As one of the true individual head-to-head sports, tennis has always had its share of great rivalries between often very contrasting players, whether it be Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal currently, Pete Sampras vs. Andre Agassi in the 1990s, or Chris Evert vs. Martina Navratilova in the 1970s and 1980s, etc. One of tennis history’s greatest rivalries featured two American men, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, who were known as much for their volatile and bombastic personalities as they were for their skills with a tennis racquet. Throughout much of the 1970s and 1980s, Connors and McEnroe would sit at or near the pinnacle of men’s tennis, racking up wins, titles, and Grand Slams, as well as fines. More than 30 years after either man was last ranked #1 in the world, the debate still goes on today:
Who was better – Jimmy Connors or John McEnroe?