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John Patrick McEnroe, Jr. is a former World No. 1 professional
tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won seven Grand
Slam singles titles – three at Wimbledon and four at the US Open. He
is well remembered for his shot-making artistry, for his series of classic
encounters with Björn Borg, for his fiery on-court temperament (which
frequently got him into trouble), and for the catchphrase "You cannot
be serious!"
Early success
McEnroe was born on February 16, 1959 in Wiesbaden, Germany,
where his father was stationed with the US Air Force. He is of Irish Catholic
descent. When he was less than a year old, his family moved to New York City,
and he grew up in Douglaston, Queens.
McEnroe first took the tennis world by storm in 1977 when,
at the age of 18, he made it through the qualifying tournament into the main
draw at Wimbledon, and then proceeded to make it all the way to the semi-finals
where he eventually lost in four sets to Jimmy Connors. It was the best performance
ever by qualifier at a Grand Slam tournament, and a record performance for
an amateur in the open era.
Shortly after, McEnroe entered Stanford University and won
the NCAA singles and team titles in 1978. After that, he joined the professional
tour.
McEnroe signed one of the first professional endorsement
deals in tennis with Nike in 1978.
McEnroe's game combined shot-making artistry, deft volleys,
and a fast, attacking style of play. His sharp reflexes enabled him return
the biggest serves and passing shots masterfully, and the variety, delicacy
and quickness of his play delighted crowds. However McEnroe also quickly
became known for his competitive fire and volatile temper. Verbal outbursts
seemed to be a key way in which he motivated himself to battle through tough
situations during matches, but this frequently got him into trouble.
McEnroe won his first Grand Slam singles title in 1979 at
the US Open. He defeated Vitas Gerulaitis in straight sets in the final to
become the youngest winner of the championships in 31 years (since Pancho
Gonzales, who was also 20, won in 1948). He won 10 singles and 17 doubles
titles that year (for a total of 27 titles, which marked an open-era record).
Famous battles with Björn Borg (1980-81)
In 1980, McEnroe reached the men's singles final at Wimbledon
for the first time, where he faced the legendary Swedish player Björn
Borg, who was gunning for his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title. At the start
of the final, McEnroe was booed by the crowd as he entered centre court following
heated exchanges with officials during his semi-final victory over Jimmy
Connors. But the final itself is remembered for all the right reasons - it
was arguably the greatest Wimbledon final ever. In a titanic fourth-set tie-breaker
that is often simply called "that tie-breaker", which lasted 20
minutes, McEnroe saved five match points from Borg and eventually won the
tie-break 18-16. However in the end McEnroe could not break Borg in the fifth
set, which the Swede won 8-6.
Revenge for McEnroe came quickly. The pair met again in the
final of the US Open two months later, and this time it was McEnroe who emerged
the victor in another outstanding five-set encounter.
Controversy dogged McEnroe from the start when he returned
to Wimbledon in 1981. Following his second round match against Tom Gullikson,
McEnroe was fined $1,500 and came close to being thrown out of the championships
as a result of an infamous blow-up in which he called umpire Ted James "the
pits of the world", and then swore at tournament referee Fred Hoyles.
The phrase "you cannot be serious", which several years later would
become the title of McEnroe's autobiography, was also made famous during
the 1981 Wimbledon campaign as a retort McEnroe frequently made in response
to umpires' calls during his matches. This behaviour was in sharp contrast
to that of Borg, who was painted by the tabloid press as an unflappable "ice
man".
But despite the controversy and merciless criticism from
the British press, McEnroe again made the Wimbledon men's singles final against
Borg. And this time he prevailed, beating Borg in four sets to end the Swede's
run of 41 consecutive match victories at the All England Club.
But the controversy did not end there. In response to McEnroe's
on-court outbursts during the championships the All England Club did not
accord McEnroe honorary membership of the club, an honour normally given
to first-time singles champions immediately after their victory. McEnroe
responded by not attending the traditional champions dinner that evening.
He told the press: "I wanted to spend (the evening) with my family and
friends and the people who had supported me, not a bunch of stiffs who are
70-80 years old, telling you that you're acting like a jerk." The honour
was eventually accorded to McEnroe after he won the championships again.
Borg and McEnroe had their final confrontation in the final
of the 1981 US Open. McEnroe won in four sets, becoming the first male player
since the 1920s to win three consecutive US Open singles titles. Borg retired
very shortly after 1981 US Open.
In 1982, British impressionist Roger Kitter made a record
called Chalk Dust: The Umpire Strikes Back in which he played a parody of
McEnroe losing his temper with an umpire during a match. The record was made
under the nomenclature "The Brat" and reached the UK Top 20; by
this time the British tabloids had dubbed him "superbrat".
Continued success (1982-85)
McEnroe was in the Wimbledon final again in 1982, where he
lost to Connors in another excellent five-set match.
In 1983, McEnroe reached his fourth consecutive Wimbledon
final and swept aside the unheralded New Zealander Chris Lewis in straight-sets.
He also played at the Australian Open for the first time, making it to the
semifinals before being defeated in four sets by Mats Wilander.
McEnroe blew away the competition in 1984, compiling an 82-3
record and winning a career-high 13 singles tournaments, including his third
Wimbledon and fourth US Open titles. He also reached the final of the French
Open that year, and seemed to be on the verge of beating Ivan Lendl when
he won the first two sets. But this time his temperamental outbursts got
the better of McEnroe, and the ice-cool Czech capitalized to win a dramatic
five-setter. The loss ended a 39-match winning streak, and was the closest
McEnroe would ever come to winning the French Open. McEnroe was, however,
victorious in his fifth consecutive Wimbledon final, playing a virtually
flawless game to defeat Connors in straight-sets in just 80 minutes, 6-1,
6-1, 6-2. He went on to beat Ivan Lendl in the subsequent US Open final by
winning in straight sets.
In 1985, McEnroe qualified for what turned out to be his
last Grand Slam singles final at the US Open. This time he was beaten in
straight sets by Lendl.
Taking time out
By 1986, the pressures of playing at the top had become too
much for McEnroe to handle and he took a six-month break from the tour. During
this sabbatical, he married the actress Tatum O'Neal; they had 3 children
together (Kevin, Sean, and Emily). He returned to the tour later in the year
and won three titles. However McEnroe never seemed to be able to recapture
his very best form again. In 1987, McEnroe failed to win a title for the
first time since turning pro. He took a seven-month break from the game following
the US Open, where he was suspended for two months and fined $17,500 for
misconduct and verbal abuse.
World No. 1 ranking
McEnroe first reached the World No. 1 singles ranking in
March 1980. He would be ranked World No. 1 on no less than 14 separate occasions
between 1980 and 1985, and finished the year ranked World No. 1 for four
straight years from 1981-84. He spent a total of 170 weeks as World No. 1
singles player.
Success in doubles
McEnroe was also ranked the World No. 1 in doubles for a
record 257 weeks. He formed a powerful partnership with Peter Fleming, with
whom he won numerous men's doubles titles including four at Wimbledon and
three at the US Open. (Fleming was always very modest about his own contribution
to the partnership – he once said "the best doubles partnership
in the world is John McEnroe and anybody else.") McEnroe won a fourth
US Open men's doubles title in 1989 with Mark Woodforde, and a fifth Wimbledon
men's doubles title in 1992 with Michael Stich. He also won the 1977 French
Open mixed doubles title with childhood pal Mary Carillo.
Representing his country
More than any other player in his era, McEnroe was responsible
for reviving American interest in the Davis Cup, which had been shunned by
Connors and other leading US players. In 1978, he won two singles rubbers
in the final as the US captured the cup for the first time since 1972, beating
Great Britain in the final. McEnroe continued to be a mainstay of US Davis
Cup teams for the next 14 years, and was part of US winning teams again in
1979, 1981, 1982 and 1992. He set numerous US Davis Cup records, including
years played (12), ties (30), singles wins (41), and total wins in singles
and doubles (59). He played both singles and doubles in 13 series, and he
and Peter Fleming won 14 of 15 Davis Cup doubles matches together.
An epic performance was McEnroe's 6-hour, 32-minute five-set
victory over Mats Wilander in the US's 3-2 quarter-final win over Sweden
in 1982. He won the match 9-7, 6-2, 15-17, 3-6, 8-6.
McEnroe also helped the US win the World Team Cup in 1984
and 1985.
Final years on the tour
Controversy was never far away from McEnroe, even in the
later years of his career. In his fourth round match against Mikael Pernfors
at the 1990 Australian Open, McEnroe was disqualified for swearing at the
umpire, supervisor and referee. He was warned by the umpire for intimidating
a lineswoman and then docked a point for smashing a racket. McEnroe was apparently
unaware that a new Code of Conduct which had just been introduced to the
game meant that a third code violation would not lead to the deduction of
a game, but instead would result in immediate disqualification. So when McEnroe
unleashed a volley of abuse at umpire Gerry Armstrong, he defaulted there
and then and was thrown out of the championships.
McEnroe retired from the professional tour in 1992. His last
year on the tour was filled with some notable highlights. He made a stirring
run to the semi-finals at Wimbledon, where he eventually lost to Andre Agassi.
He teamed up with Michael Stich to win his fifth Wimbledon men’s doubles
title in a record-length five-hour, one-minute final which the pair won 5-7,
7-6, 3-6, 7-6, 19-17. And he teamed up with Pete Sampras to win the doubles
rubber in the Davis Cup final, where the US defeated Switzerland 3-1.
Career statistics
McEnroe won a total of 155 top-level titles (a record for
a male professional) during his career – 77 in singles, 77 men's doubles,
and one mixed doubles. His career singles match record was 849-184. He won
seven Grand Slam singles titles, and also captured the season-ending Masters
championships three times in 1978, 1983 and 1984. In terms of his great rivalries,
he had the edge on Connors (31-20), was even with Borg (7-7), but did not
get the better of Lendl (15-21) who won nine of their ten encounters after
1985.
After retirement from the tour
McEnroe was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of
Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1999.
He took on the role of US Davis Cup captain in September
1999, but was not especially successful. His team barely escaped defeat in
their first two outings in 2000, beating Zimbabwe and the Czech Republic
in tight 3-2 encounters. They were then defeated 5-0 by Spain in the semi-finals.
McEnroe resigned in November 2000 after 14 months as captain, citing frustration
with the Davis Cup schedule and format as two of his primary reasons. His
brother Patrick McEnroe took over the job.
McEnroe now fills his time by playing on the senior tour
and being a TV commentator at major tournaments. He is always the star turn
for the BBC during their extensive coverage at Wimbledon and, after initial
spells of cynicism at the UK's great hope Tim Henman's chances of winning
the men's title, he has become one of the British player's biggest fans.
In July 2004, McEnroe began a CNBC talk show, simply entitled
McEnroe. However the show was not successful, twice earning a 0.0 Nielsen
rating, and was cancelled within five months. He also hosted quiz show The
Chair in both the UK and the USA but this was unsuccessful as well.
McEnroe played himself in the 2004 movie Wimbledon.
McEnroe divorced Tatum O'Neal in 1992 and married musician
Patty Smyth in 1997. He has six children (three with O'Neal, two with Smyth,
and one from Smyth's previous marriage to rock star Richard Hell). He has
full custody of his children from his first marriage.
Never at a loss for words, in 2002 he wrote a book entitled
"You Cannot Be Serious", an autobiographical account of his life
during and after tennis. This was published as "Serious: The Autobiography"
in the UK & Ireland. In it he shared many interesting stories about the
realities of the tennis tour, the role of corporations in pro tennis, and
his off-court, drug-induced escapades. He is active in philanthropy and tennis
development. McEnroe currently owns an art gallery in Manhattan.
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