"A black player in a white man's game was able to fool and surprise Jimmy Connors" - When John McEnroe commented on Arthur Ashe's Wimbledon triumph
Back in 2015, John McEnroe spoke about the significance of Arthur Ashe's win over Jimmy Connors in the 1975 Wimbledon final.
Ashe, who did not make it past the fourth round in any of his previous three appearances at the grass-court Major, entered the 1975 tournament seeded sixth. He defeated the likes of Bjorn Borg and Tony Roche to reach his seventh Grand Slam final.
Arthur Ashe was up against defending champion and top seed Jimmy Connors, who had not dropped a single set throughout the competition until then. However, Ashe beat his compatriot 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 to win his third Major title.
It was a historic moment as it made him the first and till date, only African-American man to win the singles title at Wimbledon.
John McEnroe spoke about the magnitude of Ashe's triumph at the grass-court Major in an interview with ESPN in 2015. According to McEnroe, the fact that a black player out-maneuvered and surprised Jimmy Connors in a "white man's game" was a matter of huge significance.
"Obviously in sports, at least on our side, this was a huge moment because there was talk, in some ways there still is--though it’s not nearly what it was--that black men or women were great athletes, but they weren’t the thinkers of whites,” said McEnroe.
“The mere fact that he out-strategized and out-thought Jimmy was significant, that a black player in a white man’s game, still to a large degree that’s the case, was able to out-maneuver him and fool him and surprise him," he added.
Wimbledon 1975 was the last Grand Slam singles triumph for Arthur Ashe; he didn't reach another Major final after that. The American passed away in 1993 due to complications from AIDS. He was only 49 at the time.
John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors both had a winning head-to-head record against Arthur Ashe
John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors both faced Arthur Ashe a few times and had a pretty decent record against him.
McEnroe squared off against Ashe twice at the same tournament, the 1978 Colgate-Palmolive Masters (now known as the ATP Finals). He came out on top in both matches, including the final where he triumphed 6-3, 6-1.
Ashe and Connors squared off seven times, with the latter winning six matches. The only time the former won was in the 1975 Wimbledon final.
Their last meeting came in the Memphis final in 1979, and Connors won 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.