Watch the extended highlights between John McEnroe and Gene Mayer in the quarterfinals of the 1984 US Open. Click here to subscribe: / usta Twitter: / usta Facebook: / usta Instagram: / usta Website: www.usta.com
Sadly this was Gene’s last appearance at a Grand Slam as injury foreshortened his career. He would play only 9 further matches on tour but what a glorious reminder this was of his quality, coming through to the quarterfinals unseeded and taking out 3 Top 17 players without dropping a set!
Didn’t he come back in his 40s and beat the reigning NCAA champ at a Challenger in the Spring who went 5 sets with Sampras at the French? Or was it his brother Sandy?
I was a ball boy for Gene Meyer for several matches. And, I can honestly say I NEVER knew where a single ball was going. He had the best disguise of any player I've ever seen.
It's clear Mayer didn't have a significant weapon to hurt Mac. But boy, those flick groundstrokes of Mayer's! He could place the ball on a dime at times. A very economical player.
I watch these highlights and compare them to today's game. The court in Mac's era was a lot faster than in today's US Open and a lot more conducive to serve and volley. (A player in today's game like Maxime Cressy would have had success in the 80's, perhaps even won a Grand Slam title or two.) Gene Mayer was one of two players back then to play two-handed off both wings, the other being Hans Gildemeister of Chile. Mayer was a good player in his own right, but because of the success of so many Americans in that era, he was overlooked.
At that stage McEnroe had reached a very rare level of performance across any tennis era. Only at few periods in modern tennis (after 1970) have people watched such performance
Great point. l have always said that Mcenroe may not be the greatest of all time on a year in and year out basis. But the tennis he played in 1984 will stand up against anyone who has ever touched a tennis racquet. If he beats Lendl at the French Open which he should have he goes to a year ending Australian Open on grass and wins the grand slam.. No one has ever played tennis better than Mcenroe did in 84, not Federer, Nadal or anyone else. He was extraordinary.
Totally agree gentlemen. 1984 was his year no doubt. Yep, the French open loss to Lendl was a bummer for sure, but I wonder if he had won the French open would he have performed as well at Wimbledon? Maybe, but I wonder. It's also nostalgic watching Big John and players like Gene Mayer from the 80's. The RU-vid algorithm has been suggesting several McEnroe and Connors matches recently. Yesterday it was Wimbledon 83 McEnroe vs Bill Scanlon who looked like a young David hasselhoff! LOL!
@@phadley78tubecan't imagine why winning the French would impact his performance at Wimbledon. The form he was in, I'd think his mind would be thinking a calendar Grand Slam. 👍
I never saw this guy play honestly. His two handedness from both sides gave him a hell of a different variety of shots than I've seen from just about anybody. Really interesting guy to watch play, as was Johnny Mac of course. Just reading the comments it sounds like Gene's career got derailed by injuries, that's a total shame. Massive talent, I would have loved to see this guy play. Mac had to be the best male volleyer of all time, just amazing racket head control and touch.
Call me crazy, but I still believe Mac in 84 played clearly the best tennis in history. His shots and touch had a natural brilliance never seen before or since.
I agree. I am no fan of bull fighting but there is something of the matador about McEnroe, in the way he controls and wrong foots his much more powerful opponents. Sadly we will never see this again with the very slow courts of today. Also modern rackets favour the athlete over players like McEnroe with precision timing.
I have never seen any player who hits volleys with such consummate ease, angles and consistency as John. He was an under achiever for his exhaustive matchless talent.
@@alberts2208 800+ match wins, and one of only a handful to win at higher than 80% winning percentage. HE also has the record for the most total number on tournaments won: 78 singles and 77 doubles.
The guy won 14 career singles titles 2 Grand Slam doubles titles with is brother Sandy,, made it into the Top 5 in the world, and video of Gene Mayer like this is rare. Maybe the most overlooked Top 5 player in history.
relishing, been waiting to see this for thirty years. Mayer's touch even better than McEnroe's, didn't have his horsepower. They also played a five setter in the 1982 U.S. Open
I knew I remembered them playing a 5 setter at the Open. Thought I was mistaken when I saw the scores of this match. I remember Mayer being frustrated with McEnroe’s constant complaining about line calls.
I played two handed like Gene. Was struggling with one hand on both sides and saw him profiled in World tennis magazine. Changed my game big time. Loved it.
Igual yo...vi su artículo en Tennis Magacine y cambié mi juego,,,jugaba con forehand a una mano y backhand con dos...siempre tuve mejor forehand que backhand,,,y fue lo mejor que hize....IGUAL yo....changed my game big time.Loved it.Saludos C Cohen
I have never seen technique like Mayer before. He keeps his elbows so close to his body before extending back and through the ball. I would never teach that, but man you can really hide your shot, and it must have been really hard as an opponent to pick up where he was aiming. Even on his serve those arms and elbows are inside before going after the ball.....crazy, but he got a pro career out of it....
Wonderful point at 8:51 McEnroe sees that Mayer has started for the dropshot and at the last second pushes it long instead. It´s the kind of court awareness and improvisation skills we don´t see anymore today.
Incredible shot making from Gene. It looks unimaginable to play like that nowadays but he really would have been a nightmare to play against back then. He certainly held his own no problem. Awesome stuff!
Gene Meyer used to give opposing players - even top level players like McEnroe - absolute fits with his unorthodox, two-handed style on both forehand and backhand which enabled him to not only disguise the direction of his shots so well - similar to Miloslav Mecir - except of course Mecir had a one handed forehand - but also to hit block returns for outright winners! Of course one of the key things evident in this match between McEnroe and Meyer is the extent to which the graphite technology ruined the game of tennis by enabling players to generate tremendous power from improper stances and awkward positions! A perfect example is when on one of the points in this match, McEnroe came into the net behind an approach shot or serve and Meyer hit a block return down the line which gave McEnroe a very tough, high backhand volley to hit and McEnroe hit an outright winner crosscourt! There's no way he could have put that ball away on that shot with a wood racket! Lendl was right when he said that he never played against anyone who could hit the ball with pace off a ball hit at their feet like McEnroe!
no dampeners no fancy modern forehands just clean tennis , the way the game was meant to be played , without a doubt the best hands in the game Johnny Mac , ps Mayer not too shabby as well lol
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Gene Mayer was great. Top 5 at one point. But McEnroe was one of the Greatest of All Time, especially 1980-85. Best serve and volleyer ever. . . Well, Pete Sampras was great too. And Federer.
Those courts were so much faster than the US Open is today. Look at the way the ball shot through on well timed volleys. Nadal has won multiple US Opens because today's courts are slower than some clay courts. I do not believe he would come close to winning on the fast 1980s surface, without significantly changing his game.
@@BradRobinson-xp5sp Nadal's main weapon is his top spin forehand which generates exceptional kick. With wooden rackets and 80s strings he could not come close to replicating that shot. Plus the MUCH faster courts did not favour baseliners at all. Different eras favour different skillsets.
Mayer served right handed but seemed to hit his groundstrokes exactly like left handed Monica Seles did. Seles was crossed handed on her forehand, Mayer seems to be cross handed on his backhand.
Watching the way Mac played in 84 is kind of bittersweet because u know that he was never this good again after 84. Still has the record for the best calendar match record in a single year ever, 83 and 3, not even Fed, Nadal or Djokovic have beaten that
completely forgot about gene mayer ... and now I know why. what an awful player to watch. terrible game. must have been annoying to play against. amazing he had any pro career at all.
@@xinzunlee46 I agree about the lower bounce, almost like indoor carpet. That's something I can see and make an effort to look for. (Maybe they're just hitting the ball flatter?) Obviously, there is a relationship between height and speed but how strong?
I love how Mc comes in at every opportunity. It was a strange era with Mc using his conti grip on all his strokes and Mayer hitting with 2 hands on both sides. Great tennis from both.
I remember this match very well. Mayer played McEnroe in 1982 at the us open also in the quarterfinals taking McEnroe to 5 sets before losing in the 5th. McEnroe would lose in the 1982 semis to Ivan Lendl 6-4 6-4 7-6 (8-6).
Good quality match from these two Americans. Gene Mayer's crossover grips really baffle me. I know Seles and Santoro did the same with even greater success.......but HOW does that work??
That two-hand technique off of both sides never caught on. Gene played the forehand volley with one hand, but man that was an ugly style. Back in 1988 I had the privilege of being a ball boy at an exhibition for a McEnroe match. I followed Mac down the tunnel and he signed my shirt. Seeing him play a relaxed exhibition was pretty amazing. He was past his prime, but not much past it. He had stunning hands.
As good as McEnroe was in 1980 you would never have guessed how good he would be by 1984, but in 1985 was he even as good as he was in 1980 (would McEnroe of 1980 have lost so easily to Kevin Curren at Wimbledon in 1985 as he did?). Has there ever been a sports star who went downhill as fast in one year at their physical peak as McEnroe did at 25? (Tyson maybe between Spinks and Douglas in about a year and a half).
You can tell how little the master tape of the McEnroe versus Meyer 1984 U.S. Open quarterfinals match has been played because the video image is perfectly sharp!😀😀😀😀. Gene Meyer had a somewhat unique tennis game hitting two-handed on both forehand and backhand. I say somewhat because there have been a number of amateur and professional players who have hit two-handed on both sides such as Monica Seles.
McEnroe in 1983-1984 was the fastest player in terms of foot speed at the net and getting into the net that I've ever seen! He blanketed the net like no other player in tennis history - and that includes - as great as his coverage at the net was - Stefan Edberg! McEnroe was so fast in 1983/1984 that when serving he could consistently get inside the service box for his first volley! Amazing foot speed!
As always when I watch Mac, even during his peak, that I think he could have been even better had he emphasized sticking it more than finessing it on the volleys. Save the wow shots for when really needed. I’ve watched tons of Mac from his playing days to present and I guess not quite a mesmerized by his style as a I once was. Hate to say this and never would have in the past, but he’s definitely overrated. That’s not to say he wasn’t great, just overrated.
Wow. Totally forgot about Gene Mayer and the two handed from both sides. I recall rooting for him when I was a super young tennis fan. Then Mayer just disappeared and I's forgotten about him ... until this video!
Wow, Mayer with a two-handed forehand! Hard to find another male pro with a two-handed forehand, but one that comes to mind is retired pro Jan-Michael Gambill.
Gene Mayer was a very crafty player!! Remember that he used to win over our Indian legend Vijay Amritraj most of the times!! Can someone tell me about Sandy Mayer.
This was McEnroe at his peak against an excellent hard court player. With the way he was playing in 84’ it’s hard to believe that this tournament would be his last Grand Slam singles win.
Drugs and anger derailed him. It's already showing here - he lost some muscle tone in his legs, and he was frustrated at his already diminishing mobility.
I disagree. He turns well on the forehand so it's longer backswing than appears. It was a fuller shot with the wood racket, tough to read whether he was going cross court or down the line. Baffled Borg
Trained on a much older style of tennis with wooden rackets. They moved away from those in the early 80's (as you can see) but still no where near the power of today's rackets. His forehand therefore works very well for this older style of equipment. Of course, this wouldn't work for today's style of tennis.
Mc jouait avec une seule prise chacun de ses coups ... Service/retour coup droit revers volee Smash Il gagnait du temps Il pouvait anticiper encore mieux le jeu adverse
to me, it looks like these two guys, especially Mac of course , are playing highest lvl tennis with their own style and personality , not looking like today's baseline two-handed clones
