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McEnroe to enter Hall of Fame

Talented, temperamental American still a character

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Posted: Friday July 09, 1999 07:08 PM

In 1980, at 21, McEnroe became the youngest player to achieve the world's No. 1 ranking. Allsport UK/Allsport

NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) -- Love him or hate him, John McEnroe will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame Saturday.

An iconoclast who combined brilliant play with boorish behavior, McEnroe clashed with the authorities of tennis. He argued line calls and slammed his racquet.

Along with a temper, McEnroe had talent.

"You couldn't ask for a better partner," said Peter Fleming, who combined with McEnroe to win seven Grand Slam doubles titles.

"There were several times that we disagreed, but as a whole he was a great team player.

"They say the reason Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan were so great is that they made the players around them better. John was like that."

McEnroe burst onto the tennis scene at the 1977 French Open, winning the mixed doubles with Mary Carillo as an amateur.

By 1980, at 21, he became the youngest player to achieve the world's No. 1 ranking.

During his career, the left-hander won 77 singles titles, 77 doubles titles, seven Grand Slam singles titles, 10 Grand Slam doubles titles and was the world's No. 1 player from 1981-84.

"I'm not the biggest. I'm not the strongest. I'm not the fastest," McEnroe said when chosen for the Hall of Fame earlier this year. "The effort and intensity and understanding of technique and doing something adventurous -- that's what I'd like to be remembered for.

"I bought some energy to the sport, a style of play not duplicated almost at all. I feel I was a good athlete, in some ways underrated. I had reasonable attributes."

McEnroe left tennis in 1986 to concentrate on his personal life.

For all the wins, including a stellar Davis Cup career, McEnroe's most memorable match was his epic, five-set loss to Bjorn Borg of Sweden in the 1980 Wimbledon final.

Even McEnroe lists the match as his proudest moment,

"It showed me, but it also showed a lot of other tennis players, that even in losing, you can elevate your status," he said.

That match, along with his court flair and tantrums, elevated his worldwide popularity.

"Walking down the street with him in 1981, I doubt if there were five more recognizable people in the world," Fleming said. "In any country, people would react -- and they'd all react differently. The guy has an electricity about him that not many people have."

McEnroe is playing again. He teamed with Steffi Graf to reach the mixed doubles semifinals at Wimbledon this year before Graf pulled out to concentrate on singles. He is ranked third on the senior tour.

Joining McEnroe in the Hall of Fame will be Ken McGregor, the Australian Davis Cup star who also was part of the only duo to win a men's doubles Grand Slam.

The pair will boost the Hall of Fame membership to 172.

McGregor was the perfect gentleman, befitting the time in which he played. He was a Top 10 player from 1950-52, and won the 1952 Australian Open.

But it was in doubles that he made his biggest mark, winning the Grand Slam with Hall of Famer Frank Sedgman in 1951 and narrowly missing a repeat in 1952.

McGregor also was an exceptional Davis Cup player, helping Australia win the Cup from 1950-52.

 

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