LONDON — When Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe talk, tennis listens. So when Jimbo claimed that tennis rivalries these days were “soft” a whole new debate was inevitably opened.
“I could never see Mac and I doing some of the things that have been done between those two guys [Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal] …” said Connors. “Every time we walked out there against each other, we had something to prove … It carried far beyond the court. Mac was trying to get into my space, and I was trying to get into his … [It] was more than just the tennis … It was our attitude, our personalities, our clashing games … the whole atmosphere … The tennis was almost secondary … [Our rivalry] was true and deep…I’d have played him on crutches just because that’s what it brought out in me — the desire to be better. Not that they don’t have it, but rivalries can be soft … [and] not have that deep, burning desire…You can talk about rivalries with the Lakers and the Celtics … You can come up with any rivalry you want, but real rivalries … captured your interest because they went beyond the sport itself … There was nothing quiet about our rivalry. And we weren’t afraid for people to know it.”
McEnroe added, “Jimmy was running things and clearly going to do everything he could not to have it taken away. Bjorn was a nice addition … because we could save all our anger toward each other. We couldn’t really get mad at him. We vented when we played against each other … It was a pretty fantastic time. I learned a lot from Jimmy about what it took, about how it wasn’t just about the tennis. It was about trying to win with your head … The fact that I still have people come up to me: ‘I remember when you and Connors played. I still think Jimmy is better looking.’ I’m like, ‘What the hell does that have to do with playing?’ It’s incredible how people responded … That’s what you need in a one-on-one game…[Now] it seems like they get along so well. I don’t want to suggest that they start hating each other or build up some false sense of anger, but it seems at times like it’s become almost so professional. I don’t know if it’s the money or the attitude or that fact they’re from different countries, cultures or whatever.”
Connors added that, “Back then … the locker rooms were smaller. There wasn’t really an escape … I sat side-by-side with Mac, and right across the bench was Bjorn. Right behind was Nastase. So you’re bumping elbows … Your escape is pretty minimal…You got a full dose of everybody. You had to figure out a way to let it go until you walked out there … It was very difficult to just walk on court and turn it on. I had to build and kind of let things fester … and get myself up.”
But both Federer, Switzerland’s smooth ambassador, and Nadal, Spain’s humble bull, responded that the rules have changed mightily; that they would they would have been thrown out of the game if they had behaved like tennis’ first (or second) generation bad boys.
Rarely have we heard those profane words, “Code violation, Mr. Federer” or for that matter “Code violation Mr. Nadal.” Plus, Hawkeye has changed EVERYTHING. It’s hard to rant against the machine. Nadal likes it this way. “I think is better … for the example for the kids especially, the education … something very, very important. And if kids are watching matches … [and] see each other fight every week … [it] is not a good way the world have to work.”
“This is the game. What happens outside the court doesn't affect what's going to happen inside. So we can be talking in the locker room before the match. That's not going to effect what gonna happen in 10 minutes when we are on court. That's my opinion, probably the opinion of the past champions
Style-wise Connors said. “I go back to players in days gone by … guys who had a different style and a different kind of player every match. They had to figure out a way to beat six or seven different guys at Grand Slams … [They were] a little bit more versatile as compared to a lot of the guys who are playing today.”
Still, Nadal – who is becoming increasingly outspoken – cracked on the previous generation just before his. “To watch a Pete Sampras versus Goran Ivanivic match, or one between those kind of players, is not enjoyable,” he contended. “It’s not really tennis, it is a few swings of the racquet. It was less eye-catching than what we do now. Everyone enjoys the tennis we play much more. I am not saying we are playing better tennis, just more enjoyable tennis … In the past it was just serve, serre, serve … Before my time, perhaps the conditions were faster. But, the difference now is that the best players … strike the ball past you if you go to the net … [on] a fast court, when you serve and go to the net the ball flies past you even quicker.”
Mats Wilander, ever-loyal to his era, defended his generation. “If you go down to the 100th-ranked player, we weren’t as deep as they are today. But the first seven or eight guys were at the same level and produced great rivalries. Looking back it was really special.”
When IT asked Rafa to compare his generation with others, he said “The top four players didn't play as solid as today … all the tournaments, even if there isn't a Grand Slam, is 1000, 500 points tournaments, top players are always there in the finals, semifinals, playing in the final rounds. Probably in the past, didn't happen that a lot.
That's probably because … two things: the courts are a little bit slower, so the best [players] have more chances to play the points, and finally if you have more time to play, the best player has a better chance.
Second, the players today have big rivalry, and they know if they don't play at their best in every tournament, [it’s] going to be very difficult to be in the top positions at the end of the season … [So] we have to be very focused mentally every week.
So why, we asked Rafa, do players now do so well on all the surfaces. He replied, “Before, you played in tournaments, and the best 18 results counted for the rankings … Today you have to play four Grand Slams, nine Masters 1000, four 500, and two 250s. You have to play well on all surfaces, because if not, it's zero points. Before, a lot of Spanish players didn't come here because … [it] didn't make a big difference on the points.
Today all the players have to come here and play well here. If not, you have zero points on your ranking. So … players are more complete and are able to play well on all surfaces because they have to do. Before, all the players played a lot more tournaments on clay. A lot of Spanish players played all the season on clay. Today, even if I am a clay court specialist, I [only] play four or five tournaments a year.”
With all this in mind, IT asked Sir Rodge [Federer] to also compare the generations. He responded, “It’s not fair to say that our generation is stronger. For many years many people said [my generation was] weaker just because there was only me and then there was only Rafa … And now all of a sudden there's people talking about four. Now it's the best ever [generation.] This is where I disagree. It doesn't happen so quickly.
When Pete and Andre and Becker and Edberg and McEnroe and all those guys were still around, and more even. I think it was very good already. Before that generation was also very strong … Rafa and myself, we took a lot of Grand Slams and we didn't allow anybody else to shine really. For that reason, all the other players didn't get the respect they deserve. That's just to straighten that record a little bit.”
Now I still feel 10, 20 years ago … they were doing excellent. Like Pete's serve, I still think it would be one of the great serves in the game today if not the best. Agassi … had the return that many players don't have today.
Maybe they had some other weaknesses, but maybe they were able to eliminate those with their great strengths. This is maybe where today we're more overall because we have to, because the conditions have slowed down, and that allows us to maybe win the French and Wimbledon back to back a bit more easier today than back in the day where you had grass court specialists, hard court specialists, indoor specialists, clay court specialists. Today everybody can play everywhere. That's the way the game has evolved and we're adjusting to it.”
