He describes difficulties after that in getting motivated for matches.Īs much as John explores his inner feelings, he does come off as someone incapable of viewing the world from another individual’s perspective.

He missed his adversary and fell into the doldrums. Open, McEnroe never quite got over Borg’s total withdrawal from the game after 1981. And surprisingly, in the same way that Borg never got over losing to McEnroe at the 1980 U.S. He does dwell on his inner feelings – he has never gotten over his loss to Ivan Lendl in the French Open Final – a Grand Slam event he never won.

McEnroe comes off as very self-centred – there are all manner of justifications in this book for his many temper tantrums and outspokenness on the tennis court. Men’s tennis has become too power-serve oriented – at least Women’s tennis has more rallies and somehow the shorter games can make for an interesting match.Īs you would expect from a super-star and a number-one ranked player, Mr. Their games and rivalries have – in my opinion – never been matched since. These three very different individuals brought tennis to a much larger viewing audience. The McEnroe-Borg-Connors years were the apex of tennis viewing. McEnroe tried to become a musician after tennis,and unsurprisingly,it didn't work out.Īs sports biographies go,this is a good one,and brought back quite a few memories. There are plenty of anecdotes,including one about Donald Trump,who he says,offered him a million dollars to play the Williams Sisters.Īlso,a candid account of his failed marriage to Tatum O Neal,and the tabloid interest it generated.Plus,the eternal question of what should an elite athlete do with the rest of his life,once his career is over,at a young age. He is not too contrite about his on court behavior,even saying that tennis had had 'too much behaving' and he wanted to change that. The highs and lows of his tennis career are narrated in a lively manner,

McEnroe writes about his admiration for Borg,against whom he played some memorable matches,particularly at Wimbledon.His impressions of Jimmy Connors,are not too favorable. He also won a number of grand slams,and became the number one player in the world,before the power hitters displaced him from the pinnacle of the sport. The autobiography of Super-Brat,Mac the Mouth,is an entertaining one.As gifted as he was as a tennis player,his on court tantrums will probably be remembered even more than his victories.'He took whining to the next level'.

You Cannot Be Serious by John McEnroe