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“We both ran the other way": Jimmy Connors-John McEnroe coaching partnership nearly happened in 1990"
ATPWednesday, 28 February 2024 at 20:30
Jimmy Connors mentioned that after his retirement, he was close to coaching John McEnroe. Both players had a rivalry that ended 20-14 in favor of Big Mac, including two Grand Slam finals (1-1) and 14 finals in total (7-7).
Connors began his career in 1972 and in 1990 was on the brink of permanent retirement, as he played only three matches, lost them all, and fell to world No. 936. Although he made a comeback in 1991 after surgery, there was the possibility of coaching McEnroe, who was going through a difficult time in his career.
By 1990, McEnroe had already won his 7 Grand Slam titles, the last two at Wimbledon and the US Open in 1984, and by 1990, his stellar results were behind him. McEnroe's usual controversies during his career reached a breaking point when he was suspended at the 1990 Australian Open for intimidating the umpire, smashing his racket, and verbally abusing her.
Not only did he face that suspension, but in his later years, McEnroe took several breaks in his career, stepping away from tennis for months before returning and finding his best form. According to Connors, McEnroe's sabbatical years worked against him when competing with the emerging new stars.
"Mac had gone on sabbaticals and taken 3 months off, 6 months off, and then tried to come back and kind of go through that. That's hard to do when the other guys are forging forward," Connors said on the Advantage Connors podcast.
In 1990, McEnroe commented on a possible partnership between the two, but it never materialized: "So when Mac said would I coach him, I said 'Yeah sure, I'll do it,' but as soon as that interview was over I think we both ran the other way," Jimmy Connors
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