‘Strutted Their Stuff and Backed It Up’ – John McEnroe Opens up About Idolizing ‘Brash Basher’ Jimmy Connors

Former American tennis player, John McEnroe has had a pretty eventful tennis career. Famously known as ‘Superbrat’, McEnroe had plenty of outbursts on the tennis court. Despite all that, he was also an exceptional tennis player, especially with his serve and volley game.

Earlier, in an interview, the former American player talked about his idols growing up. Also, he talked about going to college and why it was one of his best decisions.

John McEnroe talks about looking up to Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, and others

In the interview, McEnroe talked about having many idols, like Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Vitas Gerulaitis, and others. “For sure, I looked up to people like Björn Borg and Vitas Gerulaitis; Jimmy Connors was the biggest guy in tennis. I just wanted to somehow figure out a way to be in the mix with them, be thought of in the same way, to possibly be remotely as cool as they were,” McEnroe said.

He also talked about their attitude on the court, as he said, “They strutted their stuff and backed it up — ultimately, you can talk all you want, but if you don’t back it up, it doesn’t amount to a whole lot. So, it was a bit overwhelming for a while.”

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Moreover, he further talked about the importance of going to college or high school, as it gave him an opportunity to get comfortable and get into tennis. “That’s why I think going to college was one of the best things that I ever did. It gave me a chance to sort of be a kid another year longer and be around kids my own age,” he added.

McEnroe became a professional tennis player after high school

In 1977, at the age of 18, John McEnroe became the youngest player to reach the Wimbledon Championships final. Earlier, he got into Stanford University, which he eventually left after winning the US Collegiate title in 2018. After turning pro in 1978, the American tennis player had a pretty impressive run on the ATP tour, winning 49 out of 56 matches.

In his entire career, he won 17 Grand Slam titles overall, including 7 Grand Slam singles titles. Apart from that, many people also remember him for his on-court antics. Notably, his most famous on-court outburst happened at the Wimbledon Championships in 1981, when he had an argument with the chair umpire over a line call. He shouted the now famous line, “You cannot be serious!”

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Later, he named his autobiography ‘You cannot be serious’, considering the popularity the line had garnered over the years.