Match Stats/Report - Lendl vs Connors, Canada semi-final, 1988

[Waspsting]

Ivan Lendl beat Jimmy Connors 6-4, 6-4 in the Canada semi-final, 1988 on hard court in Toronto

Lendl, the defending champion, would go onto win the title, beating Kevin Curren in the final. Connors was seeded 4. This was the penultimate meeting between the two players and they wouldn’t meet again for another 4 years

Lendl won 77 points, Connors 65

Connors serve-volleyed about a third of the time off first serve

Serve Stats
Lendl...
- 1st serve percentage (32/63) 51%
- 1st serve points won (24/32) 75%
- 2nd serve points won (18/31) 58%
- Aces 8, Service Winners 3
- Double Faults 1
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (22/63) 35%

Connors...
- 1st serve percentage (52/79) 66%
- 1st serve points won (34/52) 65%
- 2nd serve points won (10/27) 37%
- Aces 1
- Double Faults 2
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (13/79) 16%

Serve Patterns
Lendl served...
- to FH 55%
- to BH 42%
- to Body 3%

Connors served...
- to FH 25%
- to BH 68%
- to Body 8%

Return Stats
Lendl made...
- 64 (25 FH, 39 BH), including 7 runaround FHs
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 12 Errors, comprising...
- 6 Unforced (4 FH, 2 BH), including 1 runaround FH
- 6 Forced (2 FH, 4 BH)
- Return Rate (64/77) 83%

Connors made...
- 40 (27 FH, 13 BH), including 2 return-approaches
- 11 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (3 BH)
- 8 Forced (5 FH, 3 BH)
- Return Rate (40/62) 65%

Break Points
Lendl 3/10 (4 games)
Connors 1/6 (2 games)

Winners (including returns, excluding serves)
Lendl 17 (9 FH, 7 BH, 1 FHV)
Connors 14 (2 FH, 1 BH, 3 FHV, 6 BHV, 2 OH)

Lendl's FHs - 1 cc pass, 4 dtl (1 return, 1 pass), 1 inside-in pass, 2 longline, 1 net chord dribbler
- BHs - 4 dtl (1 at net, 3 passes), 1 inside-out, 1 drop shot, 1 lob (a slice)

Connors' FHs - 1 cc/inside-in, 1 running-down-drop-shot dtl pass at net
- BH - 1 dtl

- 3 from serve-volley points (1 BHV, 2 OH), all second volleys
- 1 other FHV and 2 other BHVs can reasonably be called swing volleys

Errors (excluding serves and returns)
Lendl 37
- 14 Unforced (7 FH, 7 BH)
- 23 Forced (7 FH, 15 BH, 1 FHV)… with 1 BH running-down-drop-shot at net
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 44.3

Connors 36
- 24 Unforced (13 FH, 10 BH, 1 BHV)... with 1 FH at net
- 12 Forced (1 FH, 6 BH, 1 FHV, 3 FH1/2V, 1 BHV)… 1 BH can reasonably be called a non-net BH1/2V
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 43.3

(Note 1: All 1/2 volleys refer to such shots played at net. 1/2 volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke numbers)

(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)

Net Points & Serve-Volley
Lendl was...
- 4/7 (57%) at net, including...
- 1/1 serve-volleying, a 1st serve

Connors was...
- 37/55 (67%) at net, including...
- 13/20 (65%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 12/19 (63%) off 1st serve and...
- 1/1 off 2nd serve
---
- 1/2 return-approaching
- 1/3 (33%) retreated

Match Report
Good tough match. Connors serve pretty hard, rallies pretty tough from the back and attacks net - all to above personal norm extent for the period - to make it so. Still, Lendl’s still much stronger server and steadier baseliner to be overall better and win. Court is normal, weather is apparently exceptionally hot

Lendl win 54% of points, serving 44% of them. That could be a thrashing
Break points - Lendl 3/10 (4 games), Jimbo 1/6 (2 games)

That’s not a thrashing, but fairly comfy for Lendl

3 stats stand out as being particularly important

- Unreturned serves - Lendl 35%, Jimbo 16%
Naturally, Lendl better. A lot better even. But Jimbo serves hard by his standard
Lendl 12 return errors comprise 6 UEs, 6 FEs
That’s an FE heavy yield for the match up. Norm would be about 10/12 being UEs. Its somewhat due to Jimbo serve-volleying often, but not entirely. He’s got Lendl at least, not too comfortable returning much of
the time
It says something about general match-up that trailing freebies by over double and having Lendl ‘not too comfortable’ is a relative win for Jimbo
Generally, Lendl returns Jimbo’s serve like clockwork. Less than that here

- Ground UEs - Lendl 14 (7 each wing), Jimbo 22 (12 FH, 10 BH)
Naturally again, Lendl better, but again, Jimbo doing relatively well
Match-up norm would be Lendl having half or fewer UEs, not 2/3
Lendl being a little down from his norm is more behind the smaller than expected gap, but Jimbo’s rarely sloppy and usually makes him work for it
Again, doesn’t say great things about Jimbo’s chances in general match up when this is a relative win for him

- Net Points - Lendl 4/7, Jimbo 37/55
Unnaturally, Jimbo full on attacking net
Sans aces, service winners and double faults, he’s at net 55/127 points or 43% of all points
He first serve-volleys 37% of the time
He rallies to net 33 times. That’s close to half of all baseline starting rallies

Negligible approach UEs, both takes mini-chances to come in or pure sneaks in, volleys well (both handling the routine and the tough stuff). He’s got Lendl in all kinds of trouble on the rushed pass

Its extremely hot apparently. This is the earliest match I’ve come across where one of the players (Jimbo) is towelling off after every point. Commentator is mindful that both players are flirting with and going over 30 seconds between points, though they also seem to regard it more as a guideline than a hard rule. In light of the heat, expresses opinion (seemingly approvingly) that Chair won’t call the players for it - and the Chair doesn’t

Jimbo plays half the match with a thin cloth/towel soaked in cold water around his neck
Effect of heat is augmented as a factor by the first 3 games taking 35+ minutes. Long enough to make both players husband their efforts for rest of match, not go all in every point

Serve & Return
Unreturned serves - Lendl 35%, Jimbo 16%
Aces/Service Winners - Lendl 11, Jimbo 1 (34% of first serves for Lendl, 2% for Jimbo)
Return FEs drawn - Lendl 8, Jimbo 6
Return UEs drawn - Lendl 3, Jimbo 6

Jimbo may have served well by his standard, but clearly, he’s far, far behind Lendl on the first shot
For Lendl, not unusual serving yield. Big, booming first serves. Jimbo doesn’t make much effort for some of the aces, when he’s well down in games. Probably saving his energy, given the heat

Just 3 return UEs for Jimbo is very good

Jimbo’s yield of freebies is helped by his first serve-volleying 37% of the time. But his first serve is good enough to rush Lendl and draw returns that leave Jimbo with initiative of point (again, these would be a given for most players - but for Jimbo, they’re a definite positive). He wins 68% of his stay back first serve points (higher than the 63% he does serve-volleying), and a hell of lot higher than the 38% second serve points he can manage staying back

 

[Waspsting]

Play - Baseline & Connors at net
At start, action is largely baseline rallies, Lendl looking to junk BHs to Jimbo’s FH
Crucial, early cluster of points shifts that some. Lendl missing 3 such junky BHs in a row in second game
That sees him move away from overdoing the chipping and slicing and bunting for rest of match. He strikes as many BHs as not thereafter. That second game also sees Jimbo turn to full on net play
And that’s rest of match; normal baseline play (as opposed to Lendl with excess junk) + Jimbo seeking net

To be clear, Lendl still plays significant junk, including some off the FH. Less so than systematically though

In baseline rallies -
- Winners - Lendl 8 (6 FH, 2 BH), Jimbo 2 (1 FH, 1 BH)
- Errors forced - Lendl 6, Jimbo 3
- (Aggressively ended points - Lendl 14, Jimbo 5)
- UEs - Lendl 14 (7 FH, 7 BH), Jimbo 22 (12 FH, 10 BH)

Lendl 3 times the points ended aggressively, 2/3rds the UEs. Crystal clear who better baseliner is
Save that 3 BH UE run, his BH is safest shot out there (even with it, its joint safest - and a lot safer than either of Jimbo’s shots)
FH with 6 winners, 7 UEs (1 of the winners a lucky net chord dribbler). He takes on FH dtl and has couple winners with it, + a return

UEs usually take time in coming. That and baseline points being broken up by Jimbo’s net points mean that there isn’t a sense of Lendl crushing Jimbo from the back, though he has

Jimbo hitting sturdily off both sides, not wanting for effort or grit. His defence isn’t great. He’s got 5 BH FEs, mostly drawn by powerful FH cc’s. And in time, he gives up the UEs. Usually, not against Lendl’s junkier short but in sturdy rallies

Jimbo’s 37/55 at net
- 13/20 are serve-volleys (1/1 off second serve, rest first serves)
- 1/2 return-approaching
- 23/33 rallying to net

His best approach is eased over, FH dtl that are wide of Lendl
FH cc’s tend to be closer to Lendl, or even right at him

Most of his approaches are sneaks and dashes. That is, not after outmanuvering or overpowering Lendl, so decent passing looks for Lendl. Then again, Lendl likely doesn’t see or anticipate him coming in at least some of the time, and plays a junk, baseline rally shot that gets dealt with at net. Some of these reach Jimbo low, less often, he’s able to dispatch that hard at net

Jimbo on ‘volley’ has 11 winners, 2 UEs, 5 FEs
Lendl on pas has 7 winners (3 FH, 4 BH), 19 FEs (5 FH, 14 BH)

That’s great net play - both the approach and the volleying - from Jimbo
Low UEs to go with fierce routine height volleys is step one
He’s also good at the low stuff, not missing much. He’s not the quickest in getting down for them, thus making them harder than they need be - but they’re not easy volleys, and he makes them with fair authority
1/2 UEs are a poor FH at net, the other is a not-easy reaction volley
3/5 Jimbo’s FEs are half-volleys. Relatively makeable ones, and he makes other such shots
Jimbo retreats 3 times. These are serve-volleys where he plucks up half-volley from around service line and falls back to baseline

Given decent pass looks, those aren’t great figures for Lendl
Approaches are pacey, with good lot down-the-middle giving him no angle to work with
Jimbo staying on his BH wisely. 4 winners, 14 FEs for Lendl on pass on that side
3 winners, 5 FEs on the FH to contrast

Nearly full credit to Jimbo for both his boldness in seeking net, skill in getting there, and the net skills he shows for how it all works out. Lendl not being at his best on the BH pass is extent of Lendl’s ‘fault’ in the matter

67% net points won by Jimbo and coming in a lot. Necessary, given how baseline action goes
Lendl’s 4/7 at net, with 1/1 serve-volleying. He probably has little interest in finding net, but in any case, has limited scope to do so, given Jimbo’s up there so often

Good show by Jimbo, but Lendl wins 58% of his second serve points and 63% of Jimbo’s. In all, he’s still doing a lot better than Jimbo in court action
To go with 35% - 16% lead in freebies and 1 fewer double fault

Match Progression
First 3 games take about 35 minutes. And they’re on serve at the end of it

Jimbo’s broken in 10 points to start. Serve-volleys couple times (Lendl just long on BH pass once and Jimbo missing a relatively comfy FH1/2V on break point to end the game), wins his only approach beside with a third ball BH dtl. He also double faults and gives up couple neutral ground UEs

Lend’s broken back in 12 points to continue. From 30-0 up, he misses 3 softly played BHs in a row. Big serves saves 2 break points (ace and service winner), but Jimbo seizes net to win last 3 points, including with a straight down the middle approach, finishing with swatted BHV winner to end the game

Third game takes 20 points and Jimbo staves off 5 break points to hold. He’s at net 11 times in the game (6 serve-volleys). Both his net UEs for the match are in the game - a simple FH at net to start the game and a not-easy reaction BHV in middle of it. Lendl pummeling a few returns in the game too

40 minutes in the heat leads to slight drop in defensive vigour, especially for Jimbo, before first set is done

Of results, all but 1 game for rest of set is comfy enough holds. Jimbo continues seeking net with FH dtl’s or right down the middle approaches, with good lot of quick dash approaches. He volleys very nicely - with Lendl chipping or block quite a lot of BHs, he often has to make low volleys, but usually does so with good authority

The one break puts Lendl ahead 4-3 and is product of third ball ground UEs from Jimbo. He misses 3 - including to start and end the game (the latter against deepish return), and has couple other ground UEs in it. Along with 2 volley winners - 1 set up by third ball FH dtl approach

Irresistible serve-out by Lendl. 5/5 first serves, 2 aces, 1 service winner and another return error drawn

Action is same in second set
Break points for set read Lendl 1/2, Jimbo 0/3, both having them in 1 game

Unusual, inside-out’ish BH drop shot winner by Lendl in first game, that Jimbo doesn’t chase. Its as much a short slice as a pure drop shot

Lendl’s down 0-40 in game 2 (third ball attacking BH dtl UE, a Jimbo net point and a Jimbo net-to-net winner born of a net chord dribbling return)
Jimbo makes BH UEs on first 2 break points - first is a take charge cc miss, the second a blink in a Lendl BH cc - Jimbo BH inside-out neutral rally. Lendl aces away the third before going on to hold

Again, Lendl break for 4-3. He’s got 2 pass winners (BH dtl against a sneak and powerful FH inside-in after drawing not strong first volley) and a fortunate net chord dribbling winner from a good, defensive get. On break point, his return catches Jimbo in no-man’s land and unable to handle a BH1/2V third ball

Little later, Lendl serves for match. 2 net points get Jimbo to 15-30, but Lendl delivers big serves to come away with the hold and the match

Summing up, good fun match, made so by Jimmy Connors assaulting the forecourt. He approaches boldly, chancily, but volleys well against both routine and low stuff to garner success there. Also serves quite hard and is no pushover on the baseline

Still, Lendl is better. Much bigger serve, and though not pushing opponent over, beating him by large margin from the baseline. He curbs the amount of junk he sends down and hits a nice balance of it and power shots from the back. He’s also fitter, which becomes factor in the heat, which has Connors tiring more

 

[jrepac]

I honestly don't recall if I saw this one on TV...maybe, maybe not. Seemed closely constested. Jimmy was 35 or so in '88, I think. From the description above, reminds me a bit of the match he played earlier in the year at Lipton, in the final vs. Wilander. Charged the net at just about every opportunity and played Mats pretty tight.

 

[WCT]

I recorded this match in 1988, but I am not sure I have watched it completely since then. Bits and pieces, absolutely, but it's been a while since I did even that. I remembered it as a competitive match and Connors came in more than normal for that era. I didn't remember it as that high a % and certainly not that much s/v. Interested how you say Lendl went away from the slice. Surprised I have no recall of that either. Take away Lendl's lead in unreturned serves and the points are very close. Anyway, if I had remembered better the style that Connors played in this match, I would have done stats for it.

There are no absolutes. I have long stated how Connors did not come in as much at least post 79, but there were certainly exceptions. This match, the Wilander match.
I did stats for 1990 Forest Hills. Connors and Lendl. Connors retired at 1 set each.
Didn't play the US Open and had his wrist operated on.

This match was on hard court. I had Connors s[v on 41 of 50 on 1st serves and 7 of 43 on 2nd serves. That is easily the highest % that I have him in any non grass match. Only won 36 of 64 at net, not a good % for him. I don't know the reasoning
behind it unless maybe an injury was bothering him. I didn't notice doing the match.
I taped this match in 90 and remembered him coming in a lot. I didn't remember it being all that s/v, though.

There is also their 92 US Open match where he played s/v a good amount on 1st serve. At the time, I chalked it up to his being 40 playing best of 5 in the heat. Still, that is 3 matches with Lendl where he is s/v more on hard court than he normally did.
Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other hard court matches where he did it that much. Not 1 out 3 1st serves. I would imagine that Segura's Connors may have done it some, but I have seen very little footage of, say, 74-76 Connors on hard courts. I saw him do it indoors, though. Not a stretch to think he'd so the same on hard courts.

Oh yeah, that is a high unreturned serve % for Lendl vs Connors. He got that high in some matches, but it wasn't the norm. Still, for that stage of their rivalry, Connors kept it pretty close. You have done matches where Lendl was 30 plus points ahead. The one match that the points are engraved in my memory is their 84 Forest Hills match.
51-16. That's just annihilation.

 

[Waspsting]

This match was on hard court. I had Connors s[v on 41 of 50 on 1st serves and 7 of 43 on 2nd serves. That is easily the highest % that I have him in any non grass match. Only won 36 of 64 at net, not a good % for him. I don't know the reasoning
behind it unless maybe an injury was bothering him. I didn't notice doing the match.

That was a exhibition match right?
I'd think he's just trying out stuff

I saw Lendl serve-volleying a lot against Muster in a clay exho. Don't think there's a cat in hell's chance he'd do so in sanctioned event (probably not even an unofficial tournament with more money for the winner)

Oh yeah, that is a high unreturned serve % for Lendl vs Connors. He got that high in some matches, but it wasn't the norm. Still, for that stage of their rivalry, Connors kept it pretty close. You have done matches where Lendl was 30 plus points ahead.

Its a pretty odd match, statistically

Before I finalize the stats, I form an impression of play. Here, I thought it looked harder fougth than stats have come out

- 2nd serve points won - Lendl 58%, Connors 37%

That's pointing to Lendl being far better court player (which is what I'd expect)
Lendl winning fat lot of first serve points with aces and freebies - also not surprising
So the surprise here is Jimbo getting a lot out of his first serve

Its not just due to serve-volleying either

He wins 68% of his stay back first serve points, 63% serve-volleying
So for once, he's actually using first serve the way normal players always use it - to draw freebies and weak returns and he takes charge of action off third ball

Still, I'm mindful that my gut reaction to match is shaped by expectations. Which would be -
- Lendl scoring with fat first serve
- Lendl returning like clockwork, Jimbo's serve harmless so virtually all Jimbo's service points are 50-50 affairs
- Lendl walling up from back, leaving to Jimbo to miss groundies

In the event, Jimbo getting something out of first serve and the gap in ground consistency not as big as expected
From my point of view of my expectations, that's a step up for Jimbo - hence, match looks pretty close to me

From point of view of a theoritical 50-50 match, Lendl's still well up. He's got a lot more out of his serve and he's still tougher off the baseline.
To lose with that going on, Jimbo would have to play very well at net
Which he does, but that's a big handicap to overcome

16% unreturned serves would be small for anyone else. For Jimbo, its a success

I suppose by 1989, Connors-Lendl wasn't really a rivalry and one would expect Lendl to win handily almost everytime (actually, literally every time after Tokyo '84)
So nice to see Connors throw himself into the match so well. He's not too far far from ruffling Lendl's feathers a little
But yeah,when 'not too far from ruffling Lendl's feathers a little' counts as a success, you can gauge the match-up is virtually a mismatch at this stage

 

[WCT]

Yes, the 1990 match was a special event, exhibition if you will. I felt the same way. Connors would never serve/volley that much in a hard court tournament match vs Lendl.

Pre 85 Connors has a decent number of Lendl matches with unreturned % 16 or above. His was higher at the 83 Open and 84 Tokyo. And I believe almost as high as Lendl in their 84 Wimbledon match. Once Lendl started beating him all the time I think it got lower.

There are several closer matches post 84. 2 at the Lipton. The 5 setter in 86 and a close 4 setter in 87. Ridiculously windy for at least part of that 87. When it's that windy anything can happen. 3 setter in 85 Stratton Mountain, I think you did that match. They played in Washington in, I think the summer of 88. Same type of score as this match. Never saw it. Wasn't televised by ESPN or USA. Maybe locally, I didn't live in Washington. Of course, there were a bunch of beatdowns. Just saying that there were several closer matches.

Yep, on Connors' conundrum. He has to figure out a way to end points by his doing.
He was just going to make the first unforced error more than Lendl. As a rule. Lendl doesn't come in that much so he has no target to end points with passing shots. Lendl, as a rule, is going to get more unreturned serves.So, Connors has to hit winners or really forcing shots from the baseline. That or win by coming to net.
Since he never beat Lendl post 84, he never really solved the conundrum.

 

[jrepac]

Yes, the 1990 match was a special event, exhibition if you will. I felt the same way. Connors would never serve/volley that much in a hard court tournament match vs Lendl.

Pre 85 Connors has a decent number of Lendl matches with unreturned % 16 or above. His was higher at the 83 Open and 84 Tokyo. And I believe almost as high as Lendl in their 84 Wimbledon match. Once Lendl started beating him all the time I think it got lower.

There are several closer matches post 84. 2 at the Lipton. The 5 setter in 86 and a close 4 setter in 87. Ridiculously windy for at least part of that 87. When it's that windy anything can happen. 3 setter in 85 Stratton Mountain, I think you did that match. They played in Washington in, I think the summer of 88. Same type of score as this match. Never saw it. Wasn't televised by ESPN or USA. Maybe locally, I didn't live in Washington. Of course, there were a bunch of beatdowns. Just saying that there were several closer matches.

Yep, on Connors' conundrum. He has to figure out a way to end points by his doing.
He was just going to make the first unforced error more than Lendl. As a rule. Lendl doesn't come in that much so he has no target to end points with passing shots. Lendl, as a rule, is going to get more unreturned serves.So, Connors has to hit winners or really forcing shots from the baseline. That or win by coming to net.
Since he never beat Lendl post 84, he never really solved the conundrum.

In the '90 Forest Hills match, wasn't he playing with a wrist brace? I seem to recall that. His wrist was in bad shape. Not all of their matches post '84 were blowouts, there were some interesting ones in there. Jimmy just couldn't seem to get over that hurdle. And, let's face it, you are talking peak Lendl from 85 through 87, and still very high level in 88/89. Connors was still a very good player, just not at that level any longer...aside from the stunner here and there, where he turned back time ('89 was actually solid in the back half of that year). When I look at today's guys inability to touch Sinner and Carlos, it makes the 80's look a hell of a lot more competitive, TBH.

 

[WCT]

In the '90 Forest Hills match, wasn't he playing with a wrist brace? I seem to recall that. His wrist was in bad shape. Not all of their matches post '84 were blowouts, there were some interesting ones in there. Jimmy just couldn't seem to get over that hurdle. And, let's face it, you are talking peak Lendl from 85 through 87, and still very high level in 88/89. Connors was still a very good player, just not at that level any longer...aside from the stunner here and there, where he turned back time ('89 was actually solid in the back half of that year). When I look at today's guys inability to touch Sinner and Carlos, it makes the 80's look a hell of a lot more competitive, TBH.

Yeah, he was wearing something on his wrist. Not why he retired in the match, though. He was noticeably limping when it happened. Lendl and he had a couple of warm moments in that match. They were joking shortly before he retired. When Connors retired he went right to the sideline to sit down. Lendl came over and they shook hands warmly.

I see that their Lipton 87 match is up. Over 4 hours of footage. I knew it was a close 4 setter. I said how windy it was, but that was only in the small portion I saw in 87.
Late in the 3rd and early in the 4th. Then it began to rain and they finished the next day. So, I can only speak definitively for the part I saw. Very windy in those games. Lendl's service toss was too high to not really be bothered by that sort of wind.

I was watching a little of the last 3rd set play yesterday. Connors is running Lendl ragged on some of those points. He was playing like that the entire match and I can see why it was so close. I don't think ESPN showed much of this match in 87. If they had, I would have recorded it like I did their 86 match. I know they didn't show the finish the next day because I distinctly remember looking for it.

 

[jrepac]

Yeah, he was wearing something on his wrist. Not why he retired in the match, though. He was noticeably limping when it happened. Lendl and he had a couple of warm moments in that match. They were joking shortly before he retired. When Connors retired he went right to the sideline to sit down. Lendl came over and they shook hands warmly.

I see that their Lipton 87 match is up. Over 4 hours of footage. I knew it was a close 4 setter. I said how windy it was, but that was only in the small portion I saw in 87.
Late in the 3rd and early in the 4th. Then it began to rain and they finished the next day. So, I can only speak definitively for the part I saw. Very windy in those games. Lendl's service toss was too high to not really be bothered by that sort of wind.

I was watching a little of the last 3rd set play yesterday. Connors is running Lendl ragged on some of those points. He was playing like that the entire match and I can see why it was so close. I don't think ESPN showed much of this match in 87. If they had, I would have recorded it like I did their 86 match. I know they didn't show the finish the next day because I distinctly remember looking for it.

yeah, I saw all of the '86 match which was very compelling, with an awful ending. Only saw part of '87...so now I want to see the entire thing. He kinda found his mojo again in '87.

 

[WCT]

yeah, I saw all of the '86 match which was very compelling, with an awful ending. Only saw part of '87...so now I want to see the entire thing. He kinda found his mojo again in '87.

A couple days back,I watched some bits and pieces of the 87 match.Connors was up 6-3, 5-3. He could have been up 2 sets to none. And it did appear to be very windy the entire first day. Every time the cameras showed the trees, outside the stadium, they were really moving.

Yeah, 87 sure beat 86. When Connors gets beaten that early, in the US Open, you know it's a bad year.