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Rowdy exhibition McEnroe and Leconte nearly scrap in Hong Kong
Posted: Friday November 05, 1999 01:17 PM
HONG KONG (AP) -- John McEnroe and Frenchman Henri Leconte almost came to blows Friday in an ugly faceoff while competing in the Cathay Pacific Champions tennis tournament. Leconte was serving at 3-3 in the second set when he smashed a shot hat the line judge ruled in. McEnroe protested and the chair umpire overruled the decision and called the shot out. Leconte jumped over the net onto McEnroe's side of the court and both players resorted to foul language in a lengthy argument in front of shocked spectators at the indoor court at the Hong Kong's Convention and Exhibition Center. The exhibition tournament is not part of the ATP senior tour. McEnroe, who won the match 6-4, 7-5, said later "I take pride in competing hard." Leconte dismissed the American's remarks, saying the tournament was not an ATP event, and he did not want to be treated badly. Both Leconte and McEnroe advanced to the semifinals on Saturday following the end of preliminary group play in the tournament, which includes such players as Swede Mats Wilander, Frenchman Yannick Noah, Argentinean Guillermo Vilas, and Australian John Fitzgerland. The other two semifinalists are Wilander and Noah. On Thursday, the 40-year-old outspoken McEnroe launched an attack on the Association of Tennis Professionals, calling it a "communist organization" lacking leadership and vision.
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