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Guys here is something interesting pre-Wimby from Bill Simons. Mac and Chrissie discussing the current state of the pro game--and the emergence of tennis as more of a big time sport in their eras.
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Both sellouts. But they have their reasons. Their excuses. McEnroe does mention that day in 1984. He flirts with the truth. That fateful day at the US Open when all four men semifinalists played with oversized graphite racquets for the first time in a Grand Slam event. But that day was an illusion. Bud Collins said it was the greatest day of tennis ever. But he failed to mention the little fun fact that I mention here.
John in particular is a disappointment as of late. He is content to become a caricature of himself. The unraveling of the fool...the once Don Juan Quixote waving his tiny wooden racquet in the face of the future. The future of tennis...which is now by the way.
Chrissie? What do you expect? She's bounced around a bit. From Connors to Lloyd to Norman. Poor Chrissie. She was the Darling of Tennis back in the day. Probably the Kiss of Death in a way. Now she's out there hawking her brand. Hey...she's just trying to make a living. Just like McEnroe.
The truth is modern tennis is making a huge sucking sound as the vortex gathers around the disappearance of Roger Federer. The Wimbledon Final was a mockery of tennis but I'm the only one saying so. The voice in the wilderness. Literally. Either one of the men participating own any kind of net game? See what I mean?
But Jimmy Connors will tell you the truth by God. Just ask him. But best that there are no cameras around. Like this time when they did ask him. He recused himself.
Check out the comments by Connors who has the reputation for not pulling punches. At 6:20 in the tape:
Interviewer: You know that...today if we had that boom what would tennis be like and how much do we need it?
JC: Well...I'm probably the wrong person to ask. You should ask...
Interviewer: You are the right person.
JC: ...somebody that is in tennis right now. I'm not in tennis. But the fans seem to like it. What's going on today. You know...we could sit here today and have a discussion about what's good and what's not so and what I what I think should happen. But in reality...the game is booming and like I said the fans seem to like it and that's really all that counts.
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