| John Mc Enroe was born in Wiesbaden (Germany)
on February 16th, 1959, but the world noticed him in 1977 when,
starting from the qualification round, he reached the semifinals in
Wimbledon. "Supermac" as he was called, showed that after the arrival
of top-spin and robot-tennis it was still possible to play classic
tennis with grace and success, bringing back show to a game reduced to
a simple ping-pong.
He was the last
Laver-like player, fiercely opposed to the new age of the devilish
rhytms imposed by Connors and the heavily lifted shots mastered by Borg
and Vilas. The world of tennis misses him, his spectacular game, his
noisy dramas. Even those who chose to support his opponents admit
grudgingly that they miss him.
Mc Enroe had a very
personal way of serving. He started parallel to the end line and while
serving he executed a 90 degrees rotation to transfer the full weight
of the body on the ball. Several player had a faster service, but just
a few of them could vaunt a better efficiency. Nobody ever succeeded to
give the ball a more poisonous, evil slice than Mac. When he served
from the left side (Mac was lefty) everybody was forced to receive his
service in the corridor.
He was so talented that
he played with very light strings (about 40 pounds) on a mid-size
racket and still managed to perfectly control the ball while shooting
very fast balls with ease. He opened his arms so little that he seemed
a ping-pong player, but he hit the ball so much in advance that he
"stole" the timing from his opponents. His volley game was the greatest
ever seen in the world and it was so much feared to be called divine.
Yet, Mc Enroe always
refused the intense training, the specialized diets and fantascientific
methods so typical of the modern athletes. He was "The Genius" and that
was enough.
Mc Enroe was never able to control his temper during the matches: the
warning and forfaits he received cannot be counted... But they show how
much he felt the agonistic pressure. He knew that he played better when
he was angry, and against those imaginary enemies he hated he was able
to play his better tennis.
The year that will
always be remembered as his best was the 1984: he lost three mere
matches and won thirteen tournaments, plus in the Wimbledon final he
ridiculed Connors, a feat he remembers most fondly. Mac played in the
two matches I consider the best ever played in the male Tour: the
Wimbledon final against Borg in 1980 and the French Open final against
Lendl in 1984. Although he lost both in five sets, he showed the best
tennis that has ever been seen on a tennis court.
John Mc Enroe is an
active player in the senior tour and still considers himself the best
doubles player in the world despite being over forty. He is a
commentator of tennis as well as the current captain of the U.S.A.
Davis Cup team. Sometimes he sings with a rock group. He has been
married to Tatum O' Neal.
| Victories |
Year (Singles) |
| |
|
| Wimbledon |
1981 1983 1984 |
| U.S. Open |
1979 1980 1981
1984 |
| Masters |
1978 1983 1984 |
| |
|
| Ranked #1 |
1981 1982 1983
1984 |
|