“Pay the price? What, you’re threatening me now?” McEnroe asked incredulously.
“I’m just warning you, John,” Connors replied forcefully. “I’m not in the mood for your bullshit right now.”
McEnroe let out a high-pitched laugh.
“And just what are you in the mood for, Jimmy? I’d love to know.”
“I’m in the mood to kick your ass on the tennis court.”
“Any time, any place,” Mac answered.
The next thing you know, Connors and McEnroe are on a plane, preparing to touch down in a mystical land called Wa’Carthikos, according to Connors.
“I found out about this place from Lendl,” he started. “He called me up one day and asked me if I would enjoy playing tennis like I did in my prime, with none of the pressure that I had back then?
“I told him, ‘Hell yeah, man! But how?’ That’s when he filled me in about this place.”
“So I can hit with anybody who’s ever played tennis?”
“NO, McEnroe, he or she HAS to be alive!” Connors scolded. “This place isn’t the Twilight Zone. But they are able to restore your body and mind to optimal condition, and it’s pretty safe, too.”
“PRETTY safe?” McEnroe asked with an arched eyebrow. “What kind of side effects am I gonna have to deal with, man?”
“Come on, McEnroe, do you think I would be coming here with YOU if your b*lls were gonna fall off or some weird shit like that?”
“I’m still waiting for my answer, Jimmy.”
“Nothing serious will happen to you, John. When you return home, you will sleep for about 24 hours straight, and you will need extra sleep for a couple of days after that. Small price to pay for what I’m about to show you.”
Connors took McEnroe with him to the Wa’Carthikos Fountain of Youth Mind & Body Treatment facilities. By the end of the grueling yet oddly relaxing four hour session, Mac sat up and grinned at Connors.
“Man, I feel better than I have in well over 20 years!”
That afternoon, Jimmy Connors played doubles with Bjorn Borg, Rod Laver, and Ivan Lendl. He and Lendl were defeated by Borg and Laver, 7-6 (6), 1-6, 6-4.
John McEnroe, meanwhile, played in a fascinating mixed doubles match. He and Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs and Martina Navratilova in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Big Mac was superb all day, and he was clearly the best player on the court. Yet, John, who is as in tune with his body as perhaps anyone else on earth, knew something was not quite right.
56 Comments
Loading more comments...
This comment and all replies have been deleted This comment has been deleted Undo delete