“He Blew Me Off”: John McEnroe Was Totally Intimidated by Jimmy Connors in the Wimbledon 1977 Semifinals

One of the greatest tennis players of all time, John McEnroe is remembered for his talent and hot-headed personality. He managed to win 155 titles throughout his career, which is more than any other athlete in the sport’s modern period.

McEnroe, the former American tennis player, has been promoting his upcoming documentary named ‘McENROE’. Recently, while promoting his documentary, he was featured in a podcast interview with Kevin Garnett, a former NBA player. They discussed his victories, defeats, and memorable on-court incidents. They also discussed the match he played against the tennis legend, Jimmy Connors, in the Wimbledon semifinals of 1977.

John McEnroe talked about his game against Jimmy Connors

The Tennis legend revealed how intimidated he felt playing against Jimmy Connors in the Wimbledon semifinals of 1977, during a podcast show with Kevin Garnett. He also stated that Connors ignored him as if he refused to acknowledge his existence. When McEnroe tried to introduce himself, Connors simply walked by him.

John said, “And I think it was a combination of both but as far as Connors he blew me off completely he wouldn’t acknowledge my existence before which was you know, I tried to introduce myself he just walked by me as if I didn’t exist, so that was sort of, I was like, oh my god, there goes the first set. I was like so wound up. I’ve never been on the center quarter Wimbledon. I’m playing Jimmy Connors. He’s trying to intimidate me already. And he did. He succeeded.”

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McEnroe also talked about the difficulties he faced as a young tennis player competing against the sport’s greatest legends.

Connors and McEnroe’s legendary rivalry

One of tennis’ most intense rivalries was between McEnroe and Connors. There were a total of 34 matches, played between the two tennis legends (1977- 1991). It was the Wimbledon semifinals in 1977 when the two former American tennis players first met. In that match, Connors emerged victorious  6-3, 6-3, 4-6, and 6-4.

In the first four meetings between the two players, Connors managed to win all. Connors had a 6-1 advantage in the individual matchups before McEnroe’s surge as he ended up with a 20-14 advantage over him in their 34 matches.

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From the Cincinnati Open in 1983 through the 1986 Pacific Coast Championships, McEnroe never lost to Connors. He won 11 consecutive solo matches in a period of four years. Connors ended this losing streak to McEnroe at the 1987 Canadian Open.