In the history of men’s tennis, American John McEnroe was probably as good as it got in terms of being a title-winning machine across both singles and doubles categories. At the peak of his powers, McEnroe won 7 singles Grand Slams titles and 9 doubles Grand Slams titles. Despite calling time on his glittering career way back in 2006, McEnroe is still very much in the spotlight. 2022 proved to be yet another special year for McEnroe as he was the subject of a Showtime documentary and an ambitious tech project.

Recently, both projects bagged awards at the prestigious 2023 Sports Emmys. While the Showtime documentary won the Outstanding Editing – Long Form award, the tech project got the Outstanding Digital Innovation award.

The tech project that pitted the real John McEnroe against his AI-powered avatar

Michelob Ultra collaborated with production and tech firm Unit 9 to create ‘McEnroe vs. McEnroe’. The ambitious project got McEnroe back on the tennis court. However, this on-court appearance was unlike anything McEnroe had experienced before, as the legend faced his younger AI-powered self.

The riveting 45-minute experience didn’t just show McEnroe displaying his incredible volleying and shot-making abilities. It also showcased the creation of the match through the combination of machine learning and artificial intelligence. The Unit 9 team that was instrumental in bringing the project to life spent an entire day with McEnroe. The team used a variety of tech to create a whopping 5 John McEnroe avatars from his career’s most pivotal points.

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At the 2023 Sports Emmys, ‘McEnroe vs McEnroe’ bagged the Digital Innovation Award. For sports television network ESPN, which premiered ‘McEnroe vs McEnroe’ the award was one of thirteen it won over the course of the ceremony.

The Showtime documentary also stole the show owing to its excellent editing

The ‘McEnroe’ documentary, created by Showtime, takes viewers into the person behind the iconic player McEnroe. McEnroe’s public personality never did him many favors, despite his excellence on the tennis court. Controversy seemed to follow McEnroe no matter where he went and what he did. McEnroe once claimed that he was shy as a youngster. However, all that changed after he became a global tennis superstar, which unleashed the dormant rebel in him.

The documentary dissects McEnroe’s life immaculately. Its editing team also did a superlative job in ensuring that the documentary flowed smoothly from start to finish. Unsurprisingly, it bagged the Outstanding Editing – Long Form award at the 2023 Sports Emmys.

Did you watch the Showtime documentary on John McEnroe? What are your views on it? Let us know in the comments below.

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