McEnroe Defeats Courier in Canadian Exhibition

By Mike McIntyre

The 1st Annual Legends of Tennis Classic

"Oh Jesus," a fan yelled midway through the second set of an exhibition match between tennis legends John McEnroe and Jim Courier in Hamilton, Ontario.

"I hate to break it to you, but I don't think he's gonna visit us tonight," Courier replied.

Divine intervention of some kind was going to be needed by the 39 year old Courier in his quest to beat McEnroe, who at the age of 51 seemed to be the fresher and more determined of the two. McEnroe would win easily by a score of 6-3, 6-4 and in the process remind fans why they either loved or hated the notorious bad boy of tennis.

Grumpy from the get-go, McEnroe walked a fine line between displaying his intense desire to win versus his well crafted act of the super-villain. Fans weren't sure whether to be amused with his antics or appalled that at his age he is still trying to go through the motions of the John McEnroe they remembered from the 1970s and 80s.

Distracted by an abnoxious fan who felt compelled to yell out as he hit his serve, McEnroe became incensed in only the third game of the match.

"It didn't take you long to ruin the match," McEnroe said after the chair umpire denied his request for a service let.

In the very next game he upped the ante by calling the same umpire a "[email protected]#$% clown." Nothing the kids haven't heard before, right?

While McEnroe allowed himself to get worked up at every opportunity and spent most of the night looking like a forced caricature of his former self, his play spoke louder than his words by the end of the evening.

His well-placed first serves stung Courier throughout the match despite likely giving away 20mph or more in speed to his opponent in that department. McEnroe used his years of experience at the net to his advantage while Courier looked as if he had never volleyed before in his life.  

The most dangerous shot in McEnroe's arsenal however was without a doubt his drop-shot that Courier stopped even trying to get to by the second set. It seemed he threw one of those in almost every game or two and they worked all night long.

Courier had more pop on his serves and a more powerful game in general, but seemed to lack the energy and precision of his older opponent. One area where the four-time Grand Slam champion did enjoy some success was bantering with the crowd and unlike McEnroe actually appeared to enjoy himself.

After the match Courier was sarcastically asked if the loss was among the most difficult of his career. He replied by accurately noting, "It was a bitter pill to swallow...losing to a bitter pill."

So is it all an act that McEnroe feels compelled to uphold or his he simply a 51 year old version of Peter Pan who refuses to grow up? It didn't really seem to matter on this night as the sparse crowd of around 3,000 spectators left the building with a simultaneous sense of being entertained and bewildered by the behavior of one of tennis' legends.

Comments

[Scott]

I went to this. Mac was great!

[Roger]

Very well summarized article. I was there with my family and was not amused by Mc Enroe's profanity, actually shocked that he would behave like that still - on a family night like that as I sat there with my 8-yr. old son. He did play well, but he really did not seem to enjoy himself, and Courier, even though he had some fun with the very small crowd, did not seem to try too hard. Made me wonder was it totally staged? How much did they get to show up? Te turn out shows not too many want to see that match-up.

[Mike McIntyre]

Hi Scott and Roger - thanks for posting. Just shows how interpretations of McEnroe's antics can vary from person to person. I have no idea how much each player received as an appearance fee - but do know that a good portion did make its way to charity. Both players were putting in a solid effort - and McEnroe especially seemed intent on winning.

Stay tuned for when I publish my one-on-one interviews with both players that I held just before match time.

Mike

[Scott]

Ah...it was all vintage McEnroe. Wish he and Connors had played...now that would have been fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb7ZG1wj8NA