"Jimmy Connors hated your guts before he stepped on the court" - When John McEnroe revealed how he modeled his personality on the American
John McEnroe once revealed that he modeled his personality after his arch-rival Jimmy Connors. He explained that he needed to do this because he didn't have the same physical intimidation as someone like Rafael Nadal.
McEnroe and Connors had one of tennis' best rivalries during their playing days. They faced each other 34 times on the ATP Tour, with the seven-time Grand Slam winner holding a 20-14 advantage. In fact, they initially disliked each other, but that didn't stop McEnroe from shaping his on-court personality after his older rival.
McEnroe was known for his on-court outbursts and fiery personality. During an interview with CNN in 2013, he was asked why he was the 'enfant terrible' of the sport. The American replied Connors' intensity and hunger inspired him to develop his persona because he lacked physical intimidation.
"I think despite what you may see here, I’m not as physically intimidating as a Rafael Nadal, so you have to try to get an edge in a different way. One person who I saw that did an unbelievable job at that was [Jimmy] Connors," John McEnroe said.
"The guy wanted it more, he was hungry, he tried harder, and he had this intensity. He hated your guts before he stepped on the court so I had to try to get inside someone’s head and get myself so worked up so they’d feel they were up against it," he added.
McEnroe continued:
"So the best way I knew how was to give 110% and want it more than them, and walk on the court and every moment of the match feel like it was the end of the world, in a sense. So that worked for me in a lot of ways. There were times that it hurt me but for the most part it helped me."
John McEnroe on being shy beneath the anger: "I saw guys I learned a lot from, like Jimmy Connors & Ilie Nastase"
John McEnroe, renowned for his iconic 'You cannot be serious' phrase during the 1981 Wimbledon Championships, revealed intriguing insights about himself during the aforementioned interview with CNN.
He described how, despite being a shy youngster growing up, he felt compelled on the court to challenge calls and question umpires.
"Well it’s a bit of an act now, but to me it wasn’t an act then," McEnroe said. "I felt like it was something that just came out. Believe it or not I was a pretty shy youngster growing up. I guess the cat was out of the bag when they said, 'Hey there’s umpires and you can question calls.'"
The American then candidly shared how Jimmy Connors and Ilie Nastase inspired him to behave in a certain way.
"I saw guys I learned a lot from, like Connors and (Ilie) Nastase, I mean people were starting to rebel against the typical tennis players who were very polite and were wearing the long pants and who would act a certain way, and we wanted to be considered the way athletes in other sports were," McEnroe said.