John McEnroe

John McEnroe’s relentless pursuit of perfection, combined with a technical mastery and a fiercely competitive instinct have made him a popular champion and a tennis legend. A left-hander with a superb serve-and-volley game, his shotmaking artistry enabled him to dominate tennis in the early 1980s. McEnroe won seven Grand Slam singles championships and ten Grand Slam doubles championships and is considered by most tennis experts to be one of the greatest doubles players in the history of the game.

Born in Wiesbaden, Germany, while his father, now an attorney, served as a US. Air Force officer, the family eventually settled in Douglas Manor, by the shores of Long Island Sound in New York. An All-American and NCAA Champion as a freshman at Stanford University in 1978, he reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon as an 18-year-old amateur preparing to go to college and gave notice of greatness to come.

He won his first Grand Slam in 1979, aged 20, when he beat Vitas Gerulaitis in straight sets in the US Open, the first of his four titles at Flushing Meadows, to become the youngest winner in 31 years. His 1980 Wimbledon final against Bjorn Borg was one of the great matches of all time. McEnroe won a classic tie-break 18-16 in the fourth set to level the scores, but the inscrutable Swede came back to win the fifth set and the match. But McEnroe was not to be denied and he was back in the final of 1981 – on the 4th of July - to end Borg’s reign at the top and to start the McEnroe Era. It was the first of his three Wimbledon singles titles and he became the youngest No.1 ranked man in the history of professional tennis, a ranking he held for the next four years.

With more than 150 singles and doubles titles to date, he has compiled an unparalleled record of achievement and raised the level of the game itself. One of his proudest achievements was leading the United States to five Davis Cup titles. He holds the record for the most US Davis Cup wins in singles (41) and in singles and doubles combined (59).

Still playing with his trademark intensity, John competes in the Champions Tour as well as tournaments and special events in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

McEnroe’s knowledge of the game and magnetic personality have made him an instant hit as a network television commentator and newspaper columnist. His busy schedule includes overseeing the John McEnroe Gallery in the Soho area of New York City, where he showcases the work of contemporary artists. He has also founded and is actively involved in the John McEnroe Foundation, an organisation established to distribute grants and pledges to a wide variety of charitable organisations. An accomplished guitarist, John has led the Johnny Smyth Band in a series of concerts throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.