# Connors–McEnroe rivalry

The Connors–McEnroe rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, who played 34 times between 1977 and 1991. Their head-to-head was 20–14, favoring McEnroe.
Connors and McEnroe played again in the late 1990s and the early 2000s on the senior tour. With regard to their matches, Connors has stated, "Something like that never goes away, especially between Mac and myself...To have carried on this rivalry for so many years, and for you still to be talking about it, must mean that we made our mark somewhere." This rivalry is said to have been one of the most contentious and embittered in all of tennis history.

## Head-to-head

| Legend | Connors | McEnroe |
| Grand Slam | 3 | 6 |
| Masters Grand Prix | 0 | 2 |
| WCT Finals | 1 | 2 |
| ATP International Series | 10 | 10 |
| Total | 14 | 20 |

### Official matches (34)

Connors 14 – McEnroe 20
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Round | Winner | Score | Connors | McEnroe |
| 1. | Jul 1977 | Wimbledon | Grass | Semifinals | Connors | 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 | 1 | 0 |
| 2. | Aug 1977 | US Pro Tennis Championships | Clay | Last 32 | Connors | 5–7, 6–2, 7–5 | 2 | 0 |
| 3. | Aug 1978 | US Clay Court Championships | Clay | Quarterfinals | Connors | 3–6, 6–1, 6–1 | 3 | 0 |
| 4. | Sep 1978 | US Open | Hard | Semifinals | Connors | 6–2, 6–2, 7–5 | 4 | 0 |
| 5. | Jan 1979 | Masters Grand Prix | Carpet | Round Robin | McEnroe | 7–5, 3–0 RET | 4 | 1 |
| 6. | Feb 1979 | Pepsi Grand Slam | Clay | Semifinals | Connors | 6–3, 6–4 | 5 | 1 |
| 7. | Apr 1979 | Alan King Tennis Classic | Hard | Semifinals | Connors | 7–5, 6–4 | 6 | 1 |
| 8. | May 1979 | WCT Finals | Carpet | Semifinals | McEnroe | 6–1, 6–4, 6–4 | 6 | 2 |
| 9. | Sep 1979 | US Open | Hard | Semifinals | McEnroe | 6–3, 6–3, 7–5 | 6 | 3 |
| 10. | Jan 1980 | US Pro Indoor | Carpet | Final | Connors | 6–3, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4 | 7 | 3 |
| 11. | Mar 1980 | US Indoor Championships | Carpet | Final | McEnroe | 7–6$^{(8–6)}$, 7–6$^{(7–4)}$ | 7 | 4 |
| 12. | May 1980 | WCT Finals | Carpet | Final | Connors | 2–6, 7–6$^{(7–4)}$, 6–1, 6–2 | 8 | 4 |
| 13. | Jul 1980 | Wimbledon | Grass | Semifinals | McEnroe | 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4 | 8 | 5 |
| 14. | Sep 1980 | US Open | Hard | Semifinals | McEnroe | 6–4, 5–7, 0–6, 6–3, 7–6$^{(7–3)}$ | 8 | 6 |
| 15. | Nov 1981 | Wembley Championships | Carpet | Final | Connors | 3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–2 | 9 | 6 |
| 16. | Jan 1981 | Masters Grand Prix | Carpet | Round Robin | McEnroe | 6–2, 7–5 | 9 | 7 |
| 17. | Jan 1982 | US Pro Indoor | Carpet | Final | McEnroe | 6–3, 6–3, 6–1 | 9 | 8 |
| 18. | Jun 1982 | Queen's Club Championships | Grass | Final | Connors | 7–5, 6–3 | 10 | 8 |
| 19. | Jul 1982 | Wimbledon | Grass | Final | Connors | 3–6, 6–3, 6–7$^{(2–7)}$, 7–6$^{(7–5)}$, 6–4 | 11 | 8 |
| 20. | Sep 1982 | Pacific Coast Championships | Carpet | Final | McEnroe | 6–1, 6–3 | 11 | 9 |
| 21. | Jun 1983 | Queen's Club Championships | Grass | Final | Connors | 6–3, 6–3 | 12 | 9 |
| 22. | Sep 1983 | ATP Championships | Hard | Semifinals | McEnroe | 6–7, 6–1, 6–4 | 12 | 10 |
| 23. | Nov 1983 | Wembley Championships | Carpet | Final | McEnroe | 7–5, 6–1, 6–4 | 12 | 11 |
| 24. | Apr 1984 | WCT Finals | Carpet | Final | McEnroe | 6–1, 6–2, 6–3 | 12 | 12 |
| 25. | Jun 1984 | French Open | Clay | Semifinals | McEnroe | 7–5, 6–1, 6–2 | 12 | 13 |
| 26. | Jun 1984 | Queen's Club Championships | Grass | Semifinals | McEnroe | 6–2, 6–2 | 12 | 14 |
| 27. | Jul 1984 | Wimbledon | Grass | Final | McEnroe | 6–1, 6–1, 6–2 | 12 | 15 |
| 28. | Aug 1984 | Canadian Open | Hard | Semifinals | McEnroe | 2–6, 6–2, 6–3 | 12 | 16 |
| 29. | Sep 1984 | US Open | Hard | Semifinals | McEnroe | 6–4, 4–6, 7–5, 4–6, 6–3 | 12 | 17 |
| — | Apr 1985 | Chicago Grand Prix | Carpet | Final | (McEnroe) | Walkover | 12 | 17 |
| 30. | Aug 1985 | Canadian Open | Hard | Semifinals | McEnroe | 6–2, 6–3 | 12 | 18 |
| 31. | Sep 1986 | Pacific Coast Championships | Carpet | Final | McEnroe | 7–6$^{(8–6)}$, 6–3 | 12 | 19 |
| 32. | Aug 1987 | Canadian Open | Hard | Quarterfinals | Connors | 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 | 13 | 19 |
| 33. | Oct 1989 | Grand Prix de Tennis de Toulouse | Carpet | Final | Connors | 6–3, 6–3 | 14 | 19 |
| 34. | Sep 1991 | Swiss Indoors | Hard (i) | Semifinals | McEnroe | 6–1, 6–3 | 14 | 20 |

### Head-to-head tallies

The following is a breakdown of their head-to-head results:
* All matches: (34) McEnroe 20–14
* All finals: (15)* Tied 7–7, (1 Walkover not included in the head to head results)
** Grand Slam finals: Tied 1–1
** Grand Slam matches: McEnroe 6–3
** Masters matches: McEnroe 2–0
** WCT Finals matches: McEnroe 2–1
** Clay court matches: Connors 3–1
** Grass court matches: Connors 4–3
** Hard court matches: McEnroe 6–3
** Indoor matches: McEnroe 10–4

## Other matches
### Invitational matches

Connors–McEnroe (6–9)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Surface | Round | Winner | Score |
| 1. | 1979 | Frejus | Carpet | Final | McEnroe | 6–4, 6–3 |
| 2. | 1979 | Aix-en-Provence | Carpet | Third Place | McEnroe | 6–4, 6–3 |
| 3. | 1979 | Montpellier | Carpet | Final | Connors | 7–6, 2–6, 7–5 |
| 4. | 1979 | Frankfurt | Carpet | Semifinals | Connors | 7–5, 6–4 |
| 5. | 1980 | Brussels | Carpet | Semifinals | McEnroe | 6–1, 7–5 |
| 6. | 1980 | Suntory Cup | Carpet | Final | Connors | 7–5, 6–3 |
| 7. | 1980 | Challenge of Champions | Carpet | Final | McEnroe | 6–2, 6–4, 6–1 |
| 8. | 1981 | Suntory Cup | Carpet | Final | Connors | 6–4, 7–6 |
| 9. | 1981 | Challenge of Champions | Carpet | Final | Connors | 6–7, 7–5, 6–7, 7–5, 6–4 |
| 10. | 1982 | Challenge of Champions | Carpet | Semifinals | Connors | 6–1, 5–7, 6–2 |
| 11. | 1984 | Suntory Cup | Carpet | Semifinals | McEnroe | 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| 12. | 1984 | Challenge of Champions | Carpet | Round Robin | McEnroe | 6–3, 4–6, 6–2 |
| 13. | 1987 | Challenge of Champions | Carpet | Semifinals | McEnroe | 6–4, 6–4 |
| 14. | 1988 | Challenge of Champions | Clay | Round Robin | McEnroe | 7–5, 6–1 |
| 15. | 1989 | Scottish Grass Court Championships | Grass | Final | McEnroe | 7–6, 7–6 |

## ATP rankings
### Year-end ranking timeline

| Player | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 |
| Jimmy Connors | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 936 | 49 | 84 | 370 | 672 | 419 | 1300 |
| John McEnroe | | | | | 21 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 4 | 13 | 28 | 20 | | 1219 | | |

### ATP Year-end ranking timeline by age

Age at end of season
| Year-end ranking | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 |
| Jimmy Connors | No ATP rankings | No ATP rankings | No ATP rankings | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 936 | 49 | 84 | 370 | 672 | 419 | 1300 |
| John McEnroe | 21 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 4 | 13 | 28 | 20 | | 1219 | | | | | | | | | |