connors, Lendl, Borg, maybe Edberg and Becker as well, Eli, Laver and Ashe were the generation before. The one liability was Mac's racket, it was horrible, I used it, and he strung at like 35 pounds, you could hear the ball coming off the racket like a super ball, Connors, Lendl and Borg had quality rackets, I believe Borg still used a wooden Donnay, but Mac's racket and the string tension caused a lot of balls to go flying out, where if he used a tighter string and maybe a pro staff he would have won more, he did well with what he had but his career ended at what like 33, way too early....
i disagree,watch wimbledon 2008 is the peak of tennis and it is how it should be played,tennis can be played in any ways,what it is needed its variety of styles,only baseliners is boring but if there were only serve and volley players it would be boring
sampras agassi was fun because it was baseline vs serve and volley
nadal federer was fun because it was offensive vs defensive tennis
murray djokovic is boring because both players play the same style
variety is what makes tennis fun,thats why there are different surfaces,to have many types of players who can produce interesting match ups
@ Healthy Wonders. John McEnroe's Dunlop Max200G graphite midsize racket was an excellent racket , but the drawback to that racket was that it absorbed the impact of the ball on the strings so well that you could not feel the ball hitting the strings which was disconcerting. That racket reminds me of the Yamaha Secret4 graphite widebody racket which had the same disconcerting characteristic. The Dunlop Max200G racket was arguably the first widebody racket because it was noticeably wider than traditional width rackets (e.g., the Wilson Sting and Sting2 rackets, the Estusa midsize rackets, the Wilson Ceramic rackets, the Wilson Graphite Matrix racket, the Wilson Ultra graphite racket, etc.) at that time when the Dunlop Max200G was introduced in 1983.
@@michaelbarlow6610 Interesting, he did well with it, I am unsure what year he adopted it as he probably won a few large tournaments prior to using this racket, but I am sure he won many with it as well. He had the most unusual string tension which generated more power than it controlled the ball, it was just amazing what he did with the racket / string tension combination. But I still stick to my analysis that the string tension caused a lot of his balls to fly that would not have if the tension was different, but his swing and placement and touch was so different than any other player, I just didn't think that that racket was the best choice for him but to each their own and he certainly won with it.
What a memory!
- I remember staying up to watch this great battle between two of the best.
John McEnroe:
The racquet was a painters’s brush in his hand. He was the ultimate artist. He was a surgeon. The court was his canvas. He saw the court dissected in small squares. He knew in which square to place the ball!
- He feathered, guided, placed the ball with precision and accuracy like no one else.
- He was a full court player. Even though we consider him a serve a volleyer.
- How he maneuvered the racquet with the same grip on both sides is pure talent.
- He was a genius.
Jimmy Connors:
He was ferocious, scrappy and relentless. You were in a death match with him. He was never going to give it to you. You had to take it from him. To take, you had to get in the arena - not as a tennis player - but as as a gladiator.
- Punch for punch. Ball for ball. Breath for breath. He was going to stand one minute more than you. He was going to hit one more ball than you. You were going to earn the point. It was never going to be given to you. Never!
- He was the ultimate gladiator! He was the guy that you wanted on yours side in a fight. Pure guts!
Poetic justice to two fearsome competitors of a bygone era...))
My God! The rally @10:43. When Jimmy approached the net, I thought it was all over for John but....
Well they say that players had a feel for the ball, Johnny was at the top of the tree on that one, unbelievable the touch and feel.
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Best US males ten is player EVERR. JOHNNY MAC WAS HIGHLY UNDER RATED.
Sampras was better than both of them, IMO. Watch '89 or '90 USO QF & SF where he dispatches Lendl in QF and dethrones McEnroe in the SF. Straight sets over Agassi in the Final.
"someone running the scoreboard" that just awesome
Mac would have owned that summer but he felt like he could waltz in on clay at beat a very good lendl. Amazing he had that match on his racket.
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