John McEnroe

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!".

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.

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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.

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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.

Related Topics:
1981 - Tom Gullikson

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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.

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But the controversy didn't 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. (The honour was eventually accorded to McEnroe after he won the championships again.) 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."

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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.)

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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.

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