John McEnroe: 'Roger Federer looks like perfect guy, almost bored'
In an interview during Streak of Genius programme recalling the 2008 Wimbledon final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the seven-time Grand Slam winner John McEnroe commented on the differences between the Swiss and the Spaniard. "Roger is the greatest beletic mover that tennis has ever seen. One of the greatest ball strikers, phenomenal, unbelievable. Wimbledon is a distant magical place that used across the ocean, that had this beauty. I like that lefty-righty, the way they dressed, the way they act, their temperaments, their personalities. Rafa is the swashbuckler, he is more emotional and he wears his emotions more in sleeves. You can sort of see what he is feeling more. In Roger, sort of the ever classy, perfect guy, almost bored. Tennis is a very cerebral game, you have to be able to deal with the ups and downs. Rafa is the greatest fighter I have ever seen on a tennis court and I played Connors 30 times. I know what it means to play guys who seem like every point it's the last point they are ever going to play. It's inspiring but also intimidating. If you see Nadal the first time he plays, it was like, This guy is gonna be one of the greatest clay-courters."
McEnroe also recalled his 1980 Wimbledon final against Borg: "The match I played with Bjorn Borg was often talked about as one of the greatest if not the best match that people had seen. I had this tailor-made like super star, I like to think I made him a better player but he certainly made me a better player."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2YzwnI3
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