Beautiful night in NYC Thursday night and the Philadelphia Freedoms took on the New York Sportimes. It was Johnny Mac v. Bjorn Borg in the men’s singles match; Martina Hingis played doubles and singles, too (actually, Borg only played singles), and Hingis suprisingly lost in singles 5-2 (sets are first to five games in WTT) to 19-year-old Beatrice Capra. It was Hingis’ first loss in singles all year.
Basically, WTT competition is somewhat anti-climatic until the big stars step on the court. Some of the also-ran players are fun to watch. The Freedoms have Australian Nathan Healy, and this guy is one hellava doubles player. The Sportimes have Travis Parrott, who won a Mixed-Doubles slam, but the show is to see Johnny Mac and Borg and also Hingis.
And a lot of people ventured all the way out to Randall’s Island to catch probably the two biggest legends. The tennis center out there was packed–I’d say at least 1,000 people maybe more–(I don’t count crowds well). There was Billie Jean King–is it just me or does she look more and more like Eddie Munster of the Munster Family? The ghoulish white face, the black dyed hair with the little curlicue on the forehead, and every time I see Billie Jean she’s dressed in black and is wearing bright red lipstick. The Mayor, no not Ed Koch, the tennis mayor, David Dinkins was there, too.
I’ll say this about Borg, he’s a very gracious fellow. He was very nice in the press conference saying that the only thing he regretted about retiring early was that he didn’t get to continue his rivalry for a few more matches with McEnroe. He said Nadal is now in a precarious position because Djokovic is in his head, and tennis is a very mental game and you can beat someone simply because you’re stronger mentally.
At 55, Borg still looked good. His hair is all-white now, but he still has those piercing blue eyes. He smiles easily and the other players on the Freedom, Healy and Brendan Evans, both seemed to enjoy kidding Borg and talking to him on the bench. Borg wore Diadora’s with a gold stripe and played with a Dunlop racket. When I asked him what happened to his Donnays, he just smiled and shook his head. His right thumb and left pinky were taped and his fingers look slightly gnarled as if they were permanently curved to hold a tennis racket.
Borg’s back is huge–more like a football than a tennis player–and his shoulders have a more pronounced stoop than they used to. He still moves with those quick mincing steps similar to Agassi and while he doesn’t run nearly as well as he used to–who does at 55–he is quick to the ball. He doesn’t wear the headband anymore and needed to use his towel often in the humid New York night. McEnroe is probably the greatest 50+ player in the history of the game. Pancho Gonzalez and Jimmy Connors were amazing 40+ players. I’d say Connors was a better 40+ player than Mac, but at 52, Mac can still approach the net with a backhand slice from the baseline because he still goes from defense to offense very quickly. It’s a few quick floating steps and then he’s into his split-stop. He made two shots in the doubles match that reminded me of how beautiful and minimalistic his game still is. In the flick of a racket, he took a full swinging forehand stroke at the net to swing volley a winner and with Evans approaching the net, Mac hit two slide, extreme forehand cross-court shots at Evans’s feet that had the bigger, younger man off-balance and at Mac’s mercy. I have no doubt that if Mac teemed with say, Mike Bryan or Mardy Fish, they would do well in the pro doubles’s competition.
But Borg still has a big serve. His shoulders are so strong. He hit one ace 127 mph. Mac was serving mostly in the high-90′s. Borg’s backhand is also still a beautiful shot. He drives it two hands with a hockey slap-shot fling that had Mac whiffing at net for a lot of volleys. Surprisingly, Borg’s forehand was often late and he didn’t hit it smoothly or with much spin. Borg is also a butcher at the net. I’ve always wondered watching Borg in the seniors how a player of his level looks so bad at the net. It’s clear that Mac is the much better athlete. Borg might’ve been fitter and faster, a physical marvel with his long sinewy body and 35 pulse rate, but Mac moves more gracefully and is quicker and has better hands, eye-hand coordination. Watching Mac play is like watching Phillipe Petit walk across the World Trade Center towers on a wire. Mac always looks like he may fall backwards on his shots–he stands up straight so much on his strokes and said in the presser, half-kiddingly, that he can’t bend anymore, and is teetering on a wire, but his balance is superb.
If I had to guess, I’d say that Mac held Borg up. Mac finally won with an ace in the ninth-game tie-breaker. There were a few shots where it seemed Mac purposely approached Borg’s backhand only to have the Swede smear a cross-court passing shot like in old days. But maybe not, maybe Borg just laced those shots too well. Mac had said in the presser that Connors was scared of both Borg and him and that the only one to top Jimmy in a match like this was Borg. Which was true in one sense. Seeing Borg again–it was his first time playing in New York in 17 years–was exciting, awe-inspiring as the Swede still holds that captivating presence. But a fit and fighting Connors, before the hip replacement surgery, was always a better match for Mac in the seniors.
I think back to the last time I saw Mac-Connors play on a sultry Texas summer day probably about 12 years ago when Connors stormed off the court into the locker room mid-first-set because he was upset over a fan and McEnroe questioning a lines call that went in Connors’ favor. Mac had to go in and plead for Connors to come back out, which he did, only to upend Connors in either a third set or third set tie-breaker. It was captivating tennis and probably Connors’s last stand. There was always blood when Mac and Connors played.
Here’s a brief account of that match from a London newspaper story about Mac from eight years ago:
“McEnroe considers that it was against one of his keenest rivals, Connors, that he played in his best match on the seniors tour, even though he lost. It happened in Irving, Texas, exactly four years ago. Connors, then 46, was miffed when McEnroe joined in the joshing of his attitude by a spectator. “Be fair, Connors,” yelled the man. “Yeah, be fair, Connors,” added McEnroe. At which Jimmy stalked off, was persuaded to return and won the match.”
With Mac and Borg there’s respect, friendship and the abiding knowledge that while the game still means almost everything to Mac, Borg has moved on. While he still hits a nice ball and can compete, like Lendl, his body has changed and he can’t bring out the magic that came so naturally for him 30 years ago. Mac still can compete like a young man, if only for stretches, and Connors even when he was in his mid-40′s, before real old age broke him down, was loathe to admit that he’d lost a step.
In the seniors, there’s really only one legendary match and that’s Connors-Mac. Borg-Mac is a trip down nostalgia lane, a semi-competitive wonder that two men who were the greatest of their time, can still entertain and shake heads 30 years later, but the reminder is always there. Borg retired, said “No mas,” to McEnroe’s challenge and stymied a rivalry that could’ve emerged to be the greatest the game has ever seen. A couple of more Wimbledon finals, maybe even a French and another US Open final, but it was not to be. A rematch in 2011, can’t erase that sad realization.
4 comments.....
Sweet read, you captured the essence of this historic rivalry at this later stage. It’s nice to think someday we will see Rafa and Fed sitting together and playing these exhibitions decades down the road.
Michael · July 18, 2011 at 2:46 am
“at this later stage”
Are you kidding. The rivalry was at its late stage 25 years ago. I prefer to remember them when they could play tennis.
Dan markowitz · July 18, 2011 at 11:18 pm
I wouldn’t say it’s a rivalry that is entirely kaput. Someone asked Mac before the match if it mattered who won and he said no and then changed his mind, saying his WTT teammates were putting pressure on him to win so he had to go for the W. He turned toward Borg almost apologetically when he said this. And Borg looked like he totally understood and Borg played to win, too. You have to understand with these guys, they’re used to winning. They won so much, I’m sure it’s in their blood. And they still can play pretty well, Mac better than that. So the match didn’t feel staged. It’s hard to stage a tennis match, also. If you don’t run for balls or hit too many shots in the net, it gets obvious.
Basically, WTT competition is somewhat anti-climatic until the big stars step on the court. Some of the also-ran players are fun to watch. The Freedoms have Australian Nathan Healy, and this guy is one hellava doubles player. The Sportimes have Travis Parrott, who won a Mixed-Doubles slam, but the show is to see Johnny Mac and Borg and also Hingis.
And a lot of people ventured all the way out to Randall’s Island to catch probably the two biggest legends. The tennis center out there was packed–I’d say at least 1,000 people maybe more–(I don’t count crowds well). There was Billie Jean King–is it just me or does she look more and more like Eddie Munster of the Munster Family? The ghoulish white face, the black dyed hair with the little curlicue on the forehead, and every time I see Billie Jean she’s dressed in black and is wearing bright red lipstick. The Mayor, no not Ed Koch, the tennis mayor, David Dinkins was there, too.
I’ll say this about Borg, he’s a very gracious fellow. He was very nice in the press conference saying that the only thing he regretted about retiring early was that he didn’t get to continue his rivalry for a few more matches with McEnroe. He said Nadal is now in a precarious position because Djokovic is in his head, and tennis is a very mental game and you can beat someone simply because you’re stronger mentally.
At 55, Borg still looked good. His hair is all-white now, but he still has those piercing blue eyes. He smiles easily and the other players on the Freedom, Healy and Brendan Evans, both seemed to enjoy kidding Borg and talking to him on the bench. Borg wore Diadora’s with a gold stripe and played with a Dunlop racket. When I asked him what happened to his Donnays, he just smiled and shook his head. His right thumb and left pinky were taped and his fingers look slightly gnarled as if they were permanently curved to hold a tennis racket.
Borg’s back is huge–more like a football than a tennis player–and his shoulders have a more pronounced stoop than they used to. He still moves with those quick mincing steps similar to Agassi and while he doesn’t run nearly as well as he used to–who does at 55–he is quick to the ball. He doesn’t wear the headband anymore and needed to use his towel often in the humid New York night. McEnroe is probably the greatest 50+ player in the history of the game. Pancho Gonzalez and Jimmy Connors were amazing 40+ players. I’d say Connors was a better 40+ player than Mac, but at 52, Mac can still approach the net with a backhand slice from the baseline because he still goes from defense to offense very quickly. It’s a few quick floating steps and then he’s into his split-stop. He made two shots in the doubles match that reminded me of how beautiful and minimalistic his game still is. In the flick of a racket, he took a full swinging forehand stroke at the net to swing volley a winner and with Evans approaching the net, Mac hit two slide, extreme forehand cross-court shots at Evans’s feet that had the bigger, younger man off-balance and at Mac’s mercy. I have no doubt that if Mac teemed with say, Mike Bryan or Mardy Fish, they would do well in the pro doubles’s competition.
But Borg still has a big serve. His shoulders are so strong. He hit one ace 127 mph. Mac was serving mostly in the high-90′s. Borg’s backhand is also still a beautiful shot. He drives it two hands with a hockey slap-shot fling that had Mac whiffing at net for a lot of volleys. Surprisingly, Borg’s forehand was often late and he didn’t hit it smoothly or with much spin. Borg is also a butcher at the net. I’ve always wondered watching Borg in the seniors how a player of his level looks so bad at the net. It’s clear that Mac is the much better athlete. Borg might’ve been fitter and faster, a physical marvel with his long sinewy body and 35 pulse rate, but Mac moves more gracefully and is quicker and has better hands, eye-hand coordination. Watching Mac play is like watching Phillipe Petit walk across the World Trade Center towers on a wire. Mac always looks like he may fall backwards on his shots–he stands up straight so much on his strokes and said in the presser, half-kiddingly, that he can’t bend anymore, and is teetering on a wire, but his balance is superb.
If I had to guess, I’d say that Mac held Borg up. Mac finally won with an ace in the ninth-game tie-breaker. There were a few shots where it seemed Mac purposely approached Borg’s backhand only to have the Swede smear a cross-court passing shot like in old days. But maybe not, maybe Borg just laced those shots too well. Mac had said in the presser that Connors was scared of both Borg and him and that the only one to top Jimmy in a match like this was Borg. Which was true in one sense. Seeing Borg again–it was his first time playing in New York in 17 years–was exciting, awe-inspiring as the Swede still holds that captivating presence. But a fit and fighting Connors, before the hip replacement surgery, was always a better match for Mac in the seniors.
I think back to the last time I saw Mac-Connors play on a sultry Texas summer day probably about 12 years ago when Connors stormed off the court into the locker room mid-first-set because he was upset over a fan and McEnroe questioning a lines call that went in Connors’ favor. Mac had to go in and plead for Connors to come back out, which he did, only to upend Connors in either a third set or third set tie-breaker. It was captivating tennis and probably Connors’s last stand. There was always blood when Mac and Connors played.
Here’s a brief account of that match from a London newspaper story about Mac from eight years ago:
“McEnroe considers that it was against one of his keenest rivals, Connors, that he played in his best match on the seniors tour, even though he lost. It happened in Irving, Texas, exactly four years ago. Connors, then 46, was miffed when McEnroe joined in the joshing of his attitude by a spectator. “Be fair, Connors,” yelled the man. “Yeah, be fair, Connors,” added McEnroe. At which Jimmy stalked off, was persuaded to return and won the match.”
With Mac and Borg there’s respect, friendship and the abiding knowledge that while the game still means almost everything to Mac, Borg has moved on. While he still hits a nice ball and can compete, like Lendl, his body has changed and he can’t bring out the magic that came so naturally for him 30 years ago. Mac still can compete like a young man, if only for stretches, and Connors even when he was in his mid-40′s, before real old age broke him down, was loathe to admit that he’d lost a step.
In the seniors, there’s really only one legendary match and that’s Connors-Mac. Borg-Mac is a trip down nostalgia lane, a semi-competitive wonder that two men who were the greatest of their time, can still entertain and shake heads 30 years later, but the reminder is always there. Borg retired, said “No mas,” to McEnroe’s challenge and stymied a rivalry that could’ve emerged to be the greatest the game has ever seen. A couple of more Wimbledon finals, maybe even a French and another US Open final, but it was not to be. A rematch in 2011, can’t erase that sad realization.
4 comments.....
Sweet read, you captured the essence of this historic rivalry at this later stage. It’s nice to think someday we will see Rafa and Fed sitting together and playing these exhibitions decades down the road.
Michael · July 18, 2011 at 2:46 am
“at this later stage”
Are you kidding. The rivalry was at its late stage 25 years ago. I prefer to remember them when they could play tennis.
Dan markowitz · July 18, 2011 at 11:18 pm
I wouldn’t say it’s a rivalry that is entirely kaput. Someone asked Mac before the match if it mattered who won and he said no and then changed his mind, saying his WTT teammates were putting pressure on him to win so he had to go for the W. He turned toward Borg almost apologetically when he said this. And Borg looked like he totally understood and Borg played to win, too. You have to understand with these guys, they’re used to winning. They won so much, I’m sure it’s in their blood. And they still can play pretty well, Mac better than that. So the match didn’t feel staged. It’s hard to stage a tennis match, also. If you don’t run for balls or hit too many shots in the net, it gets obvious.
