John McEnroe vs. Jimmy Connors Extended Highlights | 1980 US Open Semifinal

Watch the extended highlights of John McEnroe vs. Jimmy Connors in the semifinals of the 1980 US Open.

[janetearls]

I had forgotten how really great these 2 were even though I grew up watching them. Absolutely beautiful matches and both deserve high praise

[TLDel]

For their time, and in my eyes, these guys were nothing short of supernatural.

[thomasfrayne]

McEnroe makes playing the game at the highest level look so easy.

[pk]

This is the best looking tennis footage on YouTube from the early 1980s. Most of it looks so fuzzy, you can't even see the ball.

[fn]

Mac was a wonderful player to watch. Amazing serve. Amazing volleys. Great anticipation. The Kyrgios of his era except that he cared and won more.

[ncf]

the racquet back then made tennis for style and finesse; the modern game's super-powerful arsenal nullifies everything to the point where those with the best endurance and fitness wins.

[gcm]

Back in the heyday of tennis popularity when no matter where there were public courts, i.e., parks and schools, you had to wait your turn to play and could only play one set if someone else was waiting at your court to play next.

[saadkhatib]

If you analyze this deeply, you’ll find that McEnroe is purposely returning more softly that usual, because he knows that Jimmy like to play a more aggressive rally, by playing relatively softer Mac is removing the steam out of Jimmy by controlling him instead of going into aggressive rallies (the ones Jimmy thrived on, and also feeds out his passionate approach by rallying the crowd during his preferred style of play)
And Usually when Mac is on control during his peak, he was unplayable.
Mac was very intelligent player

[GenghisCohen]

When you've seen a lot of '81 Mac and '84 Mac it can be jarring to see him struggle.

[JD-jcgp]

Connors somehow blew that 3-1 lead in the fourth set and I guess that footage of that doing is missing.

[jcpenny]

One of the rarest sightings you'll ever see. 2:55 Jimmy smoking a topspin forehand.

[RaulAnibalGuglielmone]

imposible mirar... la verdad me quedo toda la vida con lo de hoy. De sampras en adelante siempre

[brianlee]

If one was just watching this highlight, one would think that Connors went to the net more than McEnroe and was beating him badly.

[asksimonwhy]

Mac’s backhand is forever awkward and historically underrated.

[uncletony]

JC wins 11 games in a row but loses the match. I HATE when that happens!

[shizzy]

Connors lost, but somehow it seems like 80% of the highlights are in his favor. Did his Mom put the highlight reel together?

[peterflorino]

Good old days. I don't watch tennis anymore . Every player has no strategy they just hit as hard as they can. Boring. Same with the ladies.
Jimmy has always been my favorite player. His energy and ability were great to watch. Tennis needs strong rivalries, like these two guys to be more exciting and interesting.

[pauljohnmarcelino]

Jimmy with his aluminum/metal racket couldn't even beat Johnny Mac with his wooden racket lol. Wait til Johnny got his Max 200G Graphite equalizer haha

[joelbeske]

Today's pro just want to stay back and pound ground shots. More strategy back then.

[ayokay]

Mac's backhand looks like some kind of weird dance move.