McEnroe eager to renew rivalry with Borg
During an era when American men's tennis is often called a wasteland, what's a loyalist to do? Hop into the Way-Back Machine. Set the dial to 1981 (OK, that's kinda-back) and the GPS (one modern convenience allowed) to New York City.
During an era when American men's tennis is often called a wasteland, what's a loyalist to do?
Hop into the Way-Back Machine. Set the dial to 1981 (OK, that's kinda-back) and the GPS (one modern convenience allowed) to New York City.
Tonight at Randall's Island Park, as part of a World TeamTennis match pitting the Freedoms vs. the New York Sportimes, Bjorn Borg will square off vs. John McEnroe.
Yes, you read that right. Borg vs. McEnroe. Does it get any better? Didn't used to.
The showdown was among the topics late yesterday afternoon at Villanova's Pavilion, as McEnroe, joined by Sportimes teammate Martina Hingis, staged a news conference to discuss all things tennis.
Afterward, McEnroe took a stroll outside the room to do a quickie TV interview, then headed down the walkway in front of the east stands as early arrivals snapped pics and/or recorded video. Along the way, McEnroe stopped for a quick chat with the Freedoms owner, Billie Jean King, who's not exactly a stranger to racket mastery.
Any thoughts, Ms. King?
"I'd probably go with John. He's been playing more," she said cheerfully. "Since I'm a league official, I have to stay neutral, but . . . I think it's pretty obvious."
Reason: McEnroe, even at age 52, remains a WTT mainstay. The 55-year-old Borg, who will be taking the place of an injured Jimmy Connors, retired for good (after earlier shutdowns) in the mid-1990s.
Interestingly, asked during his stroll to detail his most vivid memory of the numerous and legendary battles vs. Borg, which recently were the subject of an HBO documentary, McEnroe did not pick the 1981 Wimbledon final, in which he terminated Borg's run of five consecutive titles at the All England Club.
"The 1980 Wimbledon final," he said. "That one's in the memory forever. Part of history."
That match lasted 3 hours, 53 minutes, and McEnroe, en route to a loss, saved match point five times in a 34-point, fourth-set tiebreak.
When asked for his thoughts on tonight's match, McEnroe barely got a word out before Hingis laughed and piped up, "He's going to win, of course!"
Said McEnroe of Borg: "He's more competitive than he appears. But he's also a little older than me. It's going to be a battle of the guys that were doing it [great] 30 years ago, but are still trying to do it OK now."
Soon, Hingis was mentioning that McEnroe had "held it level" in a match Tuesday night vs. the Washington Kastles.
Feigning one of his patented outbursts, McEnroe did a mini-pound on the table and semi-yelled, "I don't wanna just hold my own!"
What else does he want? An American men's tennis revival.
"Some of [the drop-off] might be somewhat cyclical," he said. "Some of it might be that other countries are putting more into it financially. Part of it is that better athletes play tennis in the other countries; it's higher up in the hierarchy. We're not getting the type of athletes that they get in, say, Spain or other countries.
"The system we have in place has to be looked at . . . If nothing else, we have to make an effort to get more kids from football or basketball or the other sports. We have to get the best athletes into tennis . . . I realize it's going to be a long-term project. It's not going to be snap your fingers and here we go."
Match details
The Sportimes held off the Freedoms, 21-19, in last night's WTT match, when McEnroe and Travis Parrott topped Brendan Evans and Nathan Healey, 5-2 (1-0 in overtime). The Freedoms' mixed doubles team of Lisa Raymond and Healey beat McEnroe and Hingis, 5-4, while Evans beat Jesse Witten, 5-4. Raymond and Melanie Oudin lost to Hingis and Katie O'Brien in women's doubles, 5-1; Oudin lost to Hingis in women's singles, 5-3. *