Best of Jimmy Connors vs John McEnroe at the US Open

Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe met four times in the semifinals of the US Open - 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1984. Come with us as we revisit those epic and explosive encounters!

[brysonstevens]

This is way more fun to watch as opposed to everybody playing the same way today.

[ranchump]

This tennis, with the ball hit fairly flat and little topspin, and a lot of serve and volley, is just so much more fun and interesting than today. I miss this tennis a lot

[pccoder]

This is when tennis was truly hard. You try playing at this level with a Wilson T-2000 and having this level of success.

[humanbeing]

The number of incredible, near-impossible shots from both guys in '78 is remarkable...

[estudiocarlosg.]

I was on the stadium at the 1980 U.S. Open Semifinal between these 2 legends!; I will never forget that match 40 years ago!

[kevinpowers]

Connors vs McEnroe back in the early 1980's. Pure magic. I'm so glad I was alive to watch this era of tennis. So many superstars in tennis back then. Jimmy and john didnt particularly like eachother and that made for great tennis. Both had such outgoing personalities. Racket technology hadnt taken over the game yet and the tennis was much better. IMO anyway. I played USTA tennis locally for ten years starting in the early 1990's. I rarely watch tennis anymore. I couldnt name 5 pro players now. For me, the mid 1970's to the early 1990's was the best years for tennis.

[sayresrudy]

to hit that clean with a T-2000 is simply breathtaking.

[bradchang]

This was the best era for men's tennis.... great memories of great rivalries and battles. The quality an depth of the competition was amazing!

[gmr]

I think everyone on the tour today should play with the small rackets like these and we'll see how good they are

[uffel]

Amazing to se how much McEnroe evolved between 78 and 79 in confidence and the way he played to become a super star

[charlieknoch]

I absolutely love the way Connors hits the ball, flat and dead on in the sweet spot

[rboltt]

I’ve waited decades to see footage of their first meeting at US Open. Finally! :)

[niev]

So glad I got to see this generation of players live at the Volvo Masters in NYC in the 80s. Very little interests in seeing today's players live.

[egdfbznz]

Interesting to see the evolution of McEnroe's service motion in this best of. His motion between '83-'85 was his best.

[mirazusta]

How good these guys were. It brings me good memories of that era in tennis. Quality of image is awesome, too. Thank you very much for posting.

[peachman]

How I enjoy watching these older matches....I was a Borg, then Lendl guy...but these 2 produced some phenomenal stuff!!!

[g.sakhalin]

Connors was amazing warrior and player never beaten in his mind

[lucalimontini]

John Mcenroe is a legend. I miss his tennis everyday.

[mickymalibu]

The fact that they’ve managed to remaster the video to such good quality shows how great these guys really were and playing with old tech absolutely awesome…..

[billphilips]

one of the best rivalries of any sport. the true winners were the spectators.