Samberg vs. McEnroe, Connors, Borg & More
On the cusp of this year’s US Open, The New York Times Magazine asked Walter Iooss Jr. (legendary sports photographer) and comedian Andy Samberg to look back at several iconic men’s tennis rivalries. Andre Agassi vs. Pete Sampras, John McEnroe vs. Bjorn Borg, and Jimmy Connors vs. McEnroe are all done comedic justice. Not only was the level of play to be admired, the on court style was too (ignore Agassi for all intents and purposes). The New York Times meticulously dug into the archives of Nike, Fila, and Tacchini for the authentic tennis whites. The result fiercely rivals the best Will Ferrell sports comedies—save Semi-Pro, that was just bad. The piéce de résistance? Pistol Pete’s carpet of a chest.
Game, set, match.
Images via Walter Iooss Jr.
left a comment on 9/7/2011 at 12:43 AM:
Can someone please tell me how do you put pictures in sequence like this?
left a comment on 8/31/2011 at 9:02 AM:
That is AMAZING. The poses are smack-on. He does McEnroe better than McEnroe. Thanks F.E. for a big laugh!
left a comment on 8/31/2011 at 8:47 AM:
Bring back wooden tennis rackets! The game would be so much better.
Todd left a comment on 12/9/2011 at 12:02 PM:
Love “McEnroe’s” classic Nike’s… had a pair just like’em back in the day - couldn’t play tennis worth a damn - still can’t play tennis worth a damn!