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By Scoop Malinowski | Tuesday, September 20, 2016

 
John McEnroe

Mercurial Hall of Famer John McEnroe is the subject of a new book, Facing McEnroe, in which his former rivals and friends recall the magic and madness of Johnny Mac.

Peter Fleming once said "the best doubles team in the world is John McEnroe and anybody else."

Fleming had first-hand experience partnering McEnroe, one of the few players to hold the No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles.

Watch: Nadal's Drug Records Posted

What's it really like to face Johnny Mac on court?

Author Scoop Malinowski set out to find out.

A long-time journalist and tennis player, Malinowski interviewed dozens of McEnroe's former rivals and friends for his fifth booth, Facing McEnroe. To order Facing McEnroe, which retails for $9.99 or for more information on the book, please visit this Facing McEnroe link.

Here's an excerpt from the new book.

Peter Fleming: “We first met when we were kids, he was twelve and I was sixteen. And we were playing at the Port Washington Tennis Academy. And one of the pros set up a little challenge match between the two of us. The pro was talking about how good this twelve year old kid was and I was sixteen at the time. I thought, How good can he be? The pro said he’s pretty good. One thing led to another and I stupidly said okay, I’ll give him 4-love, 30-love and I’ll kick his ass. He said, You’re on. A week later we showed up and there was like five kids on the sidelines watching this big challenge match. And I lost five sets in a row to him [smiles]. I couldn’t even win that 30-love game. Because I was sort of a wild player. So I would always miss, make a few errors. The guys racquet was taller than he was. And yet he never missed a ball.”

Question: He had 4-love and 30-love in each set?

Peter Fleming: “Yeah. And I never got close to winning one of those. That’s when I first met him. And when I got to know him a little bit from there you could tell the kid had something. Right from the word go.”

Question: Was his style similar then? Did he serve and volley and come forward?

Peter Fleming: “No. He was about two-feet tall. You don’t serve and volley if you’re built like that. He’d just run around the back of the court and chase everything down. He was little.”

Question: What was your most memorable match with John? With in doubles and singles?



Peter Fleming: “I suppose it had to be the Davis Cup final we played in the doubles. We played against (Guillermo) Vilas and (Jose Luis) Clerc in Cincinnati. They served for the match at 7-6 in the fifth and we ended up winning 11-9 in the fifth. And we went on to win the Davis Cup that year. It appeared to be a pivotal match.”

Question: Describe the feeling of playing against John?

Peter Fleming: “It wasn’t fun and it wasn’t easy. The guy was intense. And physically it was a challenge. If he was playing his best, I virtually had no chance, or not a big chance, let’s put it that way. You had to hope that he was just a little bit below that, then maybe there was a shot.”

Question: Did you ever get him in singles?

Peter Fleming: “Three times. Three times I beat him. In fact, the best match that we probably played was one that I didn’t win, in the final of San Francisco. I was up a set and a break three times. But just couldn’t finish him off. He took me out 6-2 in the third. But we both played well and it was a really good match.”

Question: Was it enjoyable to play John? Or was it too frustrating to enjoy?

Peter Fleming: “Nah. It wasn’t enjoyable. It was just…it was intense. Think back and say, That was a good effort. Played hard, played well. But did I ever sit down and say ‘is this great?’ No.”

Question: Lasting memory of John, on or off the court?

Peter Fleming: “I was his doubles partner for eight years and I couldn’t imagine a better doubles partner to have. I don’t think there was one time that he ever got upset with me during a match. He had that knack of making his partners, whoever it was, play near their peak. Everybody remembers him as a guy who had a fiery temper and difficult to get along with but on the doubles court he was just the opposite. He’s got a heart of gold, really. In a lot of scenarios.”



Question: Do you remember the last time you ever played doubles with him?

Peter Fleming: “It was about five years ago at Wimbledon, the seniors (vs. McNamara and McNamee). Yeah, that wasn’t one of the fun ones that we played. I think we both sort of decided, separately, that was the last time we’ll do that.”

Question: Do you remember the first time you played with John McEnroe?

Peter Fleming: “I do, yeah. We played a tournament in 1977 in Los Angeles at the LA Tennis Club. We got to the quarterfinal, we lost to Roscoe Tanner and Marty Reissen in three sets. We felt we should have won. But you always do, don’t you [smiles].”

John Austin, former ATP Top 40-ranked player who won the Wimbledon mixed doubles crown with his Hall of Famer sister Tracy Austin, recalls his experiences with McEnroe.

John Austin: “I first met him at junior Davis Cup camp in New Braunfels, Texas. We played against each other in junior Davis Cup, we traveled all summer together. Fierce, fierce competitor. And I got to travel with the Davis Cup team a couple of times and he was on Davis Cup and I was a hitting partner. Then I ended up playing him in a couple of tournaments. I beat him once in singles in those days, in Atlanta, the week before the US Open. I played lights out, he wasn’t playing his best. He was No. 1 for the first time so he didn’t think much of me, so I think I caught him off guard a little bit. And then (Aaron) Krickstein and I beat him and (Peter) Fleming in doubles at Queens. We played great that time. Then I lost to him in LA six months after I beat him in Atlanta. So I played him three times on Tour.”

Question: What was your most memorable match with John?

John Austin: “That one. The one I beat him.”

Question: What happened that day? Your mindset going into the match?

John Austin: “One of those days when everything is working. My mindset? I actually tried going in with no mindset. Just go and play, don’t worry that I’m playing John McEnroe, the No. 1 player in the world. Just go play the ball in front of me. First point, I’ll never forget – return – passed him down the line – my favorite shot – backhand down the line. Second point – return – passed him cross court. Third point – I returned – not a great return – I loved returning lefty serves – and I don’t normally lob a lot. Hit a topspin lob winner and it was like, Who are you? What’s going on here? So, everything was clicking that day. I played the best I ever played in that match. Fun.”

Question: Final thoughts on John McEnroe?

John Austin: “He was a fierce, fierce competitor. He was one of the few players that used anger as a tool to sharpen himself up. Most of them, when they get upset, we play worse. He would get better. He would sharpen his mind. Every time he’d have a tirade, he’d play better.”

Question: You never saw anybody else like that?

John Austin: “No. No. Very few people. He could actually use it as a weapon, to make himself play better and – I probably shouldn’t say this but I’ll say it anyway – he could stall – you’re not allowed timeouts in tennis – I’ve seen where he stalls and is throwing fits and delay of game basically. He comes back – I’ve seen a few matches where he comes back and plays better after his little fit. And the other player drops down like five or ten percent. And that’s enough for him to turn around points. So he uses it as a tool. So he uses everything available that he can, within the rules, he keeps everything within the rules, but what’s available, to get the edge.”

Question: Is McEnroe the fiercest competitor you ever encountered?

John Austin: “No. Jimmy Connors. Both fierce, but Jimmy Connors was fiercer.”

Question: How do you measure Jimmy Connors to be more fierce than John McEnroe?

John Austin: “Maybe because, at that time, Connors was the dominant player in the world. It was a certain time when I was enamored with the game. And I just loved Connors’ spirit. He wore his heart on his sleeve. McEnroe, on the court, could get nasty, spitting nails on the court, Connors was just a warrior. Kind of like (Rafael) Nadal.”

To read an excerpt of Scoop Malinowski's book on Rafael Nadal, click this Facing Nadal: Symposium of a Champion link.


 

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