Mac and Connors at Wembley '81

krosero · 09-22-2011, 06:42 PM

Some terrific backcourt rallies here, and an extraodinary oncourt interview with Connors after the match.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHgAk...eature=related
(Check out the confrontation between Mac and Connors at 6:59)

Second part: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OTjW...eature=related

Interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhUnG...eature=related

BTURNER · 09-23-2011, 06:32 AM

wonderful stuff, krosero. isn't there a proactive duty on the part of the player to verbally inform the empire that he needs an injury timeout? Why should an empire have to guess when/if to start the 3 minutes?

juan guzman · 09-23-2011, 07:30 AM

Fantastic match Krosero.

Mac played too much from the baseline.Thats not his game against Connors.At the masters 82 he played the same way but Connors was flat at that match.Mac won 6-2 7-5

thor's hammer · 09-23-2011, 08:07 AM

Fantastic tennis - what a great match! Thanks for posting!

My, how things have changed (or not)...

I can't understand why Connors didn't simply retire after losing the first two sets?! What's up with that??

Also, starting at about 4:45 in the second clip Mac's giving the chair ump grief for pushing him to play on after he twisted his ankle during the previous game. Mac says "I always go around faking...I just quit...pretend like I'm faking injuries just to save points."

Gee...what a concept!

pc1 · 09-23-2011, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krosero

Some terrific backcourt rallies here, and an extraodinary oncourt interview with Connors after the match.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHgAk...eature=related
(Check out the confrontation between Mac and Connors at 6:59)

Second part: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OTjW...eature=related

Interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhUnG...eature=related

What an interview by Connors! Interesting. Haven't checked out the match yet.

Datacipher · 09-23-2011, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pc1

What an interview by Connors! Interesting. Haven't checked out the match yet.

The master of control and manipulation! All the things he purposely did to Mac: paint him as the bad one, paint him as the immature one, paint himself as the elder statesman....but he refused to acknowledge if for the interviewer because he knew how bad it would sound!

BTURNER · 09-23-2011, 05:33 PM

For Jimmy gamesmanship is as much a part of the sport as a lob or a forehand. Winning that battle goes a long way toward winning it all.

Datacipher · 09-23-2011, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BTURNER

For Jimmy gamesmanship is as much a part of the sport as a lob or a forehand. Winning that battle goes a long way toward winning it all.

LOL. Yes, well of course the irony is that the crowd is thinking, what a mature gentleman and sportsman....standing up for John.....

Mcenroe is thinking: what a colossal hypocrite!!!! What a faker!!! Now the fans love him even more!!! Here we go again!!!

Mustard · 09-23-2011, 05:50 PM

I have this match on DVD. What sticks in my mind were the embarrassing umpiring errors in this match, the worst ones being:

1. The umpire called the score 15-15 when it should have been 30-0. The players didn't correct the umpire, and when Connors thought he'd won a love game, the umpire was calling out "40-15". Connors says, "that's game, mate".

2. Connors (the server) wins the first point of a game, only for the umpire to call out "0-15" and not even realise his error until Connors embarrassed him. "Play on, Mr. Connors", "What's the score, mate?", "0-15", "How do you figure that?", LOLs from audience.

3. McEnroe twists his ankle and tries to shake off some of the pain during a game by shaking his ankle in the air. The umpire then goes "play on please, Mr. McEnroe. Play on." McEnroe then gave the umpire a rollicking at the change of ends saying that he was entitled to a 3 minute medical timeout and that telling him to "play on" just made things worse. McEnroe said to the umpire that he obviously had no clue as to what the rules were.

And yes, that interview with Connors and Barry Davies at the end

BTURNER · 09-23-2011, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Datacipher

LOL. Yes, well of course the irony is that the crowd is thinking, what a mature gentleman and sportsman....standing up for John.....

Mcenroe is thinking: what a colossal hypocrite!!!! What a faker!!! Now the fans love him even more!!! Here we go again!!!

Which in Connors mind just made him the winner of the gamesmanship competition and give him a leg up on the next match!

Mustard · 09-23-2011, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Datacipher

LOL. Yes, well of course the irony is that the crowd is thinking, what a mature gentleman and sportsman....standing up for John.....

Mcenroe is thinking: what a colossal hypocrite!!!! What a faker!!! Now the fans love him even more!!! Here we go again!!!

McEnroe so envied Connors' ability to have the crowd in the palm of his hands. McEnroe could only dream of such a thing. Connors even told the crowd at one point "it would be a lot better if you would just shut the hell up and let us play", and the crowd applauded him. Had McEnroe done that, he'd have heard a crescendo of boos and hisses.

BTURNER · 09-23-2011, 07:22 PM

Yea, Connors was a royal____ much of the time, a clown some of the time, but he is still my favorite male player to watch play the game. A great tactician with an instinct for when to take risks, his gamesmanship never replaced his technical mastery, his shotmaking or his tennis but augmented them. Tennis was never a dreary sport, when he played it.

Cuculain · 10-07-2011, 07:05 AM

What a fantastic match..continuing Connors resurgence in the 80s. He blew Borg off the court for the first 2 sets of his semi at Wimbledon that year before succumbing to his tenacity in 5..he then went on the beat Mac at queens and Wimbledon in 82 and Lendl at the USOpen in 82 and 83..playing great tennis right upto 84..

kiki · 10-31-2011, 09:35 AM

Great to pull it up.And also, great to pull up the 1978 USO Final, when Iceman and Blue Collar showed that great things would happen when pitted against each other, no matter who won the match.

subban · 11-01-2011, 10:05 AM

@cuculain:

Connors was consistently in the top 5 till '87, getting to semis of gs and winning atp tournaments. I know he did get to semis of us open in '91 but that was more of a fluke and his ranking was'nt all that high.

jrepac · 11-01-2011, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by subban

@cuculain:

Connors was consistently in the top 5 till '87, getting to semis of gs and winning atp tournaments. I know he did get to semis of us open in '91 but that was more of a fluke and his ranking was'nt all that high.

Connors was winning tournaments as late as 1989 when he was 37. What really derailed him was in early 1990 when his wrist blew out. He pretty much lost the entire year, eventually getting surgery and then rehabbing for his 1991 "comeback"...no events won, but some pretty gripping matches at the FO and USO that year from him, no question.

krosero · 11-29-2012, 07:14 PM

Don't know where else to post this, but Connors apparently burst to into tears in a postmatch ceremony upon hearing of the death of a friend. He had just beaten Rosewall in the final at North Conway, '75:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...4899%2C3126694
(scroll down to "Connors trounces Rosewall")

another article:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id...g=4760%2C83762

Goosehead · 11-29-2012, 10:26 PM

mcenroe ended up with 19 masters titles..

two sets up here..coulda/woulda/shoulda been masters title no 20,

still you know how it is with jimmy..if you wanna win, youve gotta win completely,

because even 2 sets down vs the at the time world no1..connors could still detect LARGE QUANTITIES OF WIN IN HIS SECTOR.

Rozroz · 11-30-2012, 07:29 AM

so what did Mcenroe do when the match was over while the interview took place? he just went off the court?

comeback · 12-01-2012, 05:20 PM

Great videos and interview. Connors and Mac were Ali/Frazier.They needed each other to make it work.Tennis and tension at it's best. I am a huge Connors fan..But how did Rosewall keep making it to finals,, WOW Impressive

09-22-2011, 06:42 PM	#1
krosero Hall Of Fame Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 4,663	Mac and Connors at Wembley '81 Some terrific backcourt rallies here, and an extraodinary oncourt interview with Connors after the match. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHgAk...eature=related (Check out the confrontation between Mac and Connors at 6:59) Second part: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OTjW...eature=related Interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhUnG...eature=related

09-23-2011, 08:07 AM	#4
thor's hammer Rookie Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 275	Fantastic tennis - what a great match! Thanks for posting! My, how things have changed (or not)... I can't understand why Connors didn't simply retire after losing the first two sets?! What's up with that?? Also, starting at about 4:45 in the second clip Mac's giving the chair ump grief for pushing him to play on after he twisted his ankle during the previous game. Mac says "I always go around faking...I just quit...pretend like I'm faking injuries just to save points." Gee...what a concept! __________________ "I made a decision about how I wanted to play the game. I would rather lose hitting the ball hard than win holding back." ...Rod Laver

10-07-2011, 07:05 AM	#13
Cuculain New User Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Dublin Ireland. Posts: 84	Connors resurgence What a fantastic match..continuing Connors resurgence in the 80s. He blew Borg off the court for the first 2 sets of his semi at Wimbledon that year before succumbing to his tenacity in 5..he then went on the beat Mac at queens and Wimbledon in 82 and Lendl at the USOpen in 82 and 83..playing great tennis right upto 84..

11-01-2011, 10:05 AM	#15
subban Rookie Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Forest Hills Gardens, Queens, New York, USA Posts: 182	@cuculain: Connors was consistently in the top 5 till '87, getting to semis of gs and winning atp tournaments. I know he did get to semis of us open in '91 but that was more of a fluke and his ranking was'nt all that high. __________________ Prince TT Scream, Prince Topspin 60lbs, Baseline Counterpuncher, Usta 4.0.

11-29-2012, 10:26 PM	#18
Goosehead Hall Of Fame Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Brighton, England. Posts: 1,604	mcenroe ended up with 19 masters titles.. two sets up here..coulda/woulda/shoulda been masters title no 20, still you know how it is with jimmy..if you wanna win, youve gotta win completely, because even 2 sets down vs the at the time world no1..connors could still detect LARGE QUANTITIES OF WIN IN HIS SECTOR. Last edited by Goosehead : 11-30-2012 at 09:13 AM.