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John McEnroe is undoubtedly one of the greatest tennis players of all time. He was one of the titans during the greatest era in tennis history, dueling with other giants in Lendyl, Borg, Connors... and later Agassi and Sampras. He is also quite unique in his own right.

His style is what is called "serve and volley" where the player charges the net quite often. His coach in high school saw him practicing this style and thought it was girl-like and weak. He told him to either stop it and start playing baseline or go play with the girls. True to form John was playing with the girls and showing them his style within the hour. The coach learned his lesson, especially when McEnroe went undefeated that season.

In the pros he really hit his stride and there were periods when he was invincible even among the all time giants of his era. He kept the attitude of his youth and in the eyes of many brought "punk" to the tennis world, and in some ways turned it on its ear. He was quite irreverent and happy to be unpopular. Wild mix...

And his matches included some of the best ever. In 1980 he played one of the greatest matches ever against Bjorn Borg in the Wimbledon finals. Borg was a legend and considered undefeatable on grass, going for his fifth straight win. It contained something beautiful.

Considered the greatest tennis moment ever, there was a fourth set tiebreak that went on twenty minutes and lasted 34 agonizing points, with McEnroe winning 18-16. He lost the fifth set and the game but it was still considered the best ever by many...

But I disagree. I think his best game was played against Jimmy Connors in the 1982 Wimbledon finals. This to me was the most fast paced and entertaining game of all time. The more you know about the history of the combatants the more you appreciate it.

Connors was a baseline player but in this game he rushed the net just like McEnroe. McEnroe did not relent and the two often met about six feet apart in the middle of the court. It is probably the only game I have ever seen this feat occur in. One had to respect the bravery of Connors for coming in as well as both men in general. The would swat the ball back and forth at a dizzying rate.

He would have a great career, winning seven Grand Slam titles-four at the U. S Open and three at Wimbledon. He was also a great Davis Cup player. And one unique fact about his is he never practiced and played doubles instead. He did well by it, winning seventy titles in the process.

Even though he was a controversial figure tennis is better for having seen the game of this master. The style that fueled him was as aggressive as he was and his matches certainly rank as the best of all time. Where you rank him among the titans of his era is a tough one, but I could understand someone saying he was the best....

Learn more about this author, Royce Radcliffe.
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