McEnroe vs Connors - Semi Final US Open 1980 - 14/16 

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Same here............I miss this.........43 years ago.

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100% agree. This was the golden age of tennis.

@@stege9979 Thanks for the love and words of encouragement I must say that I have enormous respect for you considering the manner in which I have made contact with you,Your comment gave me goosebumps and I decided to honor you.I’m very glad you’re fan of mine for that I would love to have a private conversation with you if that’s okay with you reach out to me privately via email

Nope, today’s shoemaking is otherworldly. It was awesome but no where near today level

It was a great era, but you are right, it has never been the same. Players are way superior now. You are just nostalgic. I think These players would have a hard time keeping up with the overall level of fitness and overall tennis skills that players have had since Federer, Nadal and Djokovic came on the scene. Now you've got Alcaraz. As great as Connors and McEnroe were in their era, I think players today are at a higher level, and that's a fact.

now its nadal roger joker...a better trio imo...

@@razkable - Non of them would win against Borg with a wooden racket.

@@kennethmoh9042 Nadal just might.

True they were the top 3 and all had completely different styles Jimmy an attacking baseliner Bjorn a topspin baseliner who learned to attack at Wimbledon and Mac a serve and volley guy w probably the best touch in modern times. Not like today's guys except Fed who will attack strictly baseliners.

@@MORE1500 that would be a match. Bjorn vs Rafa w wood. Bjorn def on grass but clay and hard probably whose game is on that day.

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Pretty sure that's Pat Summerall doing play by play

@@etiennekosa yes and tony trabert.

I was a freshman in high school when this match occurred. Remember how back then EVERYONE played tennis? It was THE sport. I remember my town had several courts around town that had lights so you could play at night, and you often had to wait in line for 40 minutes to get a court. Then, in about 1990, it was like someone flipped a switch and the world dropped tennis and switched to golf.

1980 was incredible 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

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True except above average serve. He even said himself he never had the arm speed for a good serve. He said he looked at himself as a knuckleball pitcher. People don't realize that a person can be quite average at a specific tennis skill and dominate by compensate with great talent at other tennis skills. Jimmies 1st serve was high 90 to low 100s when not using a kick second serve for his first. He dominated with flat attacking shots and a strong attacking net game. He was relentlessly looking for a short ball to pounce on and rush the net.

I miss these days. Hard to believe it has been almost 45 years.

@Nobby Barnes Jimmy lives in Santa Barbara. He hits tennis balls against the wall and plays w a couple of friends.

Absolutely! No characters anymore. These matches were like going to a pantomime where you had villains and the crowd was picking sides etc, great atmosphere!

Vast Imagined Empire, when tennis was invented/created was a sport of royalty. Do the math...

是邪恶的习近平 not that I’m in favor of kingdoms, but they had decency and respect among them and that’s what I rescue/value till these days.

是邪恶的习近平 not talking here about negativity but a good legacy of what the kingdom has created/left in this world. So, what I’m trying to explain to you is the better part of the outcome of all this. Can you take all the good and leave the bad out?

Yup---Connors, McEnroe and Borg. Any matchups between those 3 were epic. When tennis was great!

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I never liked that venue precisely because of the airplane noise. But if course everything else was electric!

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine. 😉

​@@jimmyconnors5685Jimmy you were a warrior and my favorite all time player. Thank you for everything!!!

Hey there, I'm just wondering, assuming that tennis wasn't as popular back then, maybe that's why there wasn't commercial ads everywhere like there is today? Or maybe advertising like today just wasn't allowed back then? Just throwing a couple of ideas out there. I really have no idea.

Summerall made everything sound better

He was zooted and would be fired today

vccstudents Jesús, how slow can this match be?

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Remove Federer and add Sampras.

Connors was the best at returning the first serve.

Federer is not a serve and volleyer. To that list add Sampras and Becker

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Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine. 😉

They hated each other, still do...

There was no ‘seems to be’; it was a fact. Connors didn’t like this immature brat and McEnroe felt the same. But these two and Borg made tennis on the map in America. I don’t find today’s tennis anywhere near as exciting as the days of these 3.

It went back to their very first meeting, i.e., 77 Wimbledon SF where JC ignored and refused to acknowledge JM before the match in the locker room. Later, 79 USO SF, JC called JM's dad a "fucking prick!" After that, JM said he "almost had a hatred" for JC. I don't think JC ever felt the same hate for JM though.

@@uncletony6210 Connors was a street fighter wasn't he. He always said tennis was really boxing from sixty feet.

Yes. Saw an interview with him and wife. She said just don't ask him to sing. She's a musician/singer.

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine.

I think yr thinking of the 1984 semi finals fondly remembered as Super Sadurday

Indeed my apologies

spartans race that was 84

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine

But they played loads of Exibition matches for the Dollor. If you really hate someone you dont want to see them smell them unless you have to. Was all part of it. McEnroe knew if he played up v Connors he would put him in his place but still did it.

On the other hand, I LOVED McEnroe BECAUSE of his antics !!! He made tennis fun - especially when playing against Connors.

love em or hate em they were largely responsible for an American tennis boom.

They'd been playing for four hours at this point. Feel free to get out there and show them how.

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Not that good. Composite rackets allow possibilities and a physicality that these two did not posses.

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SPOILER!

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Et Bjorn Borg ?

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momthegreatest same. Didn’t understand why daddy liked Hee Haw so much until way later on also. Haha

not 'Pistol Pete' level Agassi had no problem returning Mac's serves

That’s because it’s the 1980’s

@@siennaknapp8700 Yep. The camera work was worse, but the tennis overall was better!

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I totally agree. I am old enough to have seen practically all their matches & the ladies too.

I'm the same age as Mac & played HS & College Varsity. Always watched Mac & Borg intently like a Meerkat. I experimented a lot, ending up with a hiked out, end of grip two-handed "flick" backhand like Borg's. Cross-courts became a much more reliable weapon. I believed then, as today, the secret to Mac's volley control had to do with keeping head & chest up, back straight (almost arching back) eyes level w/wrist & grip cocked yet low close to the hip. I tinkered a lot with this, emulating it with astonishing results. A "just visualize the body language & see what the ball does off the racquet" approach. As in anything involving athletic coordination, martial arts to skiing to tactical gun range, keeping movement as close as possible to Center of Gravity is everything; power, control, quickness, momentum, everything. Maintaining control on the very edge of chaos. I believe a huge overlooked component of the evolution of the sport was ball technology. The pace we started experiencing in the late '70's in HS was due to better, more lively balls with synthetic nap, thanks to Penn, Dunlop, & Slazenger. Especially Penn. We didn't understand it at the time but I think that's why the wood laminates started to fail so frequently, sometimes not lasting thru a season. Then Wilson produced the T2000 (ltwt metals tech). Combined with the troublesome though lively balls, power went exponential. But metal fatigue became a problem. Then using composite ski tech, Head started making racquets. Countless manufacturers jumped in. After that was a few decades of the head size circus attempting to regain control of an ever increasing ball pace. Sorry, I greatly digressed to make a point. Arguing the merits of top athletes of different eras is a bit absurd. Yes training & technique does evolve, as is proven by Olympic high jump records. But let's not forget the elephant in the room, Technology. To think, wow, if I had been the only college player with today's equipment back in 1978, I might have at least done well enough to make it thru a few rounds at Wimbledon at the time. At 60 & still playing there's a tingling sense of raw latent power & control when I pull a modern racquet out of my bag court side. It's amazing! But I'll always enjoy the pleasure of a good woodie. Especially in mixed doubles.

⁠@@jalspach9215 Thanks for this. You provided all the illumination (and reminders) I needed after watching, open-mouthed (and obviously having forgotten my own past!) as JMc delighted/tortured us all brilliantly via his “simple” wooden racket.

Agassi, Sampras, Nadal and Federer!!

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine. 😉

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine. 😉

Isner would bust his shoulder the way he serves

@K1dCharlemagne There are "Woodie" tournaments. Spend a dollar or two at a thrift store & you're in.

@@markpugh6808 Our #1 singles player ranked in Az, 1976-77 was close to Isner's size. He used Jack Kramer woodies. Can't remember how many he destroyed with VOLLEYS! The heads couldn't take it & would just collapse with a weird, very brief, half dead "sproing" sound. A few years later he switched to the new FG Yonex composite. ...they didn't hold up much better. I started in 1974 with a quiver of Dunlop Maxply Fort's. Great racquet when new but would show signs of stress/delam after 1 season. I suspect many people overlook the evolution of ball quality/playability. The old snowshoe technology just couldn't take the stress. Funny, in the "old days" my college coach (a hacker, know nothing, poser) was always giving us shit for hitting hard - arguing for off pace "finesse". Doubles was my thing. Our serves were as good & versatile as anything you see now thanks to Head. Glad we blew off his distracting style. These days I feel vindicated & thrill at the pace + accuracy. From Warinka's backhand to Federer's drop shot. Gael Monfils! All the rest! Its breathtaking!

@@jalspach9215 You weren't vindicated.Modern tennis is mostly one dimensional muscled-up baseline ball bashers versus baseline grinders.Djokovic's mechanical, production-line tennis is just as unwatchable as Lendl's was. Where's the flair, touch, finesse, feel and above all artistry in modern tennis? Only Federer has tried to play that way.(Monfils to an extent, and Dimitriov - but he gets bashed up by the power guys.)

@@martydav9475 All due respect. But I'll argue you indicted your own argument citing Federer (for one). He has dominated because he does it all. There are plenty pros now who continue to work on their all-around/finesse - which further acknowledges the importance of it. You are right to include Monfils & Dimitrov. I'll add Dustin Brown & Nick Kyrgios. There are plenty others. Most all do not "get bashed up by the power guys" they can handle AND deliver power. The court has not changed. I 100% agree with your example of Lendl/Djokovich. Ultimately, I stand by my vindication despite the obvious hubris. Added note here: My checkered past included competing as a semi-pro, front-of-the-pack Triathlete & on/off road racing cyclist in my 20's/30's. Recently I've been watching a lot of Euro downhill MTB Avalanche races on YT. Again, the gear nowadays is amazing. But that can be destructively alluring. Quite obvious the guys who are consistently missing the podium are not training smart &/or are just plain lazy (lazy thinking??). They do awesome with the crazy speed these new machines provide, but they fade due to lack of aerobic condition & skill in technical areas. The former greatly affects the latter as well. Why? I believe it's the kid in all of us. They think training is just hauling ass downhill. It's extremely tempting simply because it's fun. And when you're young & away from home you can eat your dessert first. I bring this up for the parallel in our debate. The game is still sorting itself out but one thing we can agree upon, whether in the '70's or present, the up-and-coming MUST understand power isn't everything. If it was that WOULD be very boring indeed. Cheers.

I agree I have always wondered about that design,and why no one has the same or does he have copyright on the design.i would not be surprised.

Sampras

Mathew we gonna fight or what?

Barking Spider Becker

Eric Lunger lmfao you’re clueless.

Edberg was great too.

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine. 😉

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine. 😉

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine. 😉

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine. 😉

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine

La Guardia airport

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine. 😉

@@jimmyconnors5685 since you and Chris evett were an item.

@@leslieblackburn9687 Thanks for the love and words of encouragement I must say that I have enormous respect for you considering the manner in which I have made contact with you,Your comment gave me goosebumps and I decided to honor you.I’m very glad you’re fan of mine for that I would love to have a private conversation with you if that’s okay with you reach out to me privately via email

Vind52800

@@leslieblackburn9687 make use of gmail

LaGuardia is right next door to the USTA. Jfk is actually about 13 miles away.

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine. 😉

@@jimmyconnors5685 Siince 1991...when i was a kid....when i 1st pickee up a racket...❤👍😃

@@rizwanramzan5729 Thanks for the love and words of encouragement I must say that I have enormous respect for you considering the manner in which I have made contact with you,Your comment gave me goosebumps and I decided to honor you.I’m very glad you’re fan of mine for that I would love to have a private conversation with you if that’s okay with you reach out to me privately via email

Vind52800

@@rizwanramzan5729 make use of gmail

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine

String

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine. 😉

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine. 😉

Unfair comment ..McEnroe had a unique service action which he used to serve and volley ..took time to prepare

@@davidalexander2808 into headwind means he’s serving against the wind it’s a compliment.

@@jerichobeach2967 sorry my reply was not for you but for someone else..

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine

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Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine.

Sampras and federer better by far.

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine.

Yeah I remember when the Wilson T-2000 came out in the 70's . It was as heavy as a cast iron frying pan but it sure revolutionized the game. Connors used it so all of us teenagers wanted to use it too.

@@tomzielinski9506 I have one too downstairs with all of my old exercise equipment. I switched to Prince rackets in the '80s and never looked back.

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine.

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine.

You can have Nadal and Federer. To me, this is real tennis, and I'm over 20 years younger than you.

The net game is hardly played now due to how good the modern players are at hitting passing shots

Bill Norris, aka John Denver look-alike.

Awful post....

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine.

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine

Thanks for the love and support you show me as a loyal fan of mine not withstanding how long have you been a fan of mine.