John McEnroe Playing Tennis Against Versions Of His Past Self

John McEnroe likes his chances in a unique tennis match. The former World No. 1 and seven-time major champion was scheduled to hit the court against a recreation of himself at five different points in his career, a marketing effort by Michelob Ultra that also gives a unique view on the sport of tennis.

“I can’t lose,” McEnroe says. “It is a no-brainer there.”

Michelob has partnered with UNI
UNI
T 9 to build a McEnroe vs. McEnroe experience using artificial intelligence. With AI and machine learning covering hundreds of hours of historic footage designed to mimic McEnroe’s style of play from various stages in his career, the concepts brings the younger McEnroe to life through adaptive AI synchronized with an intricate robotic return system to accurately replicate McEnroe’s style of play from five different pivotal years in his career, says Ricardo Marques, Michelob Ultra’s vice-president of marketing. The technology enables the brand to look back at his journey and offer a reminder that if “John McEnroe can find joy and cherish the journey, then so can you.”

When McEnroe first heard of the concept, he wasn’t sure how it was going to work, but it immediately interested him. “The more I got involved, the more interesting it became to me,” he says. “I feel like I’m in kindergarten with all the technology. I am a dinosaur.”

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McEnroe admits that his personal mindset falls in line with the marketing effort of Michelob Ultra in choosing to do things you enjoy. “That was something I thought a lot about, knowing that I had a lot of great things happen in my career, but I wasn’t able to enjoy it the way I could have and that was the disappointment,” he says. “The second half of my life I have done a better job of showing that and living that.” He says working as a commentator has given him the opportunity to take himself less seriously and embrace his sense of humor.

He’ll get that chance with this match. “The scouting is going pretty well,” he joked before the event. “I’m trying to remember exactly what I was like back then. It will all come back to me pretty quickly, likely as I watch the ball go by me. I will know what the person will do, because it is me, but I won’t be able to do anything about it.”

While he’s just excited to be part of something that is a first-ever, he’s also interested to see how it all plays out. The most interesting recreation of his playing style to him is the 1979 version of him because professional tennis was all so new to him at the time. “That was the year I may have enjoyed the most on the circuit,” he says, “I was just coming up, and on the way up and you are so excited and want to travel the world.”

From there, he thinks the 1992 version of himself will offer the other end of his career, after having three kids. He knows that 1984 was the best year on tour, but “I have more interest in the young and old opposed to (1984).”

Marques says the event offers a chance to represent McEnroe’s growth and partnering with him fits with the brand’s ethos. Michelob Ultra brought in his brother, Patrick, to provide commentary for the match and partnered with ESPN+ for a live stream of the event at a later date.

Giving extra exposure to the sport of tennis is something McEnroe believes in. “We need that big time,” he says. “We are just falling further and further behind the other sports, as far as I see. We need to market ourselves way better. If we have a way where we project something different and have some fun with it and peoples can laugh with it (that’s good). We want to see players out there enjoying and feel like they have an incredible job.”