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!".

Final years on the tour

Controversy was never far away from McEnroe, even in the later years of his career. In his fourth round match against Mikael Pernfors at the 1990 Australian Open, McEnroe was disqualified for swearing at the umpire, supervisor and referee. He was warned by the umpire for intimidating a lineswoman and then docked a point for smashing a racket. McEnroe was apparently unaware that a new Code of Conduct which had just been introduced to the game meant that a third code violation would not lead to the deduction of a game, but instead would result in immediate disqualification. So when McEnroe unleashed a volley of abuse at umpire Gerry Armstrong, he defaulted there and then and was thrown out of the championships.

Related Topics:
Mikael Pernfors - 1990

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McEnroe retired from the professional tour in 1992. His last year on the tour was filled with some notable highlights. He made a stirring run to the semi-finals at Wimbledon, where he eventually lost to Andre Agassi. He teamed up with Michael Stich to win his fifth Wimbledon men?s doubles title in a record-length five-hour, one-minute final which the pair won 5-7, 7-6, 3-6, 7-6, 19-17. And he teamed up with Pete Sampras to win the doubles rubber in the Davis Cup final, where the US defeated Switzerland 3-1.

Related Topics:
Andre Agassi - Pete Sampras - Switzerland

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