Famous Tennis Players: John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe was born in 1959 in Wiesbaden in West Germany. His father was in the United States Air Force and was stationed there at the time. In 1960 the McEnroe family moved to New York City in the United States. John McEnroe started playing tennis when he was only 8 years old. His parents enrolled him into the Eastern Lawn Tennis Association when he was 9 years old. He started playing in regional tournaments and then moved on to compete in the US national junior tournaments. By the time he was 12 yrs old he was ranked at #7 in his age group. At 18 years old he made it into the main draw at Wimbledon. He managed to make it to the semi-finals where he lost to fellow American Jimmy Connors. This was the best performance at the time by a qualifier at a Grand Slam and a record performance by an amateur in the open era.
After 1978 McEnroe joined the professional tour. In 1979 he won his first US Open title, he followed this up with US Open victories in 1980, 1981 and 1984. He made it to his first Men’s Singles Wimbledon Final in 1980, but lost against Bjorn Borg from Sweden. He returned to Wimbledon in 1981 and played against Bjorn Borg again in the final, and this time he achieved victory in 4 sets, stopping a run of 41 consecutive victories by the Swede at the All England Club. He also won the Men’s Singles Title at Wimbledon in 1983 and 1984. In total, McEnroe has 7 Grand Slam Titles behind his name, 4 at the US Open and 3 at Wimbledon. He was ranked as the No 1 Player in the World in March 1980. John McEnroe’s tennis triumphs did not end with the Men’s Singles. He also has 9 Grand Slam Doubles titles behind his name. 5 were at Wimbledon and 4 were at the US Open. He also has one Mixed Doubles French Open title behind his name. His partner in this match was Mary Carillo. In 1983 he was ranked No 1 in the World for Doubles as well. He held this position for a record 257 weeks. McEnroe had 3 different doubles partners for his Grand Slam Doubles victories. Peter Fleming (his partner in 7 of the victories), Mark Woodforde (responsible for 1 US Open Grand Slam title) and Michael Stitch (responsible for his last 1992 Grand Slam title in Doubles at Wimbledon). In the end John McEnroe was the runner-up in 4 different Grand Slam Finals, 2 at Wimbledon, 1 at the French Open and 1 at the US Open. Over the years he had been sucked into rivalries with Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors.
He retired from professional tennis in 1992, still ranked at #20 in the world. John McEnroe is known for his shot-making artistry and superb volleying, for his confrontational on-court behavior, which landed him in trouble with umpires and tennis authorities frequently. He’s also credited for the “You can not be serious!” which he first directed toward an umpire during a match at Wimbledon in 1981. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999. His younger brother, Patrick McEnroe was also a professional tennis player. Jonn McEnroe and his brother are both acting commentators for Grand Slam Tournament coverage on US Television nowadays. He also does commentary for the BBC for Wimbledon in the UK. In recent years John McEnroe has had various television appearances on 30 Rock, CSI: New York, Curb your Enthusiasm and in Anger Management, Mr Deeds and You Don’t Mess With The Zohan. A few artists, including House of Pain have also mentioned John McEnroe in their songs. He’s also appeared in numerous television commercials over the years, most recently for EA Sports, National Car Rental and Kellogg’s. John McEnroe is also quite well-known in my country, South Africa. John McEnroe returned to the top-level doubles competition in 2006. He became the oldest male player to win an ATP title in 30 years when he won the SAP Open at San Jose.
Related Links:
John McEnroe – ATP World Tour
John McEnroe – International Tennis Hall of Fame
