SUPER MAC
Tennis legend JOHN MCENROE on how he’d take on today’s Wimbledon stars
‘In my day, we played more mind games’
LIVE TENNIS Wimbledon From Saturday, BBC1 HD & BBC2 HD
UNDER A BLAZING hot Parisian sun, John Mcenroe has just beaten Goran Ivanisevic in a special veterans match at the French Open. Ten minutes later, he’s chatting to Tv & satellite Week about this year’s Wimbledon, which he’ll enjoy from the BBC commentary box as the event reaches its second week.
‘I always used to wonder why they were so serious about this white kit rule at Wimbledon,’ he grins. ‘i was covering the Olympics there in 2012 and kept saying, “see, they can play at Wimbledon in colourful kits and nothing bad happens!” Still, there’s a beauty and simplicity to the whole thing.’
Despite various run-ins with the All England Club as a player, the three-time Wimbledon singles champion has established himself as one of the tournament’s most popular commentators. He’s thrilled to be back again, working for the BBC and US networks.
‘I’m from New York and the US Open is a big deal for me, but I see Wimbledon as the biggest event and it means the most. It was always my goal to try to conquer this tournament, from the very beginning of my career.
‘So many people from Great Britain tell me that everything stops during Wimbledon fortnight and all they do is watch the tennis! Over the years, Wimbledon has made itself a better event, which means it’s unmissable TV.’
Tennis fans have had a lot to get excited about this year as legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – thought to be winding down their careers – took the Australian Open and French Open respectively. For Mcenroe, it’s a relief that these two champions are around to make Wimbledon even more special.
‘I think there’s a worry about the future of tennis,’ he admits. ‘I like to think there’s always going to be a place for it, but you’ve got to keep fans interested.
‘The era we’re going through now belongs to the greatest players that ever lived. You can’t just pretend new guys will create the same interest as Federer and Nadal. So we’d better start thinking about what we can do next to keep people watching.’
Mcenroe had a personal interest in last year’s Wimbledon, as he coached protégé Milos Raonic into the final, following in the footsteps of Ivan Lendl, Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, who have all turned their hands to coaching.
The 58-year-old says he’s keen to advise another rising star in the future, but only on his terms.
‘I’ve been commentating for about 25 years and I’ll only do the big tournaments like Wimbledon, that’s the way to keep it fresh,’ he explains. ‘If I could coach the way I commentate I’d be interested – if I could work with a player for just 10 weeks a year, I’d like that.’
Controversial Mcenroe recently riled Serena Williams by saying: ‘If she played the men’s circuit she’d be, like, 700 in the world.’ But how would a young Mcenroe have fared against today’s male superstars?
‘I would have killed these guys on the court,’ he laughs. ‘It would be a tall order to play them, there’s no question, but in my day we played more mind games.
‘When I was up against Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl, we’d be going at it mentally, trash talking, and you don’t see that anymore. You’re out there one on one and you need an edge – I’d bring that to the table against Federer or Nadal.’