One of the greatest tennis players in history, John McEnroe, is recognized for his talent and ruthlessness. During the span of his career, he earned more titles than any other player, winning a total of 155 titles.

Recently, the legendary tennis player McEnroe has been promoting his documentary. In the most recent events, he went on and sat down with Kevin Garnett. On the Podcast with former NBA Champion, McEnroe talked about his upcoming documentary named McENROE, his competition, and tennis. The sports commentator opened up about the time he played against Connors and even compared him to the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal.

John McEnroe refers to Jimmy Connors as present-day Rafael Nadal

In a podcast with Kevin Garnett, John opened up about Jimmy Connors and how he tried hard to be like him and play better than him. He talked about the challenges he faced being a junior tennis player among the greatest legends of the game.

He said, “What I did learn, as I started playing him more frequently, was the intensity and the effort he gave? It was as if every point he played was the last point, he was ever going to play and I had never seen anyone that could do, that consistently. He’s sort of the Rafael Nadal of our time. That intensity and effort alone was intimidating, and it was tough to match.”

READ MORE – ?Connors Was No Angel? ? Tennis Legend John McEnroe Says People Remember Him for Who He Was Despite His Aggressive On-Court Behavior

He also explained that he used to see himself in the mirror, questioning what went wrong against Connors.?

John McEnroe vs Jimmy Connors’ famous rivalry

John McEnroe vs Jimmy Connors was one of tennis’ fiercest rivalries. Between 1977 and 1991, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors competed against one another 34 times. The first time the two faced off was in the Wimbledon semifinals in 1977. In which Connors won 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Connors prevailed in the first four head-to-head contests. Prior to McEnroe’s surge and his 20-14 record versus Connors in their 34 matches, Connors leads the individual matchups 6-1.

Watch this story – Rafa?s On-Court Routine

McEnroe never lost to Connors, starting at the Cincinnati Open in 1983 and continuing through the 1986 Pacific Coast Championships. For four years, he won 11 straight solo matches. At the 1987 Canadian Open, Connors ended his personal losing skid to McEnroe.