Mcenroe Back On Court Mixing Up Fun And Games With Steffi
Sun Herald
Sunday June 27, 1999
THERE is a lot of snow on the roof, the tantrums are now staged to amuse the crowd rather than to intimidate the officials, the corkscrew serve doesn't quite have the same pop and the ring in his left ear looks very 1983.
But at 40, John McEnroe can still draw a crowd - to watch him play or just to hear him talk.
Which is why his long-awaited appearance with Steffi Graf in the Wimbledon mixed doubles took on match-of-the-day status.
And, as ever, McEnroe did not let down the fans, or the reporters.
While he now does his best work in the commentary box, McEnroe still had enough game to help Graf pound out a 6-2 6-4 victory over unheralded fall guys Jeff Coetzee and Eva Melicharova, who had an unenviable task.
From the first point, when Graf missed a forehand and McEnroe threw down his racquet in mock rage, it was obvious the match would be part vaudeville, part tennis.
Unfortunately for Melicharova, who has one of the most unusual serves in the game - her ball toss is so high, it is difficult to see how she could play indoors - she provided the day's best material.
Having watched Melicharova serve, Graf and McEnroe walked back towards the baseline where Graf broke into hysterics.
Asked what he had said to make Graf laugh so hard, McEnroe said he had told her: "I'm the greatest player of all time".
"That really brought a laugh from her," he said. "No, I think it was looking at that girl's serve."
Graf said: "Don't say it, I didn't want to say it," before admitting with a sly grin: "Yeah, it probably was about the serve."
Beyond the fact that both were born in Germany - McEnroe's father was in the army - Graf and McEnroe seem to have about as much in common as a Volkswagen and a Cadillac. However, McEnroe was Graf's childhood hero and the possi- another teenage mentality. Hingis is a basket case. bility of them playing together had gathered momentum through the press.
"Once we finally sat down and talked actually to each other about it, we realised it would be a nice idea," McEnroe said.
Graf has long been a favourite with the Wimbledon crowds, while McEnroe has had a more tempestuous relationship, but he was welcomed back warmly.
"I guess the less you play, the more they want," he said of his enduring popularity.
While the legs don't pump as quickly on the court, he is still quick to wade into any given topic with his gums flapping.
When a reporter asked Graf a question about her next opponent, a Belgian qualifier called Kim Clijsters, the German began a long-winded and polite answer before McEnroe cut her short.
"Steffi is going to destroy another teenager mentally," he said. "Hingis is a basket case now. You see, it's nice to be 30."
Likewise, when the subject was raised of local hero Tim Henman's match against Jim Courier, who beat Henman in the America's Davis Cup victory over Great Britain, McEnroe was at his customary caustic best. "Perfect, perfect, the Brits are already starting to sweat," he said, before offering Henman a back-handed prospect of redemption.
"There's a great chance for him to erase some demons, get over that Davis Cup debacle where the Brits choked their little fannies off."
There was some genuine feeling amid the light-hearted banter.
"I felt so nervous coming out and, you know, when I walked out I was kind of proud to play with you," Graf said, turning to McEnroe.
For his part, McEnroe said he had tried to enjoy the occasion because he had not enjoyed his career enough.
"When you have the opportunity to see someone who's done so much and still loves to play and compete and gets to that point [where she enjoys herself], that's amazing, you know, and God knows she should enjoy it at this point."
© 1999 Sun Herald
