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Mac attack McEnroe brands ATP 'communist organization'
Posted: Thursday November 04, 1999 05:36 PM
HONG KONG (AP) -- John McEnroe launched an attack Thursday on the Association of Tennis Professionals, calling it a "communist organization" lacking leadership and vision. "The way the ATP is going, you would think that, along with North Korea, they're the two communist organizations left in the world today," he said in Hong Kong, where he is playing in the Cathay Pacific Champions tournament. "I tried for 20 years to change things, but they wore me down," he said. "What the ATP wants is faceless and nameless players playing the game." McEnroe, the U.S. Davis Cup team captain, accused the ATP of failing to improve the game. "They have completely missed the boat by adding more and more tournaments into what is already a busy schedule. You have to cut the schedule down, not only for the sake of the players, but also for the sake of the fans," he said. "The men's game is so stale, there's no flavor to it. Thank God for the women, and how they have come along," he said. McEnroe has won 77 singles titles, including seven Grand Slam wins. He faces a bevy of former stars in the Hong Kong tournament, including Swede Mats Wilander, Frenchmen Henri Leconte and Yannick Noah, Argentinean Guillermo Vilas, and Australian John Fitzgerald.
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