Sure Could Have Fooled Me: John McEnroe

Tennis' bad-boy reached the semifinals of Wimbledon (Singles) the first time he entered the even, and also his final appearance. In between (1977 and 1992), John McEnroe left quite an impression.

Only 18 years old in 1977, John had to qualify to get into the All-England Lawn Tennis And Croquet club. But he sure hung around. The first four rounds were won with the loss of only two sets. In the quarterfinals, McEnroe went four with South Africa's Bryon Bertram. Finally, he lost to Jimmy Connors in the semifinals, also in four sets.

But his great start to Wimbledon didn't carry over. McEnroe lost in the first round in 1978 and then in the round of sixteen the next year. However, in 1980 he was back with a vengeance. There's be no stopping in the semifinals, as he pushed aside Connors in four sets. Waiting in the finals was the Swede, Bjorn Borg.

Borg was going for his fourth Wimbledon in a row. John took the first set, 6-1. Borg woke up and took the next two sets. The fourth was a classic. It went to a tiebreaker. There, it was the underdog John winning it 18-16!

Borg, alas, won the fifth set, 8-6, for his fifth straight Wimbledon. McEnroe, though, walked off the court with his head held high. He'd pushed the Super Swede to the limit in this classic match. McEnroe had been outlasted rather than outplayed.



Don't feel too bad for John. He got his revenge on Borg late that year at the US Open, as he overcame the Swede 6-4 in the fifth set. John McEnroe now had two Grand Slams to his name, both US Opens. But it was Wimbledon that John so coveted!

The 1981 Wimbledon Men's Championship was a rematch of the previous year. McEnroe beat South Africa's John Kriek to reach the semifinals, then took care of the surprising Australian Rod Frawley in straight sets.

Bjorn Borg was waiting. He bested McEnroe 6-4 in the opening set of the finals. McEnroe used his experience and slice serves to win the second set in a tiebreaker. But it wasn't close in that. McEnroe won it, 7-1. The next set was also a tiebreaker and much closer. However, it was the younger American that took it 7-4. One set away. Through nine games of the fourth set, each player had held serve. Bjorn Borg looked to extend it as he went ahead 30-0 in the tenth game. But John McEnroe, ahead in the set 5-4, saw the finish line. He took the next four points for the title!



Borg sort of walked away from tennis not long after, alas. McEnroe had beaten him in the finals of the US Open later in 1981. Like their Wimbledon match, it was four sets. Borg only played in one ATP event in 1982, Monte Carlo. McEnroe was back in the Wimbledon Finals, though. A rejuvenated Jimmy Connors needed five sets to deny him a second-straight title at the Big W.



Having lost in the US Open semifinals against Ivan Lendl, the up-and-coming Czech, McEnroe had to regroup the next year. Armed with a new racquet, he beat Lendl at Wimbledon in the semis and overwhelmed New Zeland's Chris Lewis 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 one round later. 1984 was an even better version of McEnroe. He nearly won the French Open, as Lendl battled back from two sets down to stop McEnroe from winning their for the first time. At Wimbledon, he won the title for the second straight year, dropping just four games in the finals against Connors.



Things were much closer as Jimmy and John met in the semifinals of the US Open that year. The two Americans battled for a spot in the finals of their home tournament. McEnroe prevailed in five, then routed Ivan Lendl in the finals.

1985 was a bizarre year for John. As was the case in 1982, McEnroe didn't win a Grand Slam. However, he was dominant in many of the other big events. McEnroe even won the fist four ATP events he entered. At the French, he made the semifinals. But surprisingly, the American didn't repeat that in the next slam. Kevin Curran pulled off an upset. He beat McEnroe in the Wimbledon quarters, Connors in the semis, and then lost to a 17-year old named Boris Becker in the finals.



McEnroe also yielded his US Open crown. Ivan Lendl got some revenge from 1984 when he straight-setted the American in the final. Lendl also took the year-end #1 ranking from McEnroe. Oddly enough, John had reached the quarterfinals of every Grand Slam as he then reached that stage at the Australian Open. The tournament Down Under was the last major of the year back then. And it was still played on grass. McEnroe had reached the semis there in 1983 (He didn't play the next year, though) but fell to Yugoslavia's Sloban Zivojinovic in the last eight as 1985 ended for McEnroe. He'd won some big events, Philadelphia, Canada and Stockholm, and ended the year with eight overall on the ATP circuit. McEnroe added two non-ATP titles to his name, in Inglewood and Las Vegas, for good measure.

But for the first time since 1979, Wimbledon's Final Four (Kevin Curran, Jimmy Connors, Andres Jarryd and Boris Becker) hadn't included our man. John took some times off in 1986, and while he picked up another three ATP titles (Bringing his overall singles total to 70 at age 27), McEnroe didn't even enter the big one on grass. The other big one on the lawn wasn't held Down Under in '86. McEnroe lost in the first round at the only slam he played in, the US Open. Hmmmm...Something was wrong. Though he improved his Grand Slam results in 1987, reaching the US Open quarters, Wimbledon was again a no-go. Skipping the tournament you are so good at is puzzling. McEnroe's 1988 wasn't much better. His ranking was really starting to slip, too.

He'd finished 1986 ranked 14 despite three titles. In '87 McEnroe was back in the top-ten at exactly ten. But 1988 was 11. Not only that, John lost in the first round of the US Open. He'd finally gone back to Wimbledon that year, but the result was the same as the US Open.

What had happened? McEnroe was thirty in 1989. An old thirty. Guys like Lendl, Becker, Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg had shoved McEnroe aside in the previous three years. Plus new guys like Miloslav Mecir, Michaell Pernforms and Henri Leconte had emerged. There was 1987 Wimbledon champ Pat Cash. Micheal Chang won the French Open in '89, age just seventeen. And there was 1988 US Open semifinalist Andre Agassi, all of eighteen years old. Pete Sampras was also on the horizon, but he wouldn't win his major for another year. McEnroe, along with Connors, was the old guard. Borg was long gone.

But 1989 was much better for McEnroe. He'd seemingly matured and rededicated himself. The results were much-improved. Only Lendl, Edberg and Becker really stopped him that year. McEnroe was better at thirty than he'd been from 27 to 29.

Having won two tournaments earlier in the year, McEnroe nevertheless skipped the French Open (The Australian Open, now on hard courts and played in January, had seen McEnroe lose to Lendl in the quarters) and set his sights on a return to form at Wimbledon. John McEnroe made good on his vision.

The Australian, Darrin Cahill, nearly derailed the American in the first round as he took the first two sets, 6-4, 6-4. But Johhny Mac prevailed 8-6 in the fifth. McEnroe was pushed by Richey Reneberg to four sets the next round. Following a straight-set win over Jim Pugh in the third round, John McEnroe dropped a set to both John Fitzgerald in the round of sixteen and Mats Wilander in the quarterfinals. The win over Wilander was important as both players were trying to regain their old form. Mats had actually beaten John in their previous Grand Slam match on grass, way back in the 1983 Australian Open semifinals. This time, it was the sports great veteran who prevailed 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, denying an All-Swedish semifinals (Lendl and Becker were in the other Final Four match) in England.

But Stefan Edberg stopped John McEnroe dead in his tracks next. The sets were close, but McEnroe couldn't win any, and Edberg won 7-5, 7-6, 7-6.



Still, it was not only John's first Wimbledon semis in five years, but his first Grand Slam semifinals appearance since the 1985 US Open.



But it was back to losing early at Wimbledon at the 1990s dawned. Derrick Rostagno who eliminated John McEnroe in the first round in 1990. McEnroe had finished 1989 ranked fourth and added another three titles to his name. Despite reaching the semifinals at the US Open in '90, John McEnroe won only one singles title and finished the year ranked outside the top-ten (13).



Things were a little better for McEnroe 1991. He got through to the round of sixteen at Wimbledon. John topped Jamie Oncins of Brazil to the tune of 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in the first round to avoid any repeats of the previous year (Or 1978). In the second round, he faced Australia's Sandon Stolle, the son of a three-time Wimbledon runner-up. Except for John's 6-0 third set performance, it was quite a match. McEnroe got it done in four.



McEnroe was even better in the third round. He beat Jean-Philippe Fleurian in straight sets (Only the second set, a tiebreaker, was close). However, it was Stefan Edberg who beat him, again. Again in straight sets, 7-6, 6-1, 6-4. McEnroe added his 77th (And final) ATP title to his name that year, beating his younger brother Patrick in the finals in Chicago. But John had skipped the Australian Open (He'd been defaulted in the fourth round the previous year), lost in the first round at Rolland Garros. Michael Chang topped him in the third round at the US Open. McEnroe was 32 years old in 1991 and finished the year ranked twenty-eighth. He'd never been ranked that low since 1977.

McEnroe did play in Australia in 1992, and this time, no default. He even upset Boris Becker on his way to the quarters. Not bad. Ah, but then he stared losing early in events. John was again beaten in the first round at the French Open. He made the semis of his first grass court tournament that year in Rosmalen. Micheal Stich, the German (And 1991 Wimbledon winner) needed just two sets to overcome him there.

But it was time to roll back the clock at Wimbledon. Could he get to the semis again? It had been three years since McEnroe had done that. He was now 33 years old. And John was ranked thirtieth in the world!

The first challenge came in the form of Brazilian Luiz Mattar. McEnroe dropped the first set on their first round encounter. From there, however, it was all John, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3. Then, John McEnroe overcame Pat Cash in the second round. It took five sets to subdue the 1987 Wimbledon winner.



McEnroe surprised everyone by winning his next three matches in straight sets. That included a win over number nine-ranked Guy Forget of France. Their quarterfinal match saw McEnroe hit just two double-faults all match! The second set, which McEnroe won a marathon 11-9 in the tiebreaker, must have reminded John about his classic with Borg twelve years earlier. Mac still had it in the clutch!



John McEnroe's luck ran out the next round. It was eventual winner Andre Agassi who beat him in there, also in three sets in an All-American semifinals. John was really the elder-statesman of Wimbledon in 1992, you see. Two other players who would eventually win Wimbledon, faced off against one another in the other semifinals. American Pete Sampras and Croatian Goran Ivanisevic, were both only 20. Agassi was just 22 when he lifted the trophy that year.



The straight-set loss to Agassi ended McEnroe's Wimbledon career. Well, the singles portion of it. Unseeded, and partnering with 1991 singles winner Michael Stich, they beat the team of Guy Forget (Who McEnroe had beat in the singles quarterfinals) and Jakob Hlasek in the semis and the combo of Jim Grabb and Rickey Reneberg in the finals. It was the fifth time he'd won the doubles title at The Big W.


John played in just one more Grand Slam, the 1992 US Open. He sort of went out with a wimper. His results in Australia and England must have given him some hope that he could make a deep run at Flushing Meadows. Seeded sixteenth, John lost to fellow American Jim Courier in the round of sixteen. Although McEnroe had reached double-digits in matches won at the Slams for the eighth time in his career, John finished the year ranked only twenty-eight.

McEnroe played Wimbledon fourteen times between 1977 and 1992. His win-loss record there was excellent, 59-11 (84%). His three titles and five straight finals put him right up there with the all-time greats on grass. His 1985 loss to Kevin Curran is his only defeat in the quarterfinals of his Wimbledon career (8-1 at that stage).

McEnroe is always going to be more remembered for his emotional outburst on the courts than his brilliance in both singles and doubles (He won 78 doubles titles), not only just at Wimbledon but everywhere he played. Even at the end of John McEnroe's career, his game,(Which was so brilliant, as it was more about touch and placement than raw power) could inspire awe from anyone who was watching him play. And during his prime, especially at Wimbledon against Borg, McEnroe could put on a show that both inspiring and brilliant.


References


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Feinstein, John. Hard Courts. New York: Villard, 1991. Print.

Haylett, John, and Richard Evans. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Tennis. New York: Exeter, 1989. Print.

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Parsons, John. The Ultimate Encyclopedia Of Tennis. Carlton Books Ltd, 2018. Print.

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