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McEnroe vs. Wilander...ATP Champions Tour London 2012
Finals of the ATP Champions Tour in London...Legends McEnroe and Wilander. Today at 1PM...in Europe. 7AM on the east coast USA.
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Thirty years later...
One of the greatest matches that I have ever seen. 1982 McEnroe vs. Wilander in Davis Cup play. Five sets and over six hours long...Arthur Ashe captain of the US Davis Cup team. Neither player going for the towel in between points...not once over the duration of the match.
McEnroe using the Dunlop Maxply McFort. Wilander a midsized Rossignol. I wonder what advantage Wilander possessed over the duration of the match in terms of a coefficient. Something like ten percent. 1982...the days of the great inequalities in tennis equipment. Why?
Last edited by don_budge; 12-09-2012, 05:12 AM. -
He makes you feel awful...
A brilliant tactical, precision display of tennis. McEnroe never gave an inch on the baseline...electing to hit ball on the rise or even half volleys from deep in the court. Every single shot in the McEnroe repertoire is played to hurt you or maneuver you off balance with a combination of speed, placement and spin. His trademark is deception...with so many options you are left to guess what it is going to be. But you must make up your mind quickly because he is playing the ball early which reduces your time to react and prepare.
Neither player once went for the towel in between points. Both players bounce the ball twice before putting the serve in play. McEnroe is a classic...and so is Mats. He hammed it up a bit but he was always focused on the point in front of his nose. He always was. Nastase might get disoriented and forget where he was but McEnroe histrionics were a different matter. He was cunning whereas Nastase was a bit of a clown...and foolish.
I always loved the McEnroe game. Even the behavior was a part of the show although I fully understand the argument to the contrary. Never out of position and brilliant footwork all of the time. Maybe when he was younger he was taking things a bit for granted and living it up. Weren’t we all though. He bragged about his Häagen Dazs diet. Now that he is older he is still taking the game seriously. His style of play is still relevant...I think. He is a tactical genius right out of the book...and the book is you know who. I would of loved to have seen him play these one trick ponies these days in his prime.
McEnroe def. Wilander 6-1, 6-2. Mats said that he makes you feel awful at times on the tennis court.
Serve well, hit the spots and keep the guy off balance...says McEnroe.
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Mac
The great genius of McEnroe is that he always played the correct shot in any given situation. I don't think any other player has ever done that.
StottyComment
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All the horse/cow steroids he took, as his wife ratted him out for, Tatum, and he lied about for years, and then finally admitted to, sort of anyway, are going to mean an early end for him. She also claimed he took a lot of other drugs in her book, I think. Look how old he looks now. Made him much faster at the net. One of those guys who according to Drakulie, didn't always pay his stringers' bills. Has often complained on tv, "The stringers are millionaires!", yeah right, at $25/frame. What a colossal ahole he was and is. Great game, great commentator, lousy human being imho.
Great players are often bad people. Their huge egos. Their insane levels of ability. Their insane levels of self belief. Tons of people all over the world clamoring to **** their ****.
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MELBOURNE, Australia -- Andre Agassi, defending the integrity of tennis dented by the Greg Rusedski nandrolone affair, on Wednesday said he was at a "loss for words" over John McEnroe's comments about drugs in the sport.
Former world No. 1 McEnroe, now a respected broadcaster and tennis pundit, told a British newspaper on Sunday that he had been given steroids without his knowledge during his career.
"For six years I was unaware I was being given a form of steroid of the legal kind they used to give horses until they decided it was too strong even for horses," McEnroe said.
"So people have to become more aware of what they are putting into their bodies. In general people are administered drugs too readily."Last edited by GeoffWilliams; 12-09-2012, 11:42 PM.Comment
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A woman scorned
She wasn't a woman scorned by any chance? A woman scorned will stop at nothing for her revenge, didn't you know? Are there any other sources of this information or just her?Originally posted by geoffwilliams View PostStottyComment
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The Court Surface...
Much was made before this match about the changing of the court surface. Apparently the year before it was a quicker surface and so they slowed it down...they added a little more sand. There was speculation before the final that it might favor Wilander due to the backcourt nature of his game. After the conclusion of the match the analysis was a bit surprising to some people...the surface actually favored McEnroe according to Wilander. It gave him a bit more time to set things up...in order to make his opponent feel just a tad more "awful".
Good going Johnny...keep up the BAD work!!! He's a BAD man!(Michael Jackson Bad, Cassius Clay Bad)
Anyone find this match in its entirety?
Last edited by don_budge; 12-24-2012, 05:28 AM.Comment
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