Lendl dealt with chronic back issues late in his career. What Connors said was true, in '92 Lendl wasn't the same player. But he was more than enough for Connors here. :)
Well said. Lendl was class. Connors acted like a petulant brat. But then again what else is new? Both are all time greats. Some are more likeable than others.
Connors was such a great player but such an a-hole. Lendl’s strategy worked perfectly and he was pissed. Don’t give connors the pace he thrives on, and then pick your spots to attack. Lendl dominated Conners at the end of his career. But I admire Jimmy’s grit, he hated to lose and could never give Lendl any credit.
Arthur Ashe came up with that strategy at Wimbledon in 1975. Connors didn’t respect Lendl because Lendl basically rolled over without putting up a fight in some of their early matches.
Lendl's primary tactic against Connors was to chip the ball to his forehand and wait for an error. For a set and a half the errors didn't happen; after that it was an easy win.
Ivan was often treated badly in the states and as a young man it put me off the USA crowds with all of the calling out during play. I really admired Jimmy's skills but my American tennis friends told me that many didn't like him in his own country.
I agree with your comment! I believe he was being a poor sport who couldn't give credit to the better player! He's also saying that Lendl isn't that great but he just destroyed me the last 3 sets. I'm sure he's also sore about losing to him so often the last several years of his career!
Loved Connors but hated when he made baby-like comments like that after he was obviously Pissed that he lost handily after that 1st set..bunts the ball back? LENDL was smoking it past him and had how many aces? Just a stupid & untrue comment..JC was a terrific player, acknowledge that you got beat and walk off with your head up
Ivan was Superman and ignored the New York crowd.according to McEnroe Ivan was leader in locker room as far as “ gifted” or “ blessed “ which pissed John even more . I bet it irked Connors even more since Jimmy would be bothered by such things as this that ultimately mean nothing but means something to Jimmy . Ivan probably couldn’t care a less . He just wanted to win .
Two great Champions. Jimmy definitely did not like Lendl's tactics, but you do what you have to to win. Credit to both players for long, highly successful careers!
It should have come as no surprise to Connors. It's how Lendl had been playing him years. Ever since Arthur Ashe best Connors in the 1975 Wimbledon final by junk balling him, everyone knew that was how you played Connors.
Lendl knew what to do to win the match, and hearing Connors’ comments confirmed to him that his game plan was a good one. Connors didn’t like it, and Lendl didn’t mean for him to.
Let’s just remember, both players were in the twilight of their careers. Connors was already 40 after that memorable 91 run and Lendl had back issues until he hung up is racquet in 94. Both were fierce competitors. Better to look at their US Open duels in the 80s when both were in their prime.
Lendl was such a classy player. Loved his style and measured approach to tough matches like this. Meanwhile, Connors was always such a prick. Even when compared to McEnroe, tennis people in that era always pointed to Connors as the ultimate douche on the tour.
They were hardly insults. He just said, "He did nothing spectacular, just punting the ball back. Doesn't play like he used to". That's hardly an insult.
Connors was a huge A hole. He gave Lendl absolutely zero credit. He said almost the same exact thing after losing to Borg in the Pepsi Open final in Boca Raton in 1978.
They got lumped together. But as you see here, JC was consistently a "smaller" person on the court and in interviews. JM didnt have that small man mentality. He was "brat" and complainer and at times bad sportsman, but not the small man that Connors is. I always thought it was obvious that they were different. Do you EVER see connors anywhere on TV? There is a reason.
Don't remember seeing McEnroe getting mad at something that didn't warrant getting at least a bit mad about. Connors on the other hand was a sore loser, and a dick even when he was winning, too.
I've attended a few times and it's hit or miss. The worst is when Serena played. It's ok to have a favorite, but when fans are so partisan they can't appreciate the sport itself, all the enjoyment is sucked out of it. Last year the row behind didn't pay attention to the match, just talked about new siding on their house and yesterday's business lunch, except to cheer whenever Serena scored.
@@bridgecross You're 100% right. The Serena fans is not even about tennis, it borders about activism, gender and race. Other fans are just there to be seen, it's a cool event to be at. The Coco fans are no different.
Lendl just wanted to apply another way of winning over Connors. Instead of his normal powerful winners and corner to corner balls he chose to make him suffer the hard physical way by giving him a candy in the 1st and ending up with a 6-0 in the 3rd and so that his sored muscles remember Lendl the next two days when waking up in the morning.
Conners complaint against Lendl is the same objection that any aspiring tennis player has against a pusher. The mistake that so many players make playing against such an opponent is that they on not on their level and have no place beating them. Pushers thrive on this mentality and use it to break down the opposition psychologically. Your pain is their delight. They exist at every level of the game and you must get past your own ignorance to beat them consistently.
Lando wasn’t a pusher, he was a power player, but in this match, he adopted more of a pusher mindset to wear down and outlast his older opponent. Why would he play like his opponent wants him to play?
I used to play ping pong against a guy, evenly matched, but he would criticize me for playing defensively and said I had become boring and didnt hit any winners. I told him (since this was the late 80s), “ you don’t fast break with the Lakers”. He won our penultimate match in front of a crowd by hitting back a cross court shot from impossibly deep that nicked of the corner. In all of my competitions in all sports, my most glorious defeat.
To me I had never used the term pusher. The objective is to get the ball past your opponent, or draw errors from him. You can't do that as well as your opponent then you lose. If I can't keep up with him from the base line then I have to try winning at the net. If I can't then I just don't have enough game, not because of the way my opponent plays.
Jimmy was just a sore loser.He couldn’t even appreciate Ivan’s efforts.Simply said Ivan didn’t do anything special and perhaps that’s the way he plays now.
I remember this well and thought Connors was hilarious in the interview. His jovial manner with Vitas is a facade. He’s boiling mad at having his nose wiped in it and saying dumb stuff. Such a competitive bastard, you just have to love it. The Pete Rose of tennis.
Lendl won their last 17 meetings. I understand why Connors was a bit grumpy. But Lendl found a quite effective way to beat him by slowing him down without spending so much power. I mean come on. Lendl dominated hard hitters like Agassi and Courier later in his career from the baseline. Records stands 6-2 and 4-0. Courier didn´t even win a set over 4 matches.
Hey, tell everyone about how great your boy was at Wimbledon. Yeah....the most important tournament to win, so like you said, "Come on," tell us about Ivan's spectacular tennis skills while playing at Wimbledon.
@@colderbeerwell he did get to two wimmblen finals only losing to to gras court specialist cash and Becker while he was winning pretty much everything else boy.
Agassi was very young their first meetings and not even 50% of the of the amazing player he became later. The last meetings he over power Lendl. When Agassi was at his peak he was way more powerful than Lendl.
I remember watching this match and seeing JC go up a set and a break in the second. I thought no way he could lose this. He completely outplayed Lendl for the first set and half. Shockingly he lost the 4th set 6-0. This was a case of Lendl’s defensive game wearing him down.
it was also due to be 40 years old and wearing a heavy sweater that drained him of fluid....he probably became overly dehydrated and lost his energy and electrolytes....
@@trevorregay9283Great dissing from Connors at the end about Lendl. I remember when Lendl first got to number one and Connors said: "Lendl had to wait until Borg retired, I got old and McEnroe went nuts."
@@martydav9475 LOL! Connors probably didn't like how robotic Lendl was....and the lack of personality.....perhaps he felt it was not good for the game of tennis and didn't promote it the way it could be in order to advance the game from a commercial standpoint....of course Connors was essentially worrying about getting endorsements and most likely thought there would be a a lack of interest if Lendl became #1......whatever.....Lendl had his own style and wasn't flashy but still help make the game more popular.....
@@martydav9475 Yet somehow Connors forgot that Lendl had to win more than Becker, Wilander, and Edberg, in addition to McEnroe, to keep his #1 ranking for 4-5 years. Of all the greats in tennis history, Lendl had the toughest route to winning slams. I don't recall any player who had to work as hard to win a slam than he did. There weren't that many tomato cans for him to kick around. Sure today, people might say Djokovic, Rafa, and Federer were challenged because they played each other many many times in the slams. Well yes, but first there's only 3 of them, and second of all, the style and courts are nearly the same today plus the added benefit of Hawkeye reviews. In Lendl's days and for much of history, the courts, racquets, and strings were very different. Lendl wasn't going to beat Becker, Edberg, or McEnroe at Wimbledon, and they all would lose to him at the French. On the hard courts, it was a toss up. If Lendl was playing them today, he would beat all of them, including Connors. Only Borg would be a challenge.
@@jcpenny3606 He didn’t forget. He was just incapable of giving other people credit. It reminds me of a passage from Agassi’s autobiography. Agassi mentions that after his final match at the US Open, he returned to the locker room, and everyone started clapping - “except Connors.”
this was a masterclass by Lendl and is valuable education for club players because you will still un into players at club level who will still kinda play like Jimmy (flat hitting, likes pace, aggressive counter punching). Lendl hitting deep, slow slice backhands constantly (especailly to Jimmy's fh) just wore him down.
The US crowd always was unsporty against the opponent when one of them was playing.I remember the Daviscup match against Germany 1984 in Hartford.They applaused every failed service of the germans and booed them.God,what a wet slip i got when Boris Becker won the deciding match against Mayotte!!!
Jimmy Connors Sour Grapes Cup Captain. His least favorite play in baseball=the bunt. His least favorite baseball pitcher of all time=Jim Bunting, least favorite type of stadium decoration=bunting. Least favorite type of cake=bundt. Least favorite sitcom character=Al Bunty.
Your "disrespects" description is clickbait. Watched for two minutes and observed no acts of disrespect. No Subscription and no returns to a channel with intentionally misleading descriptions.
Connors was just sour grapes that he got his ass kicked, Lendl knew Jimbo had no conditioning and hates low shots since he has no real topspin forehand or pace of his own, so he just wore him down! Smart strategy from Ivan!
That is true, but anyone can do that. If every player played like that every match would last forever. Connors was taking the risks, Lendl wasn't: that's what Connors was upset about.
@@lawrence1318ehh no, if every player was a servebot and volley (like they did for decades and nobody complained Even if it was boring) they we're sore that their old Styles we're lacking against powe baseline Game, it's just being a sore loser, they are not better cause they use a "classic" style, the same that tries to use against Nadal where he was destroying his baby boy Roger, when they can't win against them they dismiss their style, personality or whatever they think to drag their rivals, it's just pettyness
@@davidr2802Ah yes, 1980s/1990s porno films. There was, so I'm told, always a character called Rod, who was a plumber who had come to investigate Shannon's/ Mercedes'/Champagne's blocked pipe. Naturally Rod needed to get his rod out and extended to get through the blockage but would Shannon/Mercedes/Champagne get the satisfaction she was hoping for?
What a distasteful comment , “ doesn’t play like he used to “ LMAO !!! Sounds like a club player durin the weekend, “ what kind of shot was that “? “ The kind you can’t hit back “. Pros are NO different with sarcasm . Sour grapes JC
You can tell Conners was just into himself. Once he retired you never saw him around the game to give back to the game that gave him so much. He disappeared. If the spotlight wasn't on him he wasn't interested in being part of the game.
Lendl was for sure the terminator machine of the tennis world, combined with great sportsmanship and class. Connors as always showing us what it means to be an A-hole.
That was Lendl's tactics against Jimmy. Jimmy hits flat, so the slice without a lot of pace is harder for him to hit winner off of. And that means Jimmy's gonna have to hit lots of ball and get tired. That's exactly what happened.
I wish they would move the US Open tennis tournament around the country like they do with the US Open golf tournament. WHY does it always have to be in New Yowk ?? San Diego would be ideal: Great weather, not too hot, good public transportation with the trolley (light rail). They could alternate between NYC, San Diego, and somewhere in Florida (Tampa - St. Petersburg or Orlando?) If you wanted to add a fourth location to the rotation, maybe somewhere in Texas (Houston or Dallas - Fort Worth).
I'm a tennis player I've played matches where I move my opponent left, then right, left again, then down the middle and theY get so tired they are DONE.
Classic match between these 2 guys at the end of their careers, both well past their prime but they still jammed the house in NYC for a raucus night session. Connors & Lendl really hated each other, i wonder if they have made amends now, 30 years later...
Just because you're a super aggressive competitor doesn't mean you have to be a super a-hole. Connors, Serena, and McEnroe never quite figured that out and never gave those who beat them their due.
I've always believed that if Jimmy had a great serve, he would have been top 3 of all time. Of course, he didn't but he was still great and my favorite player of all time. 👍🏼
First off, I'm a MacFan. That being said I replied to a poster below about Jimmy: You might not like his character but that dude had character, and here he was challenging the baddest, toughest player on tour... at the end of a 20 year career don't forget that.
Lendl waw far from his best in this match. But he is an important player in tennis history, the first top player, who consistently tried to hit winners baseline-to-baseline. That soon became a dominant style.with Becker, Agassi, Courier, etc.
@@peterhammer4644Yes Becker - he was much more than just a serve-and-volleyer. Watch the highlights of that magnificent and acclaimed 1996 ATP Masters Final in Hanover between Becker and Sampras to see how brilliant both of them could be from the baseline.
@@martydav9475 Yes he was but serve-volley was his dominant playing style for a very long time. Like Mac, Edberg, Sampras. I have watched the Hannover matches multiple times.
may be , he is the only players in the tennis world when many number of champions in circuit than anybody else . Laver, Ken rosewall, Newcombe , Stan smith, Arthur ashe, Borg, Mcnroe , Vilas, Lendl, Becker, Stich, Wilander, Edberg , Agassi, Sampras, Chang ,Courier, and many more. May be the only player who use all kind of Racquets and all the courts in the world . Mind it , he played when he was 40 yeras old . Now a days at 40 years they would have broken down and in three decades of play he had 109 titles in his bag which is still unbroken and it will be unbroken for somemore time . Federer was close and jokovich is inching towards it. Incredible man with live on let die.
Lendl n'était pas, au contraire d'aujourd'hui, quelqu'un de jovial. Ça ne rigolait jamais sur le cours, total focus sur son jeu, la victoire et tronche de déterré. Mais son jeu était brillant, tous les ados tentaient d'imiter son service et son coup droit, qui s'abattaient comme des haches. Connors, lui, avait une façon de pousser la balle en coup droit et en revers qui était complètement dingue, quand on l'imitait ça marchait d'ailleurs plutôt bien, mais sur terre battue c'était pas très efficace. On avait quand même tous envie de placer, à un moment ou à un autre, son fameux smash roulé. Par contre Connors, personne n'aimait son caractère. Au lieu d'être juste un mort vivant tenace, comme Lendl, il était taigneux et agressif. Il manquait très souvent de fairplay, ne respectait pas ses adversaires. Comme beaucoup de joueurs américains (à part Sampras), on avait l'impression d'un gars assez inculte qui faisait du tennis un combat entre les USA et le reste du monde. Je n'aimais pas suivre ses matchs, il était trop désagréable. Je préférais largement Lendl, à cause de son côté "vilain petit canard". Le Connors d'aujourd'hui, c'est Shelton.
How do you lose 3-6,6-3,6-2,6-0 and then try to talk shit? Lendl basically played the same way he’d done in the last 17 meetings against Connors. 17-0!!
What I see here is that 40 year old Connors made it competitive for two sets against an 8 year old younger Lendl. Sure, Lendl dominated their head to heads when Connors was in his late thirties, but when it counted, in Grand Slam finals, it was Connors to always win. Quality non quantity, especially when there is that large of an age gap.
@@italnsd Once Lendl was at his peak, he dominated both Connors and McEnroe from 1985-1992 until they retired. Give the man his credit. As far as Lendl being 8 years younger, I have seen Federer, Nadal and Djokovic dominate top players 8 years or much younger multiple times. Stop making excuses for Connors getting his butt kicked.
@@italnsd Lendl dominated BOTH Connors and McEnroe from 1985 on. He even beat McEnroe in straight sets in the 1982 and '85 USO. Borg never ONCE beat McEnroe. Only once Connors at the USO.
@@scottmorissey8915 1984 was the last year in which Connors competed at the highest level, reaching his last grand slam final. He was 32 and up to that moment he had been dominating Lendl, winning all the matches played in grand slam tournaments, including 2 US Open finals. In 1985, at 33 years of age, Connors, started declining and the fact that from then on he lost every match against Lendl, does not tell me anything other than at that point the 8 years of age difference had replaced the tennis skills as the dominant factor. If you prefer you can look it in another way. After winning his last slam at 30 (the 1990 AO, which at the time was not at the same top level as the other three) Lendl in his thirties was not not elite anymore. A 30 yo Lendl would have not stood a chance against a 22 yo Jimbo. Of course, I am not denying that Lendl was one of the greatest, just he was not at Connors' level.
@@TheTopspin77 Excuses? You just missed the point. the key point is not the 8 years of difference per se (in fact, Connors had dominated Lendl until 1984) it's the 8 years difference when one is 33 and older. To put it in perspective, what did Lendl achieve past 30 yo? Not even remotely comparable with Connors' achievements at the same age. As for today players, even neglecting the obvious increase in agonistic longevity due to scientific methods of training, nutrition and the new materials, tell me, who are these great champions, winners of multiple slams, 8 years younger than Federer, Nadal and Djokoovic who were beaten by the magic trio when 33 and older?
Nice peak into the past here, those were the times I used to watch - and play - tennis a lot. Funny to see JCs double handed backhand volley 😄 Also interesting from today´s perspective how rackets and technique have changed. None of these guys would stand a chance even against any modern female pro.
“None of these guys would stand a chance against any modern female pro.” Maybe that’s true cos they’re thirty years older now than then. Other than that, a mind-boggling stupid thing to say.
Agreed. I grew up watching Lendl play McEnroe, but I haven't seen any of their matches for many many years. Agreed, it's funny to see Jimmy's backhand volley. Agreed on the game change as well. Cheers. :-)
Lendl was pure BOSS in the 80s and early 90s. NO ONE was looking forward to playing Ivan,, even during the later stages of his career. Just a relentless competitor who often dictated the rallies.
He just bunted the ball back and didn't do anything really...yet he won the match...what does that say about you Connors? That's a self-own if I ever saw one.
well the player on the attack always has more credit then the defender pusher...Lendl here wasnt playing well so he went into defensive mode...as most players today are except Federer, all play defensive tennis...all boring
IDK about THAT. You might not like his character but that dude had character, and here he was challenging the baddest, toughest player on tour... at the end of a 20 year career don't forget that.
They have been humbled in tennis thanks to see their Home players destroyed every year since Roddick lmao, they can't be bullies of they are a joke to their rivals
“He didn’t do anything special” is Conner admitting Lendl didn’t even need his best stuff to beat him.
I saw this match on TV live - Lendl was the the guy who started with power diet and fitness , ultimate professional
Ivan is just an example of a Superman tennis player, even when the whole crowd is against him, he holds his mental toughness and wins the match.
Can you believe he won 3 US Open finals in a row with almost all the that stadium against him? Just fabulous!
@@jeffreylara3835 True. He didn't like playing there in his early years 1982-84 but after that he could handle it no problem.
Michael Chang: Hold my beer
@@msiroi01well he should pick that beer up. He never won the US Open! Lendl won 3
True mental toughness. And he won 6-0 in the 4th set. He won the last 17 matches they played
Vitas Gerulaitus interviewing Jimmy afterwards JC: 'It's Hell being forty' ... Vitas died at 40 two years later and Jimmy was terribly broken.
Lendl, one of the best ever
The horrible fan yelling "stupid fa**ot" at 3:47 as well. Lendl did awesome in beating both Connors and a hostile crowd.
Thanks for your comments! More videos resume August 2022! 🔥👍
earlier in the match, Connors called Lendl the same as he yelled, "fvcking f@gg0t playing pusher!"
@US Open many "fans" obviously have never hold a tennis racket in their hand.
It was a pro JC crowd. Love the US Open Fans. Ivan was a great player. Did deserve more respect. Just the way it is.
Yes, Lendl got used to dealing with hostile crowds.
Lendl dealt with chronic back issues late in his career. What Connors said was true, in '92 Lendl wasn't the same player. But he was more than enough for Connors here. :)
Well said. Lendl was class. Connors acted like a petulant brat. But then again what else is new? Both are all time greats. Some are more likeable than others.
Connors was such a great player but such an a-hole. Lendl’s strategy worked perfectly and he was pissed. Don’t give connors the pace he thrives on, and then pick your spots to attack. Lendl dominated Conners at the end of his career. But I admire Jimmy’s grit, he hated to lose and could never give Lendl any credit.
sore loser and a terrible human being. and sucked at tennis. finished his career with a 17 match losing streak to lendl
Bad boy of tennis.
yes, an accurate description of JC. ...a hole.
Arthur Ashe came up with that strategy at Wimbledon in 1975. Connors didn’t respect Lendl because Lendl basically rolled over without putting up a fight in some of their early matches.
Lendl's primary tactic against Connors was to chip the ball to his forehand and wait for an error. For a set and a half the errors didn't happen; after that it was an easy win.
Ivan was often treated badly in the states and as a young man it put me off the USA crowds with all of the calling out during play. I really admired Jimmy's skills but my American tennis friends told me that many didn't like him in his own country.
I agree with you about Ivan. He deserved better. Wonderful player in his prime.
This American always found Jimmy boorish. I think even McEnroe had a better disposition.
Yet he won 3 US Opens in a row. The crowd was always against him. He deserves a lot of credit
The comments of Connors are appalling.... and absurd. Yes tennis is about returning the ball above the net... and so forth...
I agree with your comment! I believe he was being a poor sport who couldn't give credit to the better player! He's also saying that Lendl isn't that great but he just destroyed me the last 3 sets. I'm sure he's also sore about losing to him so often the last several years of his career!
Loved Connors but hated when he made baby-like comments like that after he was obviously Pissed that he lost handily after that 1st set..bunts the ball back? LENDL was smoking it past him and had how many aces? Just a stupid & untrue comment..JC was a terrific player, acknowledge that you got beat and walk off with your head up
Ivan was Superman and ignored the New York crowd.according to McEnroe Ivan was leader in locker room as far as “ gifted” or “ blessed “ which pissed John even more . I bet it irked Connors even more since Jimmy would be bothered by such things as this that ultimately mean nothing but means something to Jimmy . Ivan probably couldn’t care a less . He just wanted to win .
Two great Champions. Jimmy definitely did not like Lendl's tactics, but you do what you have to to win. Credit to both players for long, highly successful careers!
It should have come as no surprise to Connors. It's how Lendl had been playing him years. Ever since Arthur Ashe best Connors in the 1975 Wimbledon final by junk balling him, everyone knew that was how you played Connors.
Tactics? You mean aces?
Correct.
@@th8257
Lendl is probably the first modern player. Sampras picked up on his style and added a lot to it, but Lendl ended an era that lasted since Laver.
Lendl knew what to do to win the match, and hearing Connors’ comments confirmed to him that his game plan was a good one. Connors didn’t like it, and Lendl didn’t mean for him to.
The insult rings hollow when you’re getting your ass kicked, JC.
What insult??
They really hated each other. I think Lendl was licking his chops at the prospect of playing Connors in the 2nd round.
you could tell he was psstt at the i/v
Let’s just remember, both players were in the twilight of their careers. Connors was already 40 after that memorable 91 run and Lendl had back issues until he hung up is racquet in 94. Both were fierce competitors. Better to look at their US Open duels in the 80s when both were in their prime.
Absolutely detested Connors and his endless antics,dramatics, manipulations and mugging to the crowd.
Lendl was such a classy player. Loved his style and measured approach to tough matches like this. Meanwhile, Connors was always such a prick. Even when compared to McEnroe, tennis people in that era always pointed to Connors as the ultimate douche on the tour.
I guess after 17 straight losses, Jimmy is a bit upset?
They were hardly insults. He just said, "He did nothing spectacular, just punting the ball back. Doesn't play like he used to". That's hardly an insult.
@@SMSJSCyeah just being a sore loser
Connors was a huge A hole. He gave Lendl absolutely zero credit. He said almost the same exact thing after losing to Borg in the Pepsi Open final in Boca Raton in 1978.
to this day I still can't decide whose mouth was bigger: Connors or McEnroe
They got lumped together. But as you see here, JC was consistently a "smaller" person on the court and in interviews. JM didnt have that small man mentality. He was "brat" and complainer and at times bad sportsman, but not the small man that Connors is. I always thought it was obvious that they were different. Do you EVER see connors anywhere on TV? There is a reason.
Don't remember seeing McEnroe getting mad at something that didn't warrant getting at least a bit mad about. Connors on the other hand was a sore loser, and a dick even when he was winning, too.
@@eugenebarrettconnors never dissed rosewall. Newk. Laver. Etc. He new they were at the twilght of their careers
US Open crowds are the worst and most disrespectful of all four Grand Slams. Just my own two cents.
I beg to differ. They are great! Best atmosphere of all the Grand Slams.
I've attended a few times and it's hit or miss. The worst is when Serena played. It's ok to have a favorite, but when fans are so partisan they can't appreciate the sport itself, all the enjoyment is sucked out of it. Last year the row behind didn't pay attention to the match, just talked about new siding on their house and yesterday's business lunch, except to cheer whenever Serena scored.
@@bridgecross You're 100% right. The Serena fans is not even about tennis, it borders about activism, gender and race.
Other fans are just there to be seen, it's a cool event to be at. The Coco fans are no different.
The Ryder Cup crowd in America is even worst.
Lendl just wanted to apply another way of winning over Connors. Instead of his normal powerful winners and corner to corner balls he chose to make him suffer the hard physical way by giving him a candy in the 1st and ending up with a 6-0 in the 3rd and so that his sored muscles remember Lendl the next two days when waking up in the morning.
Conners complaint against Lendl is the same objection that any aspiring tennis player has against a pusher.
The mistake that so many players make playing against such an opponent is that they on not on their level and have no place beating them.
Pushers thrive on this mentality and use it to break down the opposition psychologically. Your pain is their delight.
They exist at every level of the game and you must get past your own ignorance to beat them consistently.
Lando wasn’t a pusher, he was a power player, but in this match, he adopted more of a pusher mindset to wear down and outlast his older opponent. Why would he play like his opponent wants him to play?
I used to play ping pong against a guy, evenly matched, but he would criticize me for playing defensively and said I had become boring and didnt hit any winners. I told him (since this was the late 80s), “ you don’t fast break with the Lakers”. He won our penultimate match in front of a crowd by hitting back a cross court shot from impossibly deep that nicked of the corner. In all of my competitions in all sports, my most glorious defeat.
To me I had never used the term pusher. The objective is to get the ball past your opponent, or draw errors from him. You can't do that as well as your opponent then you lose. If I can't keep up with him from the base line then I have to try winning at the net. If I can't then I just don't have enough game, not because of the way my opponent plays.
Jimmy Connors showed what a jerk he was.
The crowd didn't think so.
@@nymike06ofc cause it reflects them
@@diegosotomiranda4107 I'll take US Open spectators over Wimbledon snobbery. The US Open crowd keep it real.
Yep.
connors was a big jerk
Jimmy was just a sore loser.He couldn’t even appreciate Ivan’s efforts.Simply said Ivan didn’t do anything special and perhaps that’s the way he plays now.
Looks like Tony Bennett at 1:50....RIP Tony
I remember this well and thought Connors was hilarious in the interview. His jovial manner with Vitas is a facade. He’s boiling mad at having his nose wiped in it and saying dumb stuff. Such a competitive bastard, you just have to love it. The Pete Rose of tennis.
Pete Rose was the Jimmy Connors of baseball
You don't have to love him.
He even LOOKS like Rose!
Lendl won their last 17 meetings. I understand why Connors was a bit grumpy. But Lendl found a quite effective way to beat him by slowing him down without spending so much power. I mean come on. Lendl dominated hard hitters like Agassi and Courier later in his career from the baseline. Records stands 6-2 and 4-0. Courier didn´t even win a set over 4 matches.
Hey, tell everyone about how great your boy was at Wimbledon. Yeah....the most important tournament to win, so like you said, "Come on," tell us about Ivan's spectacular tennis skills while playing at Wimbledon.
@@colderbeerwell he did get to two wimmblen finals only losing to to gras court specialist cash and Becker while he was winning pretty much everything else boy.
Just because lendl never won on grass doesnt
Mean he isnt great, he always lost to great serve and volleyers, but on any other court he was awesone!
@@colderbeer"most important".....according to whom, you?
Agassi was very young their first meetings and not even 50% of the of the amazing player he became later. The last meetings he over power Lendl. When Agassi was at his peak he was way more powerful than Lendl.
Connors always had a classic style and a masterful 2 handed back hand .
Always my favorite.
Thanks Jimmy 👍
After this match Connors complained that Lendl was just pushing the ball probably to tire him out. And that in the past Lendl would really attack him.
I remember watching this match and seeing JC go up a set and a break in the second. I thought no way he could lose this. He completely outplayed Lendl for the first set and half. Shockingly he lost the 4th set 6-0. This was a case of Lendl’s defensive game wearing him down.
it was also due to be 40 years old and wearing a heavy sweater that drained him of fluid....he probably became overly dehydrated and lost his energy and electrolytes....
@@trevorregay9283Great dissing from Connors at the end about Lendl. I remember when Lendl first got to number one and Connors said:
"Lendl had to wait until Borg retired, I got old and McEnroe went nuts."
@@martydav9475 LOL! Connors probably didn't like how robotic Lendl was....and the lack of personality.....perhaps he felt it was not good for the game of tennis and didn't promote it the way it could be in order to advance the game from a commercial standpoint....of course Connors was essentially worrying about getting endorsements and most likely thought there would be a a lack of interest if Lendl became #1......whatever.....Lendl had his own style and wasn't flashy but still help make the game more popular.....
@@martydav9475 Yet somehow Connors forgot that Lendl had to win more than Becker, Wilander, and Edberg, in addition to McEnroe, to keep his #1 ranking for 4-5 years. Of all the greats in tennis history, Lendl had the toughest route to winning slams. I don't recall any player who had to work as hard to win a slam than he did. There weren't that many tomato cans for him to kick around. Sure today, people might say Djokovic, Rafa, and Federer were challenged because they played each other many many times in the slams. Well yes, but first there's only 3 of them, and second of all, the style and courts are nearly the same today plus the added benefit of Hawkeye reviews. In Lendl's days and for much of history, the courts, racquets, and strings were very different. Lendl wasn't going to beat Becker, Edberg, or McEnroe at Wimbledon, and they all would lose to him at the French. On the hard courts, it was a toss up. If Lendl was playing them today, he would beat all of them, including Connors. Only Borg would be a challenge.
@@jcpenny3606 He didn’t forget. He was just incapable of giving other people credit. It reminds me of a passage from Agassi’s autobiography. Agassi mentions that after his final match at the US Open, he returned to the locker room, and everyone started clapping - “except Connors.”
this was a masterclass by Lendl and is valuable education for club players because you will still un into players at club level who will still kinda play like Jimmy (flat hitting, likes pace, aggressive counter punching). Lendl hitting deep, slow slice backhands constantly (especailly to Jimmy's fh) just wore him down.
The US crowd always was unsporty against the opponent
when one of them was playing.I remember the Daviscup match against Germany 1984 in Hartford.They applaused every failed service of the germans and booed them.God,what a wet slip i got when Boris Becker won the deciding match against Mayotte!!!
Sorry,i it was 1987....
I love how those old cats in the early 90s still played as if they have a wooden racket..some like mcenroe still play the same way
The last major Match Connors ever played.
Is he wearing a slipover? Lendl always reminded me of Cristopher Lee as Dracula
6:09 "Come on Jimmy, Lendl`s an old man". Wow.
Jimmy wearing a sweater in a sauna room.😢
Jimmy Connors Sour Grapes Cup Captain. His least favorite play in baseball=the bunt. His least favorite baseball pitcher of all time=Jim Bunting, least favorite type of stadium decoration=bunting. Least favorite type of cake=bundt. Least favorite sitcom character=Al Bunty.
Your "disrespects" description is clickbait. Watched for two minutes and observed no acts of disrespect.
No Subscription and no returns to a channel with intentionally misleading descriptions.
uh... did you listen to the post-match interview?
These cats were so much more fun to watch than today.
Connors was just sour grapes that he got his ass kicked, Lendl knew Jimbo had no conditioning and hates low shots since he has no real topspin forehand or pace of his own, so he just wore him down! Smart strategy from Ivan!
JC, sweating his balls off, but couldn't take the sweater vest off because he thought it looked so good. 😂😂😂
That is true, but anyone can do that. If every player played like that every match would last forever. Connors was taking the risks, Lendl wasn't: that's what Connors was upset about.
@@lawrence1318ehh no, if every player was a servebot and volley (like they did for decades and nobody complained Even if it was boring) they we're sore that their old Styles we're lacking against powe baseline Game, it's just being a sore loser, they are not better cause they use a "classic" style, the same that tries to use against Nadal where he was destroying his baby boy Roger, when they can't win against them they dismiss their style, personality or whatever they think to drag their rivals, it's just pettyness
@@diegosotomiranda4107 Er ... don't give me your "no" when you haven't read properly what I said. You're obviously full of yourself.
Ivan je skvělý tenista a sportovec. Myslím, že mnohokrát musel bojovat nejen se soupeřem na tenisovém kurtu. Velmi si ho vážím. LP
Two of the top 20 ever for me!!
Commors and the sweater in the HEAT. What a goob!!
Jimmy connors was simply outplayed. The fact lendl had to 'bunt' the ball back says it all about him
Thank you for your story. Thank you so much!
Its really good that Vitas Gerulaitis interviewed Jimmy at the end. They've played each other.
They share the dubious trait of losing 17 matches in a row to the same player, except that Vitas beat Jimmy after 16 loses instead of 17.
Man, that suit jacket. "I heard" they wore those in porno films of that era.
@@davidr2802Ah yes, 1980s/1990s porno films. There was, so I'm told, always a character called Rod, who was a plumber who had come to investigate Shannon's/ Mercedes'/Champagne's blocked pipe. Naturally Rod needed to get his rod out and extended to get through the blockage but would Shannon/Mercedes/Champagne get the satisfaction she was hoping for?
What a distasteful comment , “ doesn’t play like he used to “
LMAO !!!
Sounds like a club player durin the weekend, “ what kind of shot was that “? “ The kind you can’t hit back “. Pros are NO different with sarcasm .
Sour grapes JC
You can tell Conners was just into himself. Once he retired you never saw him around the game to give back to the game that gave him so much. He disappeared. If the spotlight wasn't on him he wasn't interested in being part of the game.
Lendl could play with today's raquets.
Yeah, Lendl was really pushing those aces, Jimmy. lol
Jimmy’s arms are like toothpicks. 😮
Lendl won at tennis and Connors won at insults.
Both great players.
Yeah Lendel had fantastic looking groundstrokes, realty graceful.
Lendl was for sure the terminator machine of the tennis world, combined with great sportsmanship and class. Connors as always showing us what it means to be an A-hole.
That was Lendl's tactics against Jimmy. Jimmy hits flat, so the slice without a lot of pace is harder for him to hit winner off of. And that means Jimmy's gonna have to hit lots of ball and get tired. That's exactly what happened.
This is why i love watching Alcaraz today. Connors was a fighter but a pathetic loser of the nth degree
Oh please. Different eras.
@@nymike06 maybe, but Borg didn't behave that way at least on the professional tour.
@@z1az285 Serena Williams acted that way her whole career, didn't hear a peep from you and others
@@nymike06 are you kidding me? I have
unloaded on her many times especially with the lines woman episode and with Ramos. FFS
Wasn't this Connors last ever match at the US Open? I think it was, if I recall correctly.
Yes
I remember seeing this interview when I was 16 years old... "He doesn't play anything like he used to..."
This was peak Lendl power.
Dude was such a natural tool. Some people are just born that way.
Jimmy Connors... You could write a flowery critique or you could just sum it up with 'What a Dick!'
I wish they would move the US Open tennis tournament around the country like they do with the US Open golf tournament. WHY does it always have to be in New Yowk ?? San Diego would be ideal: Great weather, not too hot, good public transportation with the trolley (light rail). They could alternate between NYC, San Diego, and somewhere in Florida (Tampa - St. Petersburg or Orlando?) If you wanted to add a fourth location to the rotation, maybe somewhere in Texas (Houston or Dallas - Fort Worth).
Lendl is the best ever
I'm a tennis player I've played matches where I move my opponent left, then right, left again, then down the middle and theY get so tired they are DONE.
Enjoyed watching them both. Conners gave it his all the whole career. He faded as everyone else.
Classic match between these 2 guys at the end of their careers, both well past their prime but they still jammed the house in NYC for a raucus night session. Connors & Lendl really hated each other, i wonder if they have made amends now, 30 years later...
Connors was a vile showman. Lendle, a dour,brooding figure. One of them was supposedly allergic to grass but loved golf.
Just because you're a super aggressive competitor doesn't mean you have to be a super a-hole. Connors, Serena, and McEnroe never quite figured that out and never gave those who beat them their due.
Indeed
Just bunting the ball back but he beat me.... LoL!!!
I've always believed that if Jimmy had a great serve, he would have been top 3 of all time.
Of course, he didn't but he was still great and my favorite player of all time. 👍🏼
Lendl Giant, The best
I'm wondering why connors was wearing a sweater ? Surely the extra perspiration would have added to his fatigue...
First off, I'm a MacFan. That being said I replied to a poster below about Jimmy:
You might not like his character but that dude had character, and here he was challenging the baddest, toughest player on tour... at the end of a 20 year career don't forget that.
Connors and Mc Enroe had respect for no one I would rather say...
Connors was an A but he made the game entertaining. He was the Pete Rose of tennis
totally agree!
Lendl waw far from his best in this match. But he is an important player in tennis history, the first top player, who consistently tried to hit winners baseline-to-baseline. That soon became a dominant style.with Becker, Agassi, Courier, etc.
Becker??
@@peterhammer4644Yes Becker - he was much more than just a serve-and-volleyer. Watch the highlights of that magnificent and acclaimed 1996 ATP Masters Final in Hanover between Becker and Sampras to see how brilliant both of them could be from the baseline.
@@martydav9475 Yes he was but serve-volley was his dominant playing style for a very long time. Like Mac, Edberg, Sampras.
I have watched the Hannover matches multiple times.
@@peterhammer4644add 1991, 1996 Australian open, 1988 davis cup final. 1989 davis cup semi final vs Agassi. Many other examples
@@peterhammer4644 I was shocked too by putting Becker in this group..
Why is Connors wearing a sweater vest?
I guess there is no such thing as "Quite please" at US Open.
Only makes them get louder 😂
may be , he is the only players in the tennis world when many number of champions in circuit than anybody else . Laver, Ken rosewall, Newcombe , Stan smith, Arthur ashe, Borg, Mcnroe , Vilas, Lendl, Becker, Stich, Wilander, Edberg , Agassi, Sampras, Chang ,Courier, and many more. May be the only player who use all kind of Racquets and all the courts in the world . Mind it , he played when he was 40 yeras old . Now a days at 40 years they would have broken down and in three decades of play he had 109 titles in his bag which is still unbroken and it will be unbroken for somemore time . Federer was close and jokovich is inching towards it. Incredible man with live on let die.
just a normal american making normal american noises
Let me guess....you have your nose stuck up Kyrgios, Runne and Tsitdipas asses though, right?
Lendl n'était pas, au contraire d'aujourd'hui, quelqu'un de jovial. Ça ne rigolait jamais sur le cours, total focus sur son jeu, la victoire et tronche de déterré. Mais son jeu était brillant, tous les ados tentaient d'imiter son service et son coup droit, qui s'abattaient comme des haches. Connors, lui, avait une façon de pousser la balle en coup droit et en revers qui était complètement dingue, quand on l'imitait ça marchait d'ailleurs plutôt bien, mais sur terre battue c'était pas très efficace. On avait quand même tous envie de placer, à un moment ou à un autre, son fameux smash roulé. Par contre Connors, personne n'aimait son caractère. Au lieu d'être juste un mort vivant tenace, comme Lendl, il était taigneux et agressif. Il manquait très souvent de fairplay, ne respectait pas ses adversaires. Comme beaucoup de joueurs américains (à part Sampras), on avait l'impression d'un gars assez inculte qui faisait du tennis un combat entre les USA et le reste du monde. Je n'aimais pas suivre ses matchs, il était trop désagréable. Je préférais largement Lendl, à cause de son côté "vilain petit canard". Le Connors d'aujourd'hui, c'est Shelton.
Lendl...one of the greats....with 8 Slams .
Wow that time, ridiculous of wearing a vest over a t-shirt 😂😂😂
大好きなコナーズ😂晩年でもカッコよかった‼️彼のようなエンターテイメントプレーヤーはもう二度と出てこない。テニスを最高に盛り上げた人だ。めっちゃカッコよかった😂
You gotta appreciate Lendl if you played tennis in those days.
Watching Lendl heavily influenced how I hit my backhand.
How do you lose 3-6,6-3,6-2,6-0 and then try to talk shit? Lendl basically played the same way he’d done in the last 17 meetings against Connors. 17-0!!
What I see here is that 40 year old Connors made it competitive for two sets against an 8 year old younger Lendl. Sure, Lendl dominated their head to heads when Connors was in his late thirties, but when it counted, in Grand Slam finals, it was Connors to always win. Quality non quantity, especially when there is that large of an age gap.
@@italnsd Once Lendl was at his peak, he dominated both Connors and McEnroe from 1985-1992 until they retired. Give the man his credit. As far as Lendl being 8 years younger, I have seen Federer, Nadal and Djokovic dominate top players 8 years or much younger multiple times. Stop making excuses for Connors getting his butt kicked.
@@italnsd Lendl dominated BOTH Connors and McEnroe from 1985 on. He even beat McEnroe in straight sets in the 1982 and '85 USO. Borg never ONCE beat McEnroe. Only once Connors at the USO.
@@scottmorissey8915 1984 was the last year in which Connors competed at the highest level, reaching his last grand slam final. He was 32 and up to that moment he had been dominating Lendl, winning all the matches played in grand slam tournaments, including 2 US Open finals. In 1985, at 33 years of age, Connors, started declining and the fact that from then on he lost every match against Lendl, does not tell me anything other than at that point the 8 years of age difference had replaced the tennis skills as the dominant factor. If you prefer you can look it in another way. After winning his last slam at 30 (the 1990 AO, which at the time was not at the same top level as the other three) Lendl in his thirties was not not elite anymore. A 30 yo Lendl would have not stood a chance against a 22 yo Jimbo.
Of course, I am not denying that Lendl was one of the greatest, just he was not at Connors' level.
@@TheTopspin77 Excuses? You just missed the point. the key point is not the 8 years of difference per se (in fact, Connors had dominated Lendl until 1984) it's the 8 years difference when one is 33 and older. To put it in perspective, what did Lendl achieve past 30 yo? Not even remotely comparable with Connors' achievements at the same age. As for today players, even neglecting the obvious increase in agonistic longevity due to scientific methods of training, nutrition and the new materials, tell me, who are these great champions, winners of multiple slams, 8 years younger than Federer, Nadal and Djokoovic who were beaten by the magic trio when 33 and older?
Nice peak into the past here, those were the times I used to watch - and play - tennis a lot.
Funny to see JCs double handed backhand volley 😄
Also interesting from today´s perspective how rackets and technique have changed.
None of these guys would stand a chance even against any modern female pro.
“None of these guys would stand a chance against any modern female pro.” Maybe that’s true cos they’re thirty years older now than then. Other than that, a mind-boggling stupid thing to say.
Agreed. I grew up watching Lendl play McEnroe, but I haven't seen any of their matches for many many years. Agreed, it's funny to see Jimmy's backhand volley.
Agreed on the game change as well. Cheers. :-)
Connors always was a POS win or lose!
Loved how he tried to hide his weight with that over-sized sweater, typical old lady move!😂
Lendl was pure BOSS in the 80s and early 90s. NO ONE was looking forward to playing Ivan,, even during the later stages of his career. Just a relentless competitor who often dictated the rallies.
Connors is a punk ..outside of a few us open matches he didn’t do much after 84
He just bunted the ball back and didn't do anything really...yet he won the match...what does that say about you Connors? That's a self-own if I ever saw one.
well the player on the attack always has more credit then the defender pusher...Lendl here wasnt playing well so he went into defensive mode...as most players today are except Federer, all play defensive tennis...all boring
Connors was not even worth the shit from Lendl
Guy gets bageled in the fourth set and blames his opponent's style of play for losing. Um, yeah ...
Thank you for your story. Thank you so much!
I used to love Jimmy. Now I just think of how little real character he had.
IDK about THAT. You might not like his character but that dude had character, and here he was challenging the baddest, toughest player on tour... at the end of a 20 year career don't forget that.
Interesting how much more hostile the US Open crowd was back then.
Love it!
They have been humbled in tennis thanks to see their Home players destroyed every year since Roddick lmao, they can't be bullies of they are a joke to their rivals
@@diegosotomiranda4107So funny that foreign players are so sensitive. They can't handle a little noise. Btw, an American Woman won in 2017.
@@nymike06 An American Woman won last year ..
@@blucat4 Right, but I had written that prior to Gauff winning it.
. never liked Connors
Lendl was very classy in the final interview even after what Connors said.
Well, they both kind of dissed each other during the interviews.
Lendl was an absolute professional, total respect for him.