There's something has to be rememberd: Federer have to actually deal with shots of 100 mph at volleying, if he would've to volley shots like this from Lendl, he would just make it the same good as McEnroe
condivido !!! tra mcenroe e lendl c'era la stessa differenza di classe ke c'è oggi tra federer e lo spagnolo rafa pallettal !! eppure trovi gli incompetenti ke ritenevano all' epoca eccezionale lendl e oggi pallettal. Mcenroe e Federer sono il tennis! lendl e pallettal sono l'atletica con la mazza da baseball!
jeez. back then the game waz so much better. now all u c is guys standing far back at the baseline trying 2 whack the shit outa the ball and no control
i love mac, i loce tha way he moves, i love the way i touches the ball at net, he'simy favourite player , anywai i sincerly think that federer would be maybe better if he would receive this kind of passes(i mean that these lendl's passes are very slow)actually now that the ball runs more and more faster than in the 80's, sometimes i see federer doing wolleys very similar to mac's wolley.
It is because the game has changed. Everybody is so fast on their feet and hits so hard, that a server and volley game is very risky and difficult to make as effective as McEnroe and other players did in the past. It certainly doesn't mean that the game was better back then...just different.
Why didn't people gush over McEnroe's displays of exquisite ability they way they do now over Federer? Perhaps it says more about the people doing the gushing than the players. Or perhaps they were stingy with their praise of McEnroe so as not to give him an implicit pass on his bad behavior.
But I ask, who can play like McEnroe did? Nobody has ever reached his level of efficiency.
you're so right. McEnroe's touch is simply insane. Mc is the true genious of tennis. The most natural player i've ever seen and that includes Federer and Rios.
people stop arguing about who was better between sampras and federer and focus on the artistic talent and touch that Mcenroe had. He was the mozart tennis. He played so effortlessly. I really enjoyed seeing him play, he just too artistic and his groundstroke are marvelous. amazing stuff. Lendl looks like a computer against the huge talent of johnny mc.
liten, Sampras is my favorite tennis player ever but McEnroe's touch is just unparalled in tennis history. Mc is the most gifted and natural player that has ever lived.Sampras was a machine, a cold blooded assasin because of his power and had touch too( a lethal combination who helped sampras won 14 majors) but Mc is just a genious, the mozart of tennis, like a symphony.
I saw Sampras play in the juniors when he was 14. He already hit the ball like a professional tennis player. He was calm, very powerful, and amazingly consistent. Apart from going to a one-handed backhand he never changed in that fundamental form. But McEnroe consciously modified his strokes to reduce the amount of motion to the bare minimum. It was as if he figured out that he barely had to swing the racket.
Finally, somebody agrees with me. The sport now is total baseline bashing. If everyone plays the same way, one player will dominate. Nobody attacks Federer and they slowe the game down. I hardly watch new matches because it is all the same. The women can't volley or slice at all. I have to watch "classic" matches.
Angry I'm one too and you are straight up right, today's game sucks.
Dagiffy you are correct too, Laver ruled but no one will play as perfectly and display the array of shotmaking that McEnroe did in 1984.
As I have said, it has to be so unnerving to play him because of all of the various shots he can give you if he gets even half a look at a ball, and most players are going to give him a good look at the ball.
McEnroe is the best tennis player that ever lived, circa 1984. There's been no one who ever lived who could match his peak. Remember that he played before "majors" were the only thing that mattered. Borg played the Aussie Open only once in his career. Sometimes Mac skipped it, too. But in 1984 McEnroe hit the highest skill level ever seen in tennis.
federer has created this illusion of a lack of talent or greatness on the men's tour because his level of excellence is unprecedented. certainly not because there are no great players to compete with these days. federer is a phenomenon among phenoms. i don't like the style of play in today's game. it lacks creativity and the aesthetics are abysmal compared with the past history of tennis. make the balls heavier or give them wooden rackets.
who else but mcenroe could execute a disguised drop volley off a rocket-lendl-forehand, with a racquet strung at 40 lbs.? the man was a freak of nature.
the real reason johnny mac never won more majors was that he was doin' too much coke. it is blatantly implied in his autobiography. it is a well known fact that his ex, tatum, is and was a coke and heroin freak. 1984 is when johnny mac met tatum o'neal, and guess what? he never won another major.
he was unique. nobody stroked the ball like mac. his strings are so loose that the ball rockets off the strings when he's at the net. incredible talent that should've worked harder.
This match this video is from was the 1985 Canadian Open final. Sadly, this was the last time McEnroe could still toy with Lendl. Would have loved to see how the Mac of 1984 play against Sampras and Federer at their peaks.
By his own account, Mac stated that he waited until someone would have something else to offer to challenge his dominance after his splendid 1984 season. Instead of pushing himself to reach his potential, he waited until anyone could pose a threat.
We would never know how someone, with his abundance of talent, what he would have accomplished had he trained harder. I'll try to upload vintage Mac from 1984.
All McEnroe did was play tennis. Not much training was involved. He McEnroe trained, and pushed himself more, he could of became the greatest player ever and may have won that 1984 French Open, where he was up 2 sets to none in the Final against Llendl, which is quite amazing for someone who is a volleyer against a baseliner.
Funny, I was a fan during the late 80's early 90's, when I saw tapes from 83-85 he's a completely different player, would have beaten himself badly if you know what I mean, his serve lost A LOT at the end of his career and his game/confidence was based on it. That's my take anyway.
Federer is a great talent, but he has not played anyone great since Sampras retired and I do not think he will beat Sampras' record. He needs 3 more, he nedds to win 3 wimbledon,s because that is the only major he can win. Good luck.
Federer actually has a fantastic volley. It probably isn't as a good as McEnroe's, but it's important to remember that Federer's greatness lies in his mastery of every aspect of the game. He's more than just a baseliner.
Not the best ever. I have seen them all. Fed has no one around that can hold a candle to Borg, Connors, Lendl, Becker, sampras, aggassi, Rafter, Edberg, Laver, Kajechek on grass, Leconte, Muster on clay, Kuertan on clay, Stich on grass, Ivo on grass and many others. Give me a break Tommy haas and Gonzales.
lol you can't teach this
hattrickster33 1 year ago
There's something has to be rememberd: Federer have to actually deal with shots of 100 mph at volleying, if he would've to volley shots like this from Lendl, he would just make it the same good as McEnroe
Zoso666 1 year ago
@Zoso666 You're an idiot! Lendl beamed the crap out of the ball. No one plays like Mac. Lots of players hit Federer like shots.
dura1mater 1 year ago
its the rackets that ruined this kind of tennis. creating so much ball speed makes finesse like this too risky or even impossible.
daredevillv 2 years ago 2
are you serious? lol
check out the pace they have going on.
it's these insane winners and f;ldasj angled passing shots that've changed
jembals 2 years ago
at 0:00 looks like will farrel and in 8:00 looks like a ballerina!
karstengirl 2 years ago
wow that last volley didnt even bounce forward. it bounce low then stayed straight. almost bouncing at the same spot.
supertrex2 2 years ago
Signore e Signori Ivan Lendl a lezione di tennis!
nerosettantatre 2 years ago 4
condivido !!! tra mcenroe e lendl c'era la stessa differenza di classe ke c'è oggi tra federer e lo spagnolo rafa pallettal !! eppure trovi gli incompetenti ke ritenevano all' epoca eccezionale lendl e oggi pallettal. Mcenroe e Federer sono il tennis! lendl e pallettal sono l'atletica con la mazza da baseball!
cavelupum1927 2 years ago
jeez. back then the game waz so much better. now all u c is guys standing far back at the baseline trying 2 whack the shit outa the ball and no control
kusta345 2 years ago 3
Mac remains the best. People forget his unplayable slice wide serve to the advantage court. Borg especially, with 2 hands, struggled with that.
sledge999 2 years ago 2
i love mac, i loce tha way he moves, i love the way i touches the ball at net, he'simy favourite player , anywai i sincerly think that federer would be maybe better if he would receive this kind of passes(i mean that these lendl's passes are very slow)actually now that the ball runs more and more faster than in the 80's, sometimes i see federer doing wolleys very similar to mac's wolley.
sorry for my english, i'm italian
GIANLUCA751 3 years ago 3
finesse-tennis
becoo1 3 years ago
There's nothing like this now. I miss Mac too much.
AlStAmPlEr 3 years ago 5
Who plays angle volleys and drop volleys on hard court today. The answer is no one.
Schrittwieser 3 years ago 3
Who used a hawaiian grip back then? No one.
acies92 3 years ago
You are SO wrong. lol
subtlechaos 3 years ago
All I see is banging from the baseline with super powerful racquets.
Schrittwieser 3 years ago 4
It is because the game has changed. Everybody is so fast on their feet and hits so hard, that a server and volley game is very risky and difficult to make as effective as McEnroe and other players did in the past. It certainly doesn't mean that the game was better back then...just different.
steve51865 2 years ago
to put it simply...
one of the greatest tennis players
of all time.
ZebZachary 3 years ago
McEnroe was great if he had worked out and gotten a little stronger he would have been unbeatable.
Schrittwieser 3 years ago
Why didn't people gush over McEnroe's displays of exquisite ability they way they do now over Federer? Perhaps it says more about the people doing the gushing than the players. Or perhaps they were stingy with their praise of McEnroe so as not to give him an implicit pass on his bad behavior.
But I ask, who can play like McEnroe did? Nobody has ever reached his level of efficiency.
obyvatel 3 years ago 3
you're so right. McEnroe's touch is simply insane. Mc is the true genious of tennis. The most natural player i've ever seen and that includes Federer and Rios.
juandi2570 3 years ago
he's like maradona, man
ghigostarr 3 years ago
They did,many people said he was the best of all-time including Arthur Ashe.
Schrittwieser 3 years ago
Insane touch. Its like hes hitting with a cushion.
monthejoe 3 years ago
people stop arguing about who was better between sampras and federer and focus on the artistic talent and touch that Mcenroe had. He was the mozart tennis. He played so effortlessly. I really enjoyed seeing him play, he just too artistic and his groundstroke are marvelous. amazing stuff. Lendl looks like a computer against the huge talent of johnny mc.
juandi2570 3 years ago
Well it was effortless but he was still a "gritty" player, not smooth like Sampras.
Thank god for that :)
KingCast65 3 years ago
liten, Sampras is my favorite tennis player ever but McEnroe's touch is just unparalled in tennis history. Mc is the most gifted and natural player that has ever lived.Sampras was a machine, a cold blooded assasin because of his power and had touch too( a lethal combination who helped sampras won 14 majors) but Mc is just a genious, the mozart of tennis, like a symphony.
juandi2570 3 years ago
I saw Sampras play in the juniors when he was 14. He already hit the ball like a professional tennis player. He was calm, very powerful, and amazingly consistent. Apart from going to a one-handed backhand he never changed in that fundamental form. But McEnroe consciously modified his strokes to reduce the amount of motion to the bare minimum. It was as if he figured out that he barely had to swing the racket.
obyvatel 3 years ago
Finally, somebody agrees with me. The sport now is total baseline bashing. If everyone plays the same way, one player will dominate. Nobody attacks Federer and they slowe the game down. I hardly watch new matches because it is all the same. The women can't volley or slice at all. I have to watch "classic" matches.
spjfrat 3 years ago
How the hell do you hit a drop volley off of a passing shot coming at that speed?
AMAZING.
72seeker72 3 years ago
Angry I'm one too and you are straight up right, today's game sucks.
Dagiffy you are correct too, Laver ruled but no one will play as perfectly and display the array of shotmaking that McEnroe did in 1984.
As I have said, it has to be so unnerving to play him because of all of the various shots he can give you if he gets even half a look at a ball, and most players are going to give him a good look at the ball.
KingCast65 3 years ago
McEnroe is the best tennis player that ever lived, circa 1984. There's been no one who ever lived who could match his peak. Remember that he played before "majors" were the only thing that mattered. Borg played the Aussie Open only once in his career. Sometimes Mac skipped it, too. But in 1984 McEnroe hit the highest skill level ever seen in tennis.
dagiffy 3 years ago
federer has created this illusion of a lack of talent or greatness on the men's tour because his level of excellence is unprecedented. certainly not because there are no great players to compete with these days. federer is a phenomenon among phenoms. i don't like the style of play in today's game. it lacks creativity and the aesthetics are abysmal compared with the past history of tennis. make the balls heavier or give them wooden rackets.
angryniggah 3 years ago 2
I would say that Mac was the best of all time. Very unorthodox grounstrokes.
sledge999 4 years ago
More talent than anyone. Strokes are old schoot continental grip makes the forehand look ackward. Allows you to play without grip changes.
Schrittwieser 3 years ago
The only fellow that could beat John McEnroe from 1981-1986 was John McEnroe
phausser 4 years ago 2
who else but mcenroe could execute a disguised drop volley off a rocket-lendl-forehand, with a racquet strung at 40 lbs.? the man was a freak of nature.
teflonmagnet 4 years ago 7
And when you talk about who was the best ever you can't forget that McEnroe's singles/doubles portfolio surpasses that of any other player.
Seen him from courtside many times and interviewed him in Indy 1898 one of the last tournaments he won.
But Laver would have schooled them all.
KingCast65 4 years ago 4
Okay, 1989 :)
KingCast65 4 years ago 3
laver was...
...
the master...
renesonce 3 years ago
nice
DuckFreak01 4 years ago
the real reason johnny mac never won more majors was that he was doin' too much coke. it is blatantly implied in his autobiography. it is a well known fact that his ex, tatum, is and was a coke and heroin freak. 1984 is when johnny mac met tatum o'neal, and guess what? he never won another major.
optikafe 4 years ago 7
he was unique. nobody stroked the ball like mac. his strings are so loose that the ball rockets off the strings when he's at the net. incredible talent that should've worked harder.
teflonmagnet 4 years ago 2
This match this video is from was the 1985 Canadian Open final. Sadly, this was the last time McEnroe could still toy with Lendl. Would have loved to see how the Mac of 1984 play against Sampras and Federer at their peaks.
raketa00 4 years ago
...which begs the q, "what the hell hap to mac after '84???"
i was a mac fan in the late '80s but years later when i saw how he played the net and served in '84, i was like, wtf??
i have the 1989 Canadian Open final on tape (Lendl beat Mac 1 & 3)... pathetic
i wish some1 wood upload any match Mac in '84 EXCEPT US Open semis & finals (the only matches ive seen)
mephatboi 4 years ago
By his own account, Mac stated that he waited until someone would have something else to offer to challenge his dominance after his splendid 1984 season. Instead of pushing himself to reach his potential, he waited until anyone could pose a threat.
We would never know how someone, with his abundance of talent, what he would have accomplished had he trained harder. I'll try to upload vintage Mac from 1984.
raketa00 4 years ago
All McEnroe did was play tennis. Not much training was involved. He McEnroe trained, and pushed himself more, he could of became the greatest player ever and may have won that 1984 French Open, where he was up 2 sets to none in the Final against Llendl, which is quite amazing for someone who is a volleyer against a baseliner.
TheSoloists 4 years ago
Same for Edberg in 89...
ohzzamma 4 years ago
Even if he isn't the greatest of all-time so what, he was amazing to watch everyone else played with a tennis racquet he had a magic wand.
Schrittwieser 3 years ago
Funny, I was a fan during the late 80's early 90's, when I saw tapes from 83-85 he's a completely different player, would have beaten himself badly if you know what I mean, his serve lost A LOT at the end of his career and his game/confidence was based on it. That's my take anyway.
jamesthomasmusic 4 years ago
mcenroe moves like chucky !! hahahahah!!! he was weird and federer would ve destroyed all mcenroe family@@@!!!federer the greatest!!!!!!!!!!!!
ydoubaj405 4 years ago
In his prime and on his game...McEnroe tops Federer...and the thing is... you know it.
f1red5 4 years ago
Federer is a great talent, but he has not played anyone great since Sampras retired and I do not think he will beat Sampras' record. He needs 3 more, he nedds to win 3 wimbledon,s because that is the only major he can win. Good luck.
Schrittwieser 3 years ago
You don't see that kind of touch at the net nowadays. Federer has his groundstroke artistry, but, for me, McEnroe's volley artistry tops it.
What year is this video from?
phfunky1 4 years ago 2
Federer actually has a fantastic volley. It probably isn't as a good as McEnroe's, but it's important to remember that Federer's greatness lies in his mastery of every aspect of the game. He's more than just a baseliner.
This looks like 1983.
Castlereagh1812 4 years ago
Federer is a great player overall. But it is impossible to compare Federer to McEnroe at the net: the former is good, the latter is the best ever.
McEnroe4Ever 4 years ago
Not the best ever. I have seen them all. Fed has no one around that can hold a candle to Borg, Connors, Lendl, Becker, sampras, aggassi, Rafter, Edberg, Laver, Kajechek on grass, Leconte, Muster on clay, Kuertan on clay, Stich on grass, Ivo on grass and many others. Give me a break Tommy haas and Gonzales.
Schrittwieser 3 years ago
NADAL.
72seeker72 3 years ago
@McEnroe4Ever
Yep. Anyone who says Mcenroe's is "probably" better?? Utter ignorance. Astonishing.
datacipher 1 year ago
@McEnroe4Ever ==>>> Definitely your are right. I love Fed over Nadal so much but the touch shots at the net of McEnroe can't be beat.
d0s25 1 year ago
@Castlereagh1812 - The commentator says it's the "this is the final of the Canadian Open for 1985."
goofydog2 10 months ago
We'll never see anyone playing at the net like McEnroe used to, unfortunately.
This video is from 1985.
McEnroe4Ever 4 years ago 2