‘He Has Nothing To Do With New York. He’s B*llsh*tting Here’ – John McEnroe Says He Hated When People Cheered for Jimmy Connors in New York City

John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors’ rivalry is one of the greatest of all time. But when we look back, some rivalries never turned into friendships like this one. Their rivalry was like watching fire and ice play. One was fierce and the other one was quite calm. Recently in an interview, McEnroe talked about Jimmy Connors’ on-court support.

The former world no.1 was in for an interview with Kevin Garnett, promoting his sports documentary. He not only talked about his documentary but also about how the New York City crowd never treated him as a home star. Then they also talked about Jimmy Connors being the home favorite.

McEnroe recalls fans calling Connors a New Yorker

 John McEnroe hails from New York. He had it on display with his fierce nature. But there was a time when the ‘Superbrat’ felt aggrieved about not getting support from his home crowd. On the other hand, Connors was treated as the home favorite whenever the two American legends clashed on the court. 

In an interview, when asked about his New York style and connecting to the people there. He said, “New York was a big part of my style. That is why fury aided me…Come on, Jimmy, the New Yorker, Jimmy Connor. He’s not from New York, He’s from East St. Louis, okay? He has nothing to do with New York. He’s b*llsh*tting here. And I am from Queens living in Manhattan, for god’s sake. How did this go wrong?”

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He added, “So it got frustrating at times, because I was like, hey I am a New Yorker, you know I was not getting the love, I fought off. I wasn’t feeling it like it was frustrating.” However, The American star was not happy at times when Jimmy used to get support like a NYC player, but the reality is people assumed that he is from New York, rather than supporting their home player. 

John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors’ rivalry

One of the most heated rivalries of that time was seen between these two tennis legends. They played against each other for a total of 34 times. Their feud started in the Wimbledon championship semi-finals in 1977. Connors had a good winning streak for the first few matches. 

But after 1983, the tables turned. Since the Cincinnati Open that year, the former world number one never lost a match against his arch-rival till the 1987 Montreal Open. Over this course of time, he triumphed in 11 singles matches against Connors. In their 34 encounters, McEnroe ended up with an advantage of 20-14 over Connors.

Which rivalry, according to you, is the greatest in the sport?

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