"When McEnroe was coming up, he wanted everything that I had" - When Jimmy Connors spoke about his fierce rivalry with John McEnroe

Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe are two of the greatest players in the history of the sport and had a fierce rivalry during the 70s and the 80s.

Connors addressed his rivalry with McEnroe in his memoir, The Outsider, and recalled the final of the 1981 Benson & Hedges Championships in Wembley. The eight-time Grand Slam singles champion said that while he loved playing against the likes of Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl and Ilie Nastase, facing John McEnroe was beyond the realms of tennis.

"Wembley is a big tournament at the end of the year but it isn’t a Grand Slam and yet this isn’t just another match. I’m down two sets to love, looking across the court at... John McEnroe," Jimmy Connors wrote.

"I love playing Borg, Lendl, Nastase, Panatta, and Gerulaitis. The list of great players from my era is as long as my arm, but to play Mac is beyond the realm of just tennis. He’s my gauge; I look to him to see the level I have to reach to be number one again," he continued.

Connors also claimed that McEnroe wanted everything his rival had won while he was rising through the ranks. He also pointed out the similarities between the two, namely their Irish ancestry, left-handedness and bad attitudes.

"Mac is the best player in the world. He’s just won Wimbledon and the US Open," Connors wrote. "When McEnroe was coming up, he wanted everything that I had. I was number one in the United States and he wanted that. I was number one in the world and he wanted that. Then he took it all. And now I want it back."

"I’m not just going to roll over and say it’s too tough, that he’s too young (seven years younger to be exact)," he continued. "Even though Mac and I clash at every turn, we’re so much alike it’s scary. I’m Irish, he’s Irish. I’m left-handed, he’s left-handed. I’ve got a bad attitude, he’s got a bad attitude. I’ve always said I would love to play myself, and Mac is as close to playing me as I’m going to get."

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John McEnroe led the head-to-head against Jimmy Connors 20-14

John McEnroe at Royal Albert Hall in 2011

Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe locked horns on 34 occasions, with the latter leading the head-to-head 20-14.

The first meeting between the two came in the semi-finals of the 1977 Wimbledon Championships, with Connors winning 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. They also locked horns in two Grand Slam finals, both of which came at the grass-court Major. Connors beat McEnroe in 1982 while the latter came out on top in 1984.

The last meeting between the two came in the semi-finals of the 1991 Swiss Indoors in Basel, with McEnroe winning 6-1, 6-3.