From rages to riches
Trevor McDonald
SERIOUS by John McEwen Lit/c, Brown, £17.99, pp. 346, ISBN 0316859869 This is a racy account of a turbulent odyssey from one-time tennis genius and foulmouthed superbrat to the more peaceful haven these days of the therapist's chair and a new career in television.
McEnroe's is the story of a man driven by ambitious parents and by his own demonic restlessness and trying even now to make sense of his life. Fulfilment of a sort seems to have come with his second marriage to the singer Patty Smyth and a house full of children on whom he clearly dotes. But he still has the job of repairing the reputation of one of the most brilliant players in the modern game who came to be regarded as a 'spoiled, loudmouthed, illtempered cry-baby'. McEnroe collected 77 singles titles, 77 doubles titles and seven Grand Slam championships, not to mention Davis Cup victories and a memorable display of flawless tennis against Jimmy Connors in the 1984 Wimbledon final.
What we also remember, though, are the tantrums, as shocking and uncontrolled as they seemed inevitable. We watched his matches not to celebrate his victories, but rather like an audience in a theatre waiting for the dramatic denouement in King Lear. Our tragic hero always obliged. McEnroe is not entirely repentant now and only partly apologetic as he attempts to convince us that his conduct was merely the belligerent extreme of life in a sport which is badly administered and which reduces churlish, uncaring players to an existence of solitary friendlessness and introspection, disconnected from the passions of the real world and determined only to 'kick ass' to win big money. It all makes a kind of sense too. McEnroe explains, 'Where money and publicity meet, there's always excitement, but good behaviour is rarely a part of the mix.' And here is our hero on the vexed question of manners:
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