You cannot be serious ... McEnroe’s still serving up Wimbledon mayhem!
FOR a moment, it seemed like John McEnroe was about to recreate the most notorious tantrum in Wimbledon history.
But luckily, 38 years on from his ‘You cannot be serious’ outburst towards an umpire, the US tennis star was merely sending himself up.
McEnroe, 60, was back at Wimbledon yesterday to mark the completion of No 1 Court’s £70million fully retractable roof, playing a charity match in which he and Kim Clijsters took on Jamie Murray and Martina Navratilova.
At one point he jokingly threw down his racket in rage after missing a shot and also challenged the officials – rekindling memories of the incident in 1 81 on the old No 1 Court when he screamed at an umpire who called his serve out despite a cloud of chalk dust. ‘You cannot be serious’ became so linked to McEnroe that it was the title of his autobiography, while the incident inspired a hit comedy record.
The new roof, which takes around ten minutes to close, is identical to that on Centre Court and will help Wimbledon reduce the number of matches Flashpoint: McEnroe in 1981 delayed by rain. The £200million project has also seen No 1 Court’s capacity expanded to seat 12,345 fans.
Yesterday’s celebrations included performances by pop star Paloma Faith, who wore an elaborate scarlet dress, and opera singer Joseph Calleja.
However one of the club’s biggest supporters, Sir Cliff Richard, who famously gave an impromptu performance during a rain break on Centre Court in 1 6, was absent.
A Wimbledon representative declined to say whether the veteran singer had been invited to take part.