Background and career
John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. Often ranked amongst the greatest tennis players of all time, McEnroe was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 170 weeks. He also held the world No. 1 ranking in men's doubles for 269 weeks (third-most of all time). He is one of two male players (alongside Stefan Edberg) to have held both No. 1 rankings, and the only one to hold both simultaneously. McEnroe was known during his playing career for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court behavior, which frequently landed him in trouble with umpires and tennis authorities. McEnroe won an Open Era record 155 career titles: 77 in singles, 77 in doubles and 1 in mixed doubles. This includes seven singles majors (four at the US Open and three at Wimbledon), nine men's doubles majors, and one mixed doubles major. McEnroe is the only male player to win more than 70 titles in both singles and doubles. His singles match record of 82–3 in 1984 remains the best single-season win rate of the Open Era. McEnroe also excelled at the two year-end tournaments, winning eight singles and seven doubles titles, both of which are records. He was named the ATP Player of the Year and the ITF World Champion three times each: in 1981, 1983 and 1984. McEnroe contributed to five Davis Cup titles for the United States and later was team captain. He has stayed active in retirement, often competing in senior events on the ATP Champions Tour, where he has won 25 titles. He also works as a television commentator during the majors and has had cameo roles and served as a narrator in various comedy television series.
McEnroe was born in Wiesbaden, West Germany, to American parents, John Patrick McEnroe Sr. and his wife Katherine (née Tresham). His father, the son of Irish immigrants, was at the time stationed with the United States Air Force (USAF), once revealing during a press conference in Belgium that his son 'John was made in Belgium but born in Germany.' McEnroe's Irish paternal grandfather was from Ballyjamesduff in County Cavan and his grandmother was from County Westmeath. When John was about nine months old his father was transferred back to the US, and the family relocated to Stewart Air Force Base in Newburgh, New York. After leaving the service, McEnroe's father worked as an advertising agent while attending Fordham Law School at night. In 1961 the family moved to New York City, settling in Flushing, Queens. Two years later it shifted to the nearby neighborhood of Douglaston. John has two younger brothers: Mark (born 1964) and former professional tennis player Patrick (born 1966). McEnroe began playing tennis at the Douglaston Club when he was eight. At nine, his parents enrolled him in the Eastern Lawn Tennis Association, followed by competing in regional tournaments, then national juniors tournaments. By twelve he was ranked seventh in his age group, and joined the Port Washington Tennis Academy on Long Island, New York. McEnroe attended Trinity School in Manhattan, graduating in 1977.
McEnroe began to make his mark as an 18-year-old amateur in 1977. He won both the Junior singles and mixed doubles titles at the French Open, partnering with Mary Carillo in the latter. He later progressed through the singles qualifying tournament at Wimbledon and into the main draw, where he lost in the semifinals to Jimmy Connors in four sets. It was the best performance by a male qualifier at any major, and one of the best performances by an amateur in the Open era. After Wimbledon, McEnroe was recruited by coach Dick Gould and entered Stanford University. In 1978 he won the NCAA singles title, and he led the Stanford team to an NCAA championship. Later that year he joined the ATP tour and signed his first professional endorsement deal, with Sergio Tacchini. He again advanced to the semifinals at a major, this time the US Open, losing again to Connors. In all, McEnroe won four singles titles in 1978, including his first Masters Grand Prix, saving two match points to beat Arthur Ashe in the finals, as well as Grand Prix events at Stockholm and Wembley. His late-season success allowed him to finish as the year-end world No. 4 player.
In 1979, McEnroe and partner Peter Fleming won the Wimbledon men's doubles title, followed shortly by a win in the US Open doubles. That same week, McEnroe won the singles US Open title, his first major singles title. He defeated his friend Vitas Gerulaitis in straight-sets in the final to become the youngest male winner of the singles title at the US Open since Pancho Gonzales, who was also 20 in 1948. McEnroe also won the prestigious season-ending WCT Finals, beating Björn Borg in four sets. McEnroe won 10 singles and 17 doubles titles that year for a total of 27 titles, an Open Era record, finishing at No. 3 in the year-end world singles rankings. At Wimbledon in 1980, McEnroe reached the singles final for the first time, where he faced Björn Borg, who was seeking 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 semifinal victory over Jimmy Connors. In a fourth-set tiebreaker that lasted 20 minutes, McEnroe saved five championship points en route to an 18–16 win. McEnroe, however, could not break Borg's serve in the fifth set, which he dropped 8–6. This match was voted the third greatest open era Wimbledon men's singles final in a BBC poll in 2020. Two months later McEnroe bested Borg in the five-set final of the 1980 US Open. He was a finalist at the season-ending WCT Finals, and finished as the world No. 2 ranked player behind Borg.
McEnroe remained controversial when he returned to Wimbledon in 1981. Following his first-round match against Tom Gullikson, McEnroe was fined U.S. $1,500 and came close to being ejected after he called umpire Ted James "the pits of the world" and then swore at tournament referee Fred Hoyles. He also made famous the phrase "you cannot be serious", which years later became the title of his autobiography, by shouting it after several umpires' calls during his matches. This behavior was in sharp contrast to that of his then-rival Borg, who was painted by the press as an unflappable "Ice Man". However, in matches against Borg, McEnroe notably never lost his temper. After the controversy and criticism from the British press (earning him the nickname "SuperBrat" from Ian Barnes of the Daily Express), McEnroe again reached the Wimbledon men's singles final against Borg. McEnroe prevailed in four sets, ending the Swede's run of 41 consecutive match victories at the All England Club. American TV commentator Bud Collins quipped after the match (which took place on the United States' Independence Day), paraphrasing "Yankee Doodle", "Stick a feather in his cap and call it 'McEnroe-ni'!". In response to McEnroe's on-court outbursts during the Championships, the All England Club declined to accord McEnroe honorary club membership, an honor normally given to singles champions after their first victory. McEnroe responded by not attending the traditional champions' dinner that evening. The honor was eventually granted to McEnroe as a repeat champion. Borg and McEnroe had their final confrontation in the final of the 1981 US Open. McEnroe won in four sets, becoming the first man since the 1920s to win three consecutive US Open singles titles. Borg never played another major. McEnroe also won his second WCT Final, beating Johan Kriek in straight sets and finished the year as the number one ranked player. He was named the Associated Press Athlete of the Year, the second men's tennis player to receive the honor after Don Budge in the 1930s. McEnroe lost only one set going into the final of Wimbledon 1982. However, he lost to Connors in the final, despite being a tiebreak from victory at the end of the fourth set. He then lost to Ivan Lendl in straight sets in the semifinals at the US Open in a match in which Lendl was "in peak form". He was runner-up at the WCT Finals. He was able to retain the ATP's world No. 1 ranking based on points at the end of the year, having won significant events at Philadelphia, Wembley, and Tokyo; but due to Connors's victories at the two most important events of the year (Wimbledon and the US Open), Connors was named the Player of the Year by the ATP and most other tennis authorities. In 1983, McEnroe reached his fourth consecutive Wimbledon final, dropping only one set en route, and swept aside the unheralded Chris Lewis in straight sets for his second Wimbledon crown. At the US Open, he was defeated in the fourth round, his earliest exit since 1977. He then played at the Australian Open for the first time, reaching the semifinals before being defeated in four sets by Mats Wilander. He made the WCT Final for the third time and beat Ivan Lendl in an epic five-setter. He took the Masters Grand Prix title for the second time, again beating Lendl in straight sets. He also won prized events at Philadelphia, Forest Hills, and Wembley, enabling him to capture the year-end No. 1 ranking once again.
McEnroe's best season came in 1984, as he compiled an 82–3 match record that remains the highest single-season win rate of the Open Era. He won a career-best 13 singles tournaments, including Wimbledon and the US Open, capturing the year-end No. 1 ranking. He also played on the winning US World Team Cup and runner-up Davis Cup teams. McEnroe began the year with a 42-match win streak, winning his first six tournaments and reaching his first French Open final, where his opponent was Ivan Lendl. McEnroe won the first two sets, but Lendl's adjustments of using more topspin lobs and cross-court backhand passing shots, as well as McEnroe's fatigue and temperamental outbursts, resulted in a demoralizing five-set loss. In his autobiography, McEnroe described this as his most bitter defeat and implied that he's never quite gotten over it. He rebounded at Wimbledon, losing just one set en route to his third Wimbledon singles title. This included a straight-set rout over Jimmy Connors in the final on a very hot day. McEnroe subsequently said, "I was just thankful I played one of the best matches I have ever played. I got in a good service groove, mixing it up a lot. I had a whole range of serves. I was also good on his serve and I was hitting my forehand as well as I have in the whole tournament". He then won his fourth US Open title, defeating Lendl in straight sets in the final, after defeating Connors in a five-set semifinal late the previous evening. A tired McEnroe said after winning the final "I didn't get angry at anything. I wanted to conserve my energy". He also won his fourth WCT Final, defeating Connors in straight sets, and took his third Masters Grand Prix, beating Lendl in straight sets. His combined record against the number 2 and 3 ranked players for the year, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl, respectively, was 11–1, only losing to Lendl at the French Open and going undefeated versus Connors in five matches. The year did not end without controversy. While playing and winning the tournament in Stockholm, McEnroe had an on-court outburst that soon became notorious. After questioning a call made by the chair umpire, McEnroe demanded, "Answer my question! The question, jerk!" McEnroe then slammed his racquet into a juice cart beside the court in anger, and the stadium crowd booed him. He was suspended for 3 weeks (21 days) for exceeding a $7,500 limit on fines that had been levied due to his behavior. As a result, he was disqualified from competing in the following week's significant Wembley (London) Indoor tournament, at which he was supposed to be the number one seed, with Connors and Lendl (the eventual winner) as the second and third seeds. During his suspension, he injured his left wrist in practice, causing him to withdraw from the Australian Open.
