1984 Lendl-Mac French Open final - something that really stood out to me - Mac's groundies.

[WCT]

But didn't Connors just cream Lendl a few weeks earlier at Queens? It wasn't even close.

I said Flink said that, I don't agree with that. However, I agree with his general thought that Lendl played very, very well against Mcenroe. Good enough to beat Connors in his Queens 1983 form? I don't believe so.

Connors wasn't at that same level at Wimbledon or Curran wouldn't have beaten him. Queens form or not, though, I don't see him beating Lendl love and 3 if Lendl plays like he did against Mcenroe.

 

[jrepac]

I said Flink said that, I don't agree with that. However, I agree with his general thought that Lendl played very, very well against Mcenroe. Good enough to beat Connors in his Queens 1983 form? I don't believe so.

Connors wasn't at that same level at Wimbledon or Curran wouldn't have beaten him. Queens form or not, though, I don't see him beating Lendl love and 3 if Lendl plays like he did against Mcenroe.

Oh, got it. Well, we all know that Queens is an imperfect predictor for Wimbledon. Maybe an indicator of who is playing well, but that's about it. In '83, Curren was a bit lucky to beat Connors...it was close, not like the '85 blow out. Not having seen the entire '83 Queens semi of Connors/Lendl, it's hard to say. The bit that's on You Tube is pretty shocking...Lendl is just being overwhelmed. A Connors-Lendl '83 showdown likely would have been VERY different from the match w/Mac. But, having watched that '83 semi, no question Lendl played extremely well....Mac was just that much better. Close to peak, really.

 

[WCT]

Oh, got it. Well, we all know that Queens is an imperfect predictor for Wimbledon. Maybe an indicator of who is playing well, but that's about it. In '83, Curren was a bit lucky to beat Connors...it was close, not like the '85 blow out. Not having seen the entire '83 Queens semi of Connors/Lendl, it's hard to say. The bit that's on You Tube is pretty shocking...Lendl is just being overwhelmed. A Connors-Lendl '83 showdown likely would have been VERY different from the match w/Mac. But, having watched that '83 semi, no question Lendl played extremely well....Mac was just that much better. Close to peak, really.

No question, what we saw of 83 Queens is a beatdown. Connors is playing about as well as he can play. In the finals as well. Thus my saying that I don't think Lendl was playing that well in the Mcenroe semi. Lendl had also beaten Tanner in straight sets in the quarters.

What I saw online, in the last year, is what HBO showed in 1983, Maybe about a set, or a little more, worth of games scattered over a couple sets. I wouldn't call Curran lucky. Like many, many matches it was a couple points here or there. Certainly Connors wasn't in top form, but he didn't play poorly. Curran not only served great, but volleyed great. And it was played on the dreaded no 2 court, the upset court, You go 74 through maybe 85, I'd guess that Connors didn't play more than a couple matches outside of the main 2 courts.

 

[Olli Jokinen]

Newer, younger guys came along, perhaps. Not certain if they were infinitely better than their predecessors.

Better than Gerulaitis, Tanner, Panatta and the others below Borg, Mac, Connors and Maybe Vilas. Much better.

 

[martinezownsclay]

I don't recall watching the Cash/Mac semi in '84...I was more psyched to watch Lendl v. Connors. However, in the '83 SF between Mac and Ivan, Mac was superb. A level down from '84, mind you, but still excellent. Was just bummed that he didn't have a more threatening opponent in the final...had expected giant-killer Curren, but that did not exactly pan out.

I think Curren loses to McEnroe almost for sure this year, but it would have been a much better final IMO. Lewis vs McEnroe in the finals pretty much sucked before the match began. Andthat obviously Connors would have been an even better final still, would have been interesting to see if he could upset McEnroe in the Wimbledon final for a second straight year after spanking him at Queens just before. I would still guess McEnroe wins in the form he was in that Wimbledon, but it would be very up in the air.

 

[jrepac]

I think Curren loses to McEnroe almost for sure this year, but it would have been a much better final IMO. Lewis vs McEnroe in the finals pretty much sucked before the match began. Andthat obviously Connors would have been an even better final still, would have been interesting to see if he could upset McEnroe in the Wimbledon final for a second straight year after spanking him at Queens just before. I would still guess McEnroe wins in the form he was in that Wimbledon, but it would be very up in the air.

Heh, in '83 Wimby I vividly remember HBO using "Every Breath You Take" with a montage of Mac and Jimmy, to highlight what would've been the expected final match up. Curren certainly turned that on its head. Yeah, I definitely would have favored Mac in a final over Curren. Mac vs. Jimmy, if Jimmy was in that form he showed in Queens? Who knows how that would've turned out. A battle for sure. Curren always seemed to run out of gas the closer he got to the finish line. But he was a formidable giant-killer. Scanlon was another one like that, but he never got to a GS final where Curren made 2.