McEnroe on Connors' beef with Agassi

John McEnroe shares his thoughts on the tension between Jimmy Connors and Andre Agassi.

[nottad]

Whatever McEnroe says I believe it unlike just about everyone else. The man tells it the way it is and doesn't care what anyone thinks. Also, unlike Connors, he has no fear giving credit where it's deserved to the newer players.

[NoamPitlick-bgkw]

Jimmy was always a smart ass, his mom raised him that way.

[terrenceolivido]

Super Brat sounding like a very gentlmenly and intelligent person !

[jm]

I was a big Connors fan during his career, as I always enjoyed his very energetic & unusual style of play. He always gave more than 100% effort and enjoyed the spectators. But, I well recognized that he was a problematic personality: sometimes petty, occasionally arrogant towards his opponent & sometimes had unjustifiable outbursts at match officials.

Who could ever forget him calling a line judge (or was it the umpire?) an “abortion”?!! Or, that in his (fairly recent) autobiography he took the opportunity to “out” his former fiancee Chris Evert for aborting their baby, stating she had never discussed the decision with him. Chris was shocked that Jimmy would publish about their very private & painful episode, gave her no warning that he was doing so, and she said he mis-characterized in his book what really happened between them. The public was, naturally, horrified by Jimmy’s cruel attempt to humiliate a woman he had once professed to love.

For the above reasons, and the Agassi conflict, we know that Jimmy can be quite the grudge-holder. An “injustice collector”. A key narcissistic trait. Perhaps he’s actually been diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (or even worse). Maybe that’s why 99% of the time he declines to attend champions’ gatherings & events. He may carry multiple grudges and/or doesn’t like to be in the company of other players who rank higher on all-time Greats lists. Who knows? He always was a lone wolf on the tour.

[nocode]

I've read Agassi's book multiple times because of the fascinating moments and the legendary players he talks about. Agassi portrays icons like McEnroe, Borg, and Lendl with great respect, but he has real issues with Connors - Mostly due to how he treated Agassi and his father in earlier days.

[fpvlexd]

In his autobiography, Agassi tells exactly why he hated Jimmy Connors.

[williamwatson]

Mac is right about the 70s being the best time for men’s tennis. It was an adventure watching Jimmy, Mac, Bjorg, etc. I played competitively around then and it was fun watching the controversy. After that era Men’s tennis declined and got boring and women’s tennis got more interesting.

[tdane]

As bad as McEnroe was….Connors was way worse. So unfriendly on and off the court.

[robertwiesler]

Didn't Connors have a beef
with everyone (including himself)😂

[chuckdeless]

Conners still OWNS the record for most titles.

[bradleybrazington]

Agreed. A golden age for tennis. Inspired me to play. Love the game

[alonzobishop]

A lot of people forget that the best players are often arrogant and not necessarily likable… Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Pete Rose all come to mind? Regardless, they are legends- not many players can claim anything near legendary status!

[lukecasio]

Agassi's last US Open run was when I first became a tennis fan

[spjfrat]

It started at the 1988 us open. Afterwards, Andre said he thought he would win 3, 3 and 3.

[paulc]

I think Jimmy Connors was fine with Agassi up until the 1989 US Open. At the time Agassi was criticized for not being able to go the distance in best of 5 sets. In order to shut his critics up, Agassi supposedly allowed his match with a not so prime Connors to go five sets on purpose so he can have a five set match win. Connors felt disrespected and never let it go.

[DonQuickZote]

Connors turned being an asshole into an art form. You’ve almost got to respect it (almost).

[anotherfakepresident]

I heard the beef goes back to when Connors dismissed Andre's dad as some schmuck who "thought his kid was going to turn pro" or words to that effect

[stevephlyer]

Mac wasn’t bad, just a bit crazy from time to time, which actually enhanced the interest and the intensity in the sport.

[craigroyle]

You don't hear many speak well of connors. Quite the c

[TimTheMusicMan]

Listen to what McEnroe said about playing tennis in the 80’s. That doesn’t exist today. America pretty much defined and made tennis then it all went out the window with non American players and the use of artificial strings and racket technology that took the game away.