People Involved: John McEnroe
- John McEnroe, former legend, now captain of the US Davis Cup team
Born in 1959, John McEnroe held the world No. 1 title for 170 weeks between 1980 and 1985. The American left-hander had won seven Grand Slam titles, three. Wimbledon (1981, 1983, 1984) and four in New York (1979, 1980, 1981, 1984). In 1979, he became the youngest ever US Open: champion, defeating Vitas Gerulaitis (7-5, 6-3, 6-3), and played his most famous match in the 1980 Wimbledon final, where he lost to Björn Borg in five setsafter winning an epic tiebreak in the fourth set (18-16).
His best season was 1984 when. After a heartbreaking loss in the French Open finalhe won not only Wimbledon and the US Open, but also the season-ending Masters Cup and Davis Cup, finishing the year as the undisputed world No. 1 with an 82-3 record. After 1984, McEnroe’s dominance was over. In 1986, mentally worn out, she even took a break from touring and married Tatum O’Neal.
His last notable result before retiring from professional tennis was reaching the 1992 Wimbledon semifinals (losing to Andre Agassi 6-4, 6-2, 6-3). In total, McEnroe won seven Grand Slam singles titles and spent 170 weeks as world No. 1. He also won 78 career doubles titles, including nine Grand Slams, and was No. 1 in doubles for 269 weeks, third on the all-time list behind only Mike Bryant (506 weeks) and Bob Bryant (439 weeks).
It was McEnroeHe was also a great Davis Cup player, with a record of 41-8 in singles and 18-2 in doubles, winning the competition five times (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1992).
“Mac” was extremely talented, his game based on precision and touch to deliver the iconic and deadly corkscrew. He was also known in the polite world of tennis for his fierce behavior on the court. McEnroe was often vulgar and his constant arguments with officials was a constant source of trouble for the powers.
The factsJohn McEnroe is doing his best to get Agassi and Sampras to play in the US
When McEnroe was named captain of the United States Davis Cup team, he made it clear that he intended to convince the best players to play in the competition again. The United States had lost in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup in 1999, but Andre Agassi had refused to play because of a dispute with the United States Tennis Association (USTA), and Pete Sampras, prioritizing Grand Slam tournaments, had played only one doubles match since the 1997 final.
“Obviously I’ll say it again, I hope they have it in the team. You’re off to a pretty good start. You only need to win three out of five (games). There’s a pretty good chance they’ll win three out of four games,” the new captain said on September 8.
About a month later, the 2000 Davis Cup draw was revealed. America was scheduled to play in Zimbabwe the week after the Australian Open. Selling top players like Sampras and Agassi is not the easiest thing to do. McEnroe’s confidence was shaken as even he struggled to hide his lack of enthusiasm when he learned that the vaccination required dozens of shots. “I’m sure the rumor is that our worst case scenario just happened,” McEnroe said. according to The New York Times.
With Agassi already committed to the event, the captain was more concerned about Sampras’ decision. “I think it’s important that all the top players play,” McEnroe said. “I think he understands that it’s true, but he can have different feelings, especially when he sees a draw.”
McEnroe concluded in his provocative manner, hoping to pick up his player’s pride. “We will separate the men from the boys.”
The newly appointed captain then caused a stir when he was asked on what surface Zimbabwe would host the draw.
“They’re going to pick a surface that they feel they have the best chance of beating us on, which is probably cow dung.”
Indianexpress.com reportshis statement did not go unnoticed in Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean government, under Mugabe’s dictatorship, was immediately outraged and would denounce his comments as insulting before questioning what was going on in his head. “When we beat Australia last year, we didn’t play on a cow dung court,” added Emmanuel Gombo, who represents Zimbabwe at the United Nations.
What happened next? The US is touring Zimbabwe
In the end, Sampras did not play the draw because of a hamstring injury Australian Open semifinal against none other than Agassi. McEnroe will fly with Zimbabwe Agassi, Chris Woodruff, Alex O’Brien and Rick Leach. The tie was played on closed fields (not cow dung). The United States could only survive a major scare in Harare, coming from behind 3-2 as Woodruff defeated Wayne Black in the deciding rubber 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, 6-4.
McEnroe will participate in a clinic with children in the impoverished town of Chitungwiza, cooling the controversy caused by his comments.
The American Dream Team with both Sampras and Agassi will beat the Czech Republic in April. However, McEnroe will travel to Spain with none of them in July, with Todd Martin, Ian-Michael Gambill, Vince Spadea and Chris Woodruff going 5-0 on clay.
The United States would not win another Davis Cup title until 2007 under Andy Roddick and James Blake.
