1983 U S Open : Scanlon Vs McEnroe (Set 1 Highlights)
Vložit
- čas přidán 27. 08. 2024
- 3 Part Highlights made by me on Bill Scanlon's huge upset win over John McEnroe, the No. 1 seed and No. 1 player in the world, in the fourth round exactly 33 years ago - on Labor Day.
McEnroe had defeated Trey Waltke, John Sadri, and Vincent Van Patten before meeting Bill Scanlon in the fourth round. Scanlon had to overcome Henrik Sundstrom, Chris Lewis and Pat Cash before facing McEnroe.
The match was to become the talk of the U.S. Open, marking the first time since 1977 that McEnroe had not made it to at least the semifinals of the Open.
The New York crowd sided with the gifted serve vollier Bill Scanlon ,from Dallas, much to the chagrin of native son McEnroe who was raised a mere 15 minutes from the stadium. As much as McEnroe wished to find fault with the crowds, the umpires, the lines people, the noise, the planes overhead, the heat and the stifling conditions--the fact is that McEnroe did not deliver the better play on the day and Scanlon defeated him, hands down, and dealt with the pressure a lot better than John.
''When it came to the match points,'' said the 16th-seeded Scanlon, who lost a close fourth-round match to McEnroe at Wimbledon that same year, ''I didn't have jitters. I was so mad and determined.''
''I thought he played a good match,'' McEnroe said. ''He served well and he put a lot of pressure on me.''
Thank you for these uploads. Scanlon was one of those guys buried by the weight of expectation. Michael Mewshaw did a great interview with Scanlon for his book, "Short Circuit." Scanlon admits he basically became an alcoholic early in his pro career because he was struggling with the expectation. An NCAA champ as a sophomore in '76, he was supposed to be the next great American player, which is what McEnroe became. When he was coming up, he was referred to as "Ken Rosewall with a serve." That was definitely an exaggeration, but you can see in this match that his skills around the net approached McEnroe. He could flick half-volley winners from difficult positions and his ability to lay his wrist back and paint lines with attacking inside-out forehand volleys from below the net was ridiculous. McEnroe actually had the most insightful critique of Scanlon in You Cannot Be Serious. He wrote that Scanlon was a great tennis player who could make you feel helpless at times. But he was not a great athlete and that was a huge flaw. These two had a great match at Wimbledon in 1983. Scanlon was up a break in the first set, and had set points in the second and third. He lost 7-5, 7-6, 7-6. When they were both on at the same time, their matches were beautiful to watch.
I had that book, and loved it.
I saw Billy play an unbelievable match against Fritz Buening at the Australian Indoors in Sydney in 1980. I just checked, it was a first round match and Fritz was a qualifier. My mate and I had never heard of Fritz, but it didn't long to find out what he was about. He is about the explosive player I have ever seen in terms of hitting power and temperament. To this day I have never seen a backhand hit harder up the line, and he did so as a rally shot for three sets. His forehand was big too. We were mesmerised by Fritz when we realised there was a guy at the other end who was somehow able to run with this one-man Howitzer. Billy was darting side to side faster than any player I've ever seen, beautifully timing these massive Buening ground strokes back, deep and accurate. It was an incredible match up. Then Fritz got a couple of bad calls. He yelled at the lineswoman over and over and complained to the chair umpire and started yelling at him. It was chaos. More bad calls. When the lineswoman wasn't replaced against his demands, Fritz asked for the chair umpire to be replaced. After a few more bad calls, Fritz called the impassive Scanlon to the net. He asked Billy if he agreed to the chair umpire being replaced. My mate, a two-time club champion, told me that if both players agreed that the chair to be replaced, the match referee had to abide by it. Scanlon nodded his head. The chair climbed down from the hot seat and was replaced. Fritz was so spectacular that we were going for him. Honestly, he would've blown most players away that day. He played Vitas Gerulaitas in the Melbourne indoors a few weeks later. I've never saw Vitas move so fast to win. He said Fritz hit the ball as a hard as anyone. In Sydney Fritz played amazing, explosive power tennis for three sets. He was incredibly intimidating, yet Billy won 6-7 6-4 6-3. That's always stayed with me. Billy also played a golden set, winning every point in a set against Marcos Hocevar at Delray Beach in 1983.
I was at this match. I snuck down in to a box seat. After the match, I was in line to buy a hotdog, and turned around to find Scanlon standing right behind me.
Offer him some relish?
Sign your hotdog
Sounds just like regular-guy off the court Scanlon! I was the snot-nosed teenager who provided clay court maintenance and janitorial services for the tennis shop & locker rooms at the country club he trained at in Dallas in the early ‘80’s. On the court and later in business, he was a perfectionist with laser-focus attention to detail and a fiery competitor who didn’t seek friends until after his tennis career.
J'ai adoré cette époque tennistique..
I grew up with Bill Scanlon. I was a little older than Bill and played him many times when we were younger. I was in the 16's when he was in the 14's. His parents asked me to play the junior circuit with him in California one summer but I really didn't any interest in travelling. He was much more committed than I ever was. Bill was just a solid player on all sides. Nothing flashy and no huge weapon, nice, compact strokes and a great mover on the court.. He surprisingly won the 1976 NCAA singles at Corpus Christi over Peter Fleming and that's when he really took off. His dad made sure he practiced, and practiced, and practiced. That's probably why he burned out.
I loved the outfit of John when i was a kid😉
Been looking for this match, I remember it so well. Thanks for posting!!
The irony.. Scanlon beating Mac with a standard wood racquet. While McEnroe had converted to playing with the Modern Dunlop graphite.
He also achieved a golden set in 1983.
Watching this match 35 years later, one can see that while Mac was playing OK, Scanlon was truly sharp. Bill Scanlon was never intimidated by Junior. And in this match, when John had trouble powering through shots, Bill took advantage. Scanlon was ready to fight and McEnroe was not ready to match this level. He should have been ready, after their Wimbledon QF. But his hubris did not serve him well here.
Scanlon also had match point against him the previous year in Dallas.
Great upload! Thank you.
RIP Bill Scanlon (1956-2021)! You were an exemplary hard worker and perfectionist!.....and gentleman after your tennis career!🙏😇🌄✨
Forgot how good he was - rip
mac was as usual right about the officiating
Always loved watching Bill play when he made the trip the Oz Open. The only players we wanted watch more were the Swedish team. Ah, Elizabeth Eckblom... and some other kid; Bjorn somebody?
Brilliant! Thank you.....
Haven't finished yet, LOL. I have Part 3 coming up. Did you watch this match 33 years ago ?
The book may be interesting, but it better be taken with a grain of salt since Scanlon takes liberties with the truth on many occasions. To give one example, he claims to have had set points in each of the three sets he played against McEnroe at Wimbledon 1983, and makes quite a big deal about it ("Three points! My trainer kept reminding me all summer.."), but it´s actually not true (I have a copy of that match).
And that´s just one example.
Jason Zaremba I didn´t question that :)
It doesn´t change anything about Scanlon´s strange handling of facts, though.
In the book he accuses McEnroe of "revisionist history", but he is actually guilty himself.
He had set points in the second and third sets and was up a break in the first set during that Wimbledon match. I have a copy of it too. Athletes have selective memories, and often can't remember specifics, especially if they have a trainer repeatedly telling them something. And if we are talking about grains of salt, how about Mac writing in You Cannot Be Serious about how he and Scanlon got to know each other when they were on the same Jr Davis Cup team. Scanlon never played Jr. Davis Cup.
Usually, McEnroe was tough as nails; you'd think you had him on the ropes, then he'd pull out three consecutive aces and crush you like a bug. In this match, Scanlon turned the tables on him. I've never forgotten his poise. Scanlon beat eight number-one rated players, including McEnroe three times.
The Big Mac hambugers and fries started catching up with 'Big Mac', hence his half of step lost foot speed at/to the net and opponent shot reaction, suttle, but was all the difference at top level play.
Bob Malack He did go 82-3 the following year which still remains the best single season record of all time. I’m guessing you might be talking about when he returned from his 1985 sabbatical? True he was never the same after that but his best tennis happened the year after this match so the fries weren’t catching him yet.
Scanlon playing wood - MAC a Max 200G graphite ... Scanlan played a perfect set - won all 24 points ... believe the racket is in Newport. way to be Scanlon !!
I remember watching Scanlon practice, and thinking to myself how talented he was. It's too bad he never became a household name.
Scanlon was a great college player. Half the school (Trinity Univ in San Antonio) turned for his matches.
I miss Virginia Wade as a commentator.
Yes, Scanlon beat McEnroe but against Jimmy Connors in semi-finals, it wasn't quite the same story. Jimbo easily got rid of him...
And?
Interesting how different players' games match up. Scanlon could trouble McEnroe but his game didn't match up well against Connors.
Scanlon played the match of his life, no doubt.
Nah, he beat McEnroe two other times & had lost to him two months prior at Wimbledon 7-5, 7-6, 7-6. Scanlon also had wins over seven other former #1 players during his career (Borg, Lendl, Becker, Agassi, Wilander, Năstase, Smith).
Scanlan got under mcenroes skin like no other player. Mac demolished him in the same round at Wimbledon in 1984
It’s a shame Hawkeye wasn’t available for these early years in tennis
McEnroe spent half the tiebreaker complaining. He completely lost his concentration.
Scanlon played so well. Why didn t he win more tournaments?
forehand.
Not as athletically gifted as the top players, but worked as hard as anyone on tour.
When McEnroe asks to speak with a supervisor, the chair umpire should go grab Daddy McEnroe from the stands :).
Why?
A joke. So Mac could behave himself. Loved his game but clearly got away with murder on the court.
Whatever happened to Scanlon?
This has got to be one of the exceedingly rare pro tennis matches in which a player playing with a wood racket defeated a player playing with a graphite racket. McEnroe had an excellent 1983 season winning Wimbledon and yet he lost this match to Bill Scanlon who was a journeyman player at best. McEnroe had no business losing this match to a much weaker player. McEnroe really should have won the 1983 U.S.Open, but he incredibly lost this match to Scanlon. McEnroe's foot speed was noticeably lacking in this match!
With wins over McEnroe (3x’s), Borg, Lendl, Wilander, Becker, Agassi, Năstase, Gerulaitis, Vilas, Stan Smith, Pat Cash, and Harold Solomon throughout his career, Scanlon was no “journeyman player at best!” That was eight former #1 players he beat. Do your homework Mr. Barlow!
I knew Scanlon and he had an above average athletic ability but a work ethic like God in all aspects of his life. RIP Bill (1956-2021)!
@@vandrive5687 . I am fully aware of Bill Scanlon's wins over the top-5 ranked players you mentioned in your comment and therefore, I do not need to "do my homework" as you very condescendingly and erroneously assert! But the fact remains that Scanlon was a journeyman player, albeit a very good one! Just because a pro tennis player has some big wins over the top-ranked players on the men's pro tennis tour, does not ipso facto mean that that player is not a journeyman player. For example, the talented Swiss serve-and-volley player Jacob Hlasek had a huge win over Lendl in the round robin portion of the Masters Tournament at Madison Square Garden and nearly defeated Lendl again in the quarterfinals of the 1989 WCT Finals in Dallas, losing in 5 dramatic sets (4 of which went to tiebreakers)! But nonetheless, Hlasek was a journeyman player, albeit a very talented one! Scanlon's record of 296-258 (according to the Wikipedia article on Scanlon) in singles play, his only winning 6 (according to the Wikipedia article on Scanlon) or 7 (according to the ATP Tour website) singles titles in his pro tennis career, and his only getting to the quarterfinals or better three times in the 4 major tournaments (quarterfinals at the Australian Open, quarterfinals at Wimbledon and semifinals at the U.S. Open) are clearly indicative that he was a journeyman player even though he got to the number 9 ranking in the world briefly in January 1984! He also had losing record in doubles play and only won two doubles titles in his pro tennis career.
Bad call from the ump for time. I think John was in his rights to wait until the crowd stopped booing to serve.
Scanlon could’ve been one of the greatest ever.
Said absolutely no one!
Yes ..why didn't he show more?
Brod Dyke also should have been a great. He only beat McEnroe once, when McEnroe got thrown out of the Aussie Open, i think the last year it was played on grass.
There was alot of good players back in the day but consistency and handling pressure was the difference.
@@dansmith9724 he didn't want it as much
@@MrPernell27: Incorrect, said many. He had wins over eight different #1 players throughout his career.
mcenroe switched away from his woodie spring 1983, lost to scanlon who was still using his.
Ok, well the offer is always there....
Scanlon méritait d'aller en finale contre Lendl
It's an excellent book and talk's about his great struggle to switch from wooden rackets, along with players like Arias....
Feel free to edit any of my uploads?! 'Tennis Moscow' has uploaded all my Wimbledon and US Open matches (long story)...
Have you seen my Italian tennis DVD's? I think they would be amazing to edit.... There are 28 different ones in all. And I've uploaded two of them already Borg v Connors and Connors v Mac....
Who did Scanlon lose to in the next round?
Bonham House e
Connors
He beat Mark Dickson in a 4 hr, 40 minute quarterfinal that went 5 sets. He was straight-setted in the semifinals by Connors, who he never matched up well against (0-6 lifetime).
@@travb705 not like Vitus Geralitus who lost to connors 16 times in a row. But when he finally beat Connors, Vitas said 'No one beats Vitus Geralitus 16 times in a row and gets away with it'. 🤣🤣🤣
He was good
Horrible sport, Johnny Mac!
I watched brief highlights 33 years ago and remember being pleased for Connors that Mac had lost.
Have you read Scanlon's book ' Bad news for Mcenroe'? It's brilliant!
Also feel free to edit any of my matches by copying them from you tube or I can send them to you by We Transfer etc....
I did onetime with an 11 minute highlights of Borg vs Connors '79 Pepsi final as I couldn't find your original video. Yes it's nice to have best of both worlds, highlights video that complements full length classic games. I like the challenge of editing and putting up highlights.
No did not know he wrote a book. There was no love lost between McEnroe and Scanlon. Not sure where it originated from. Yeah back in '83 I remember watching this match at some ungodly hour of the morning in Australia. Would've been Tuesday, 6 September around 6.00 am that the match finished.
I thought back then McEnroe's fourth round exit would benefit Ivan Lendl first then Jimmy . Scanlon of course lost to Connors in the semifinals in straight sets.
+tenniscollector Buddy, are you Australian? You watched it whilst you were in Australia. This must have been quite a big upset. You also remember the date of the match. Gee, you know your stuff!
+tenniscollector McEnroe will always complain when things are not going his way. Does he ever lose without complaining? Only if it is against Bjorn Borg!
yeah, didn't I mention that to you before ? In those days Channel 9 did the U S Open coverage (usually via satelite from american television) like three full days on the first weekend then show 30 mins late night highlights on each day's play until it reached women's semifinals Nine would then show the matches live again. The Scanlon victory was played on Labor (U.S) Day September 5, 1983 but we got to see it in the early hours of September 6 which was at that time the second week of school holidays for me as a 15 year old, LOL.
mcenroe had the body of a teenage girl....