Legends Live 2007 - Stefan Edberg vs John McEnroe

[MrPernell27]

@cooktash McEnroe would kick her ass on any surface any day if the week!

[MrMagic002]

best player edberg

[kkdkk7]

Edberg did not really slice his backhand or whip his forehands .. what he did was he soothed the tennis ball so wonderfully that the ball is willing to go anywhere Edberg pleases ..

.. its not a return but a swaying of a beautiful curve ..

[tacprc]

high quality match!

[gibaudrac1]

Well you dont see too many continental forehands nor topsin lobs these days.

[jbdoggy]

My 2 fave players of all time. Johnny for his amzing touches and artistry, Edberg for the sheer elegance of his strokes. Both arent all that powerful as players, but both relied on intelligent play & deception most of the time. Something so lacking in today's game where brawn takes precedence over brain.

[fireflyfan1]

That Edberg backhand is still a thing of beauty.

[tennismaster007]

McEnroe will use anything to win even cheating the serve before the last one was an ace, true champions will overule the linesman.

[rksobers]

@tennismaster007 He did not cheat. He just pushed the limits of personnel. He is a true fighter. A fighter never cheats.

[cammpinno]

Edbergs body looks very young, like in 96, great shape!

[rksobers]

They have a certain touch which I dont get to see with Federer, Nadal anymore.

I miss The Borg-McEnroe-Connors, Edberg-Becker-Sampras-Agassi Times.

Tennis is not so elegant anymore. Just power. We need a new star who is bold enough to play Serve and Volley

[thisislaser]

@rksobers Change US Open to fast grass and Serve and Volley would return. All the courts are slow except US Open hard courts but they should be even faster.

[rksobers]

@thisislaser No I dont agree. The courts are almost the same since the 70s, exception to astroturf which is mainly used for personal courts. The game has gotten faster due to new racquets and technology induced ideal tennis balls. Stadiums even control air moisture to enhance faster condition. Im all for new technology, but we are yet to see a player who is technically clever to play the serve and volley game. Borg lost his career to the graphite racquet. McEnroe is the genius because he adapted

[thisislaser]

@rksobers Maybe the British will get tired of seeing Nadal win and speed up Wimbledon again. There should be more mid size racquets in tennis for more pinpoint accuracy serving and at net. I can't imagine Edberg or Sampras using a babolat to serve and volley.

[rksobers]

@thisislaser I agree on the racquet but we have not seen the hypothetical Edberg & Sampras to make a comment like that. May be if they were born twenty years later they might be todays stars better than Federer, Nadal, who knows. There is another point of view. They might not have played serve and volley but may have played serve and half volley. :)

[alin1975]

@rksobers

Well, adaptation is what we have seen. The players have adapted to the new conditions and stopped volleying almost entirely. Even Federer who had more of a net game when he started now plays very similarly to Nadal.

Serve and volley (and a good deal of the shot making of the pre 90s eras) is no longer a viable strategy at the high levels and its a real shame, because todays game looks so one dimensional.

[rksobers]

@alin1975 I agree to every word you said.

[yoootooobeee]

hehe JMac has the best worst-looking strokes ive ever seen

[mingoaffa]

all'eta di 50 anni john fa ancora tutto quello che vuole con la palla,che fenomeno, il piu' grande talento mai esistito della storia del tennis;questi incontri sono molto piu' divertenti di quelli che avvengono oggi nei grandi tornei atp regno purtroppo di pallettari esasperati potenti ma senza fantasia,ahime' rimpiango gli anni di Supermac,Connors,Gerulaitis,Le­conte e pure il nostro grandissimo Panatta!

[kudos100]

I could watch these guys all day.

[bjarktron]

Edberg's technique is phenomenal

[gyrate4]

Both still fit!

[PHC002]

Stefan, besides being a spetacular tennis player, is such a role model to young players in his love and respect for the game.

[notbestfriends]

2 of the best serve & volleyers ever.

[pablotjob]

que calidad! pasan los años y la calidad sigue intacta!

[Aaronthegreatest]

It's funny to watch this, that ball has like no pace on it xD but if the game was still played with old school racquets, they could probably still play on the ATP tour and have some good success.

[davd1986]

LOL, why does Mcenroe always try to act like Rafa in these legends exhibitions? Haha.

[ripperduck]

So how old is McEnroe, 70?

[MILEGULLY]

Mac played so many great matches. I recall one against Edberg in Scotsdale, Az but perhaps his best match, apart from the classic with Borg, was against Connors at Wimbledon either in 82 or 83, something like 6-1, 6-2, 6-1. He was perfect, playing all the shots in the book and some that should be there.

[ToddSweeneyOnce]

I miss watching Stefan play on tour. Tennis hasn't been the same for me. As far as massive racquets, I say give the new guys and gals wooden racquets and see how their power game is. Ha!

[johan20092009]

mcenroes the same :P

[absolutebore]

Unbelievable and beautiful tennis. I loved the volleying perfection of Mcenroe,Edberg and others including Pat Cash and Henri Leconte too. Rafter had a great net game as well among others. The courts today are too slow and favours the clay courters. The rackets are massive and the game is predictable.

[mssheltn1]

What do u exactly mean by the rackets being massive? I'm not trying to be rude or sarcastic.

[KingCast65]

As someone noted below, this is the Battle of the Continental forehands. Edberg's looks a little more graceful however (as does his game in general) but Mac is, well.... Mac. Creating angles nobody else could, and he seemed to just make it up as he went along, LOL.

Two of my favorite players of All Time but what people cannot forget when you start counting titles is how many Mac won playing doubles as well.

[Peninsula5]

Great match!

Edberg had to ace 2 times in match point.

hahaha

[jamesrosevear]

Jack Bauer and Aaron Pierce

[HanKang0]

McEnroe's returns look so consistent.

[tigercrap]

We all wanted Edberg's signature shirt back in the 80's. He was cool. A class act. He made tennis look easy. McEnroe is just putting on a show to fire people up. Mac is one of the great "Bad Boys" of tennis.

[rm9511]

Edberg almost has a forgotten game. As I recall, the most elegant of the time.

[contemplation09]

Bring back serve and volley and let us be rid of the baseline clones - the King is dead, long live Edberg!!!

[Aaronthegreatest]

@rm9511 well after McEnroe retired anyway :)

[AnimeIntroStyles4]

I think the funniest thing is these guys are still good enough to probably be ranked in the top 25 nationally at the college level. Be pretty hilarious to see them beating up college kids.

[AnimeIntroStyles4]

I mean really I bet they could still be on the atp tour rated in the 300-400 area, but moreover its just funny for me to think of someone like Mecenroe beating up a row of high rated college kids.

[fungamesss]

woah now 300-400? i dont know...

[AnimeIntroStyles4]

Well I thought I made them look bad with my first comment lol. Who knows with them hehe.

[lonart]

Stefan grande giocatore e gran Signore

John Grandissimo giocatore

[supertrex2]

Mcenroe can still run like that? damm I wish I can do that when i get to that age.

[darthtau]

i wish i had edberg's dream backhand...

[cagno70]

grandissimi...cmnque tutta sta gente ke ricorda la bravura di stefan...ma john ragazzi...john...tennis becomes art!!!!nessuno come lui..in altri sport solo maradona e m.jordan.

[alin1975]

Two of my favourite players of all time... particularly Edberg.

I really miss this more artistic style of play.

[swr112261]

I do too. The racquets have taken the shotmaking out of tennis. It's become a bore, particularly on the mens side.

[godgirlsguitars]

They should have an ATP age division for men over 40 :) I'd like to see him play. My dad is 63 years old and worked in the mines for 40 years and can still run and hit great shots, he beats me most of the time and im 25.

[exitingforward]

yeah! a seniors division would rock!! they have a "juniors" at the majors why not a seniors? i think its would be more entertaining seein then juniors!

[godgirlsguitars]

I know! Im glad somebody agrees with me. My dad plays unbelievable tennis at age 63. I've never seen an old man run and he beats me most of the time. :D

[jembals]

they do have seniors, but it's only for exhibition :\

[pablotjob]

dos grandes...uno, un caballero dentro y fuera de la cancha; el otro, un 'loco lindo'.......dos estilos opuestos que marcaron una epoca en el tenis.......

[Laszives9]

I love Edgergs Style.

And still he plays great Tennis!

[nuuunudux]

john mcenroe is one of the most talented players in tennis history. He won more grand slams than Edberg. His problem was his behavior. He was the best in his time with Lendl and becker.

You should read Brad Gilberts book WINNING UGLY

[kunvar25]

Edberg is a true legend and I think he was way better than Mac who is a totally ass or even Becker

[Ineddiblehulk]

Edberg is the most forgotten and underrated of the modern greats. I mean, he was better than Becker, but I don't think most people would remember that.

[swr112261]

I would throw Lendl in that group as well (underrated of the modern greats).

[Ineddiblehulk]

i think he gets more cred than Edberg, but agree he is also overlooked for some reason.

[exitingforward]

oyeah, i agree with ya! most the modern game players play lendl baseline esk come to think of it.

[orsonero7373]

grande tennis

[semicraft74]

look at the last serve of edberg(match point).

he is doing a foot fault.

i don't care but the referee need to be more careful, especially when you are arbitrating mc enroe's matches

[bonangusacdc]

The two best serve-volley players ever.

[rm9511]

Don't forget Sampras and Becker......

[bonangusacdc]

Yeah, they were also great obviously but neither ahd the grace of these two. The emphasis was heavily placed on their serves whereas Edberg had to make his first volley count.

I think Federer could use some coaching from Pete though to find another 5mph on his first serve. Do that and he should retire with at least 17 Grand Slams under his belt.

[rm9511]

True. They were the most graceful.

[billthestinker]

Even at their advanced ages Edberg and older McEnroe would destroy top women players, and no disrespect to the women.

[ChristianPaul75]

True that. That´s why I´d loved to see Monica Seles vs. Jimmy Connors many years ago, but for some reason I don´t know that match was cancelled and Connors played Martina Navratilova instead. - Of course, Jimbo won. But if you´d like to see what happens if a trained female athlete meets an untrained male, then look for "Regina Halmich" and "Stefan Raab" here on Youtube. ;)

[Jikk]

You give them too little credit. I bet they could win some Grand Slams if they actually wanted to.

[juandi2570]

They are not that old. Edberg is only 42 and McEnroe just turned 50. You made it sound they are 80.

[hattrickster33]

@billthestinker I really would like see Mcenroe play Serena...

[cooktash]

@billthestinker i would love to see mcenroe try to beat serena

[FraSarn]

Tempi d'oro. Irripetibili...

[Kikkord]

Veramente due giocatori eccezionali!

[jovanmacedo]

É muito bom poder rever 2 dos monstros sagrados das quadras de tenis... Classicos como São Paulo e Corinthians... Que da gosto assistir... grato por postar...

[mmeyer1]

battle of the continental forehands!!

[Fanfardon]

Somebody who knows his tennis! I use the continental and I hate it on the forehand! Never was able to get the semi-western or even eastern. Is there anyone out there on the ATP circuit who uses it?

[lullepet1]

i live 2km from stefan edberg and hes daughter goes in my klass :D

[supertrex2]

wow even tho their old they can still make you look like shit.

[Godlike6096]

I did saw it live, girl at 6:29 gave me ticket, it was awsome :)

[supamaka]

Edberg was a freaking racist turd, even though he was a great player, and was #2 on my list of great players after Pete Sampras, he set a bad precedent of racism by disagreeing to travel to India in 1996 for Davis Cup when he said:

" I am not ready to go there because I might catch a weird disease there", Vijay Amritraj also commented that he lost all his fans in India with this comment of his.

Anyway, no big deal, he looks like a stuck up White supremacist, so no wonder, still a great player

[stefanstennis]

This statement was denied several times by Edberg himself. «Even if I had thought it, I would have never said it», he said. And it's not true that he lost all his fans in India, because in my fanlisting India is the country with more fans of all

[pootubeftw]

ever thought that it might be because india holds a 1/6th of THE WORLDS TOTAL POPULATION?...................­.......

[y11971alex]

@supamaka Yes he might, but he could also have said "I don't want to stay in Sweden, I might catch a weird disease here."

[IvanAndreevich]

@supamaka I don't know if Edberg said that or not, but if you think not wanting to go to a developing country in fears of catching a disease is racism then you are a hopeless idiot.

[herrbigbadwolf]

@supamaka edberg is the ultimate gentleman, and anyone who has been to sweden knows racism isn't big there (a protestant country for the most part, the swedish parliament is at present debating proclaiming one muslim holiday a state holiday to honor the muslim minority in the country. honestly, I doubt that statement.

[kegsterino12]

R.I.P Serve and Volley play.

I miss it.

[theatlantean123]

When I think of the best volleyers in the history of the game, these two come to mind. If I had to rank the Top 10: (1) Johnny Mac (2)Pat Cash (3)Stefan Edberg (4) Patrick Rafter(5)Pete Sampras (6)Boris Becker (7)Ken Rosewall (8)Rod Laver (9)Jeff Borowiak (10)Roger Federer.........I put Borowiak in there due to the hands he had. I had the pleasure of hitting with him in Mexico about 10 years ago, and couldn't believe his volleys. Federer is in there as well, even though he doesn't come in a lot.

[TraceyAuk]

Brilliant play from both players.

[EricTheRed03]

I'd love to play one of these guys.. although I'd probably still get my ass kicked no matter how old they may be getting.

[datacipher]

@EricTheRed03

You'd 'PROBABLY" get your ass kicked??? Well lets see...both can reputedly hang with ATP players in practice, Mac came back for a one-time tournament entry in ATP doubles and won a bunch of matches....beat Andy Murray 6-1 at age 42.....

....and you have...no tennis accomplishments at all....hmmm......wonder..... :-)

[EricTheRed03]

@datacipher John is now 52 so if he played Murray when he was 42 that would have made Murray, 24-10 = 14 years old. So of course 10 years ago this might have been possible :P

[Samprasisthebest]

Pete was the greatest serve and volleyer ever because of his huge serve. However, Mcenroe had the best volleys in my opinion and the quickest hands at the net.

[jmisak]

IMO, Pat Rafter was even better at the net.

[snrbaires]

Even McEnroe once remarked during his prime that Edberg possessed the hardest first volley in the history of the sport. Rafter was also an extraordinary volleyer. McEnroe was underrated off the ground; he could find angles that his contemporaries could only dream over. He used the angles & sliced lefty serve in the ad court to open up the court knife the backhand volley into the open court.

[Standardfrank]

Two great master craftsmen at work!

[stell29]

Two best serve and volleyers I've seen in my lifetime

[IricForset]

lmao after that long point around 2:10 you see a racquet fly up....ah good on the old wanker.

[DANIELKLAWANSKY]

Very cool.

[avempace000]

Magnificent! Edberg's back baby!

Does this mean that Edberg will be a regular on the senior's tour?

[Ignozi]

Probably not. I've heard him say he doesen't have much interest in returning to tennis. I guess his career was enough for him, unfortunately. I would have liked to see him too.

[RoseEdw]

yes edberg, chang and kafelnikov join the tour this year

[ChristianPaul75]

The point from just 0:37 on is amazing! What a lob and volley from McEnroe before Stefan makes it with another lob. Just underlines the genius of both players.

[jonnybgood88]

more skill than the players today only Federer can volley. This style will come back one day I believe.

[tommie66tx]

it will definetly come back. when tennis first started everyne played from the baseline, then in the 20's they started serving and then coming in, then in the late 50's they started serving and volley thanks to jack kramer, then late 80's they started staying back again. It's all cyclical. However because of the slower courts, bigger racquets and advanced string technology it's going to be much harder to serve and volley on a consistent basis like they did.

[rideon77]

My 2 favorites of all time!

[fromanotherstar]

mine too...!!! these two were at the top of my list as serve and volley goes....

[Ignozi]

Classic S&V. Today's players should all try to learn a few things from this video.

[xedvux]

Great tennis! 2 great players!

Nice to see some classic serve and volley play.

[ChristianPaul75]

Thanks for the upload! Stefan is still the master of volley and Mac is still on fire at the age of 48! Nobody plays serve & volley like they do anymore. :(