John McEnroe Delivers Game to Roger Federer

In tennis land, where chair umpires are clairvoyant and the linesmen are never wrong, resides the ghost of tennis past, John McEnroe. 

He paces along the baseline, scowling, casting his eyes to the heavens, always positive that someone somewhere has done him wrong.

His voluminous, tightly curled hair is riveted in place by a bright red headband that shimmers in the fading light.  He twirls his wooden racket, like a baton, as he marches the length of the court.

He poses, foot planted on the baseline, rocking back and forth as he readies to serve, twisting his torso, tossing the ball into the air, rising quickly to meet it and make contact, unleashing tremendous torque as he explodes into the court. 

The ball spins and twists, ricocheting off the center line.  The linesman shouts “fault.”  McEnroe turns in disbelief to the chair. 

“Are you blind?” he shouts.  “Don’t tell me you didn’t see that ball land right on the line!  Chalk flew up!”  He storms away, and then turns abruptly, his face contorted in anger.  “You cannot be serious!” 

The words echo dying remotely in the empty stadium where only the pigeons stir, reacting to some faint disturbance they sense but cannot see.  The undercurrent of emotion refracted so long ago never leaves tennis land altogether.  

This same angry young man of the past proposes to lead gentle tennis giant Roger Federer from his destined descent into ignominy into the bright sun of fulfilled aspirations.   

In other words, John McEnroe wishes to help Roger Federer out of his current funk.

“I would really like to help Roger.  Especially as he needs to change his strategy if he wants to beat Nadal.  And I have an idea about that!” 

The question remains—what could John McEnroe do—what germane gem could he offer to help Roger Federer defeat the deft left-handed Spaniard, Rafael Nadal on clay?

Even more—we have to ask—what is in it for McEnroe?  Why this sudden generosity? 

It would be like merging fire and ice, heat and cold, black and white and most importantly, past and present. 

The merging of the two former No. 1 players to create one super nova tennis phenomenon would surely cement McEnroe’s persistent claim to be the best tennis magician of all time.

McEnroe was a groundbreaker, when he entered professional tennis in 1978.  Volatile and aggressive, he became a moving force in tennis with his serve and volley style, his enigmatic serve, his quick reaction time and explosive foot speed.

He bested the best of his generation, eventually bringing down the mighty Bjorn Borg, the tenacious Jimmy Connors, and the rising genius, Ivan Lendl, himself a ground-breaker. 

John McEnroe won seven grand slams—three Wimbledon titles and four U.S. Open championships.  Notably, he was also one of the best doubles players ever to hold a racket. 

Committing himself almost religiously to the Davis Cup, McEnroe revived the American interest in the competition.

In 1984, McEnroe produced an amazing 82-3 record, winning 13 singles titles, which included both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open championships.

The man who came closest to equaling McEnroe’s superlative season was Roger Federer—who, in 2005, held an 81-3 record but fell in his final match of the year to David Nalbandian, losing his bid to equal the mighty McEnroe.

While McEnroe spent a total of 170 weeks at No. 1, Federer’s record of 237 weeks seems improbable to equal again. And while McEnroe holds seven grand slam trophies, Federer holds 13, with the possibility of adding more.

If we compare the two, inch by inch and mile by mile, the similarities are superficial because their playing styles are completely different; their equipment and training regimes were miles apart; their contemporaries—i.e., competition—were of different generations; and McEnroe is a lefty while Federer is a righty.

But consider what McEnroe could bring to the Swiss table.  McEnroe could demonstrate the proper way to have attitude on court.  Remember all of the McEnroe versus Connors contests?  Those guys knew how to bruise with stares and fist pumps. 

He could effectively show Roger the left-handed mystique and teach him how to counter and cut off the ball spun in with the lefty torque and torrid topspin.  Nadal is a lefty, as you may recall.

Mac could show Roger how to ridicule Hawkeye—somehow, it just wouldn’t be the same. 

The result of the McEnroe touch on the Federer game might prove to be just enough to push Federer over the top and onto Grand Slam No. 14 at Roland Garros and the redemption at Wimbledon for No. 15. 

All it would cost Mr. Federer is an admission that the GOAT mantle must forever be attributed to John Patrick McEnroe Jr.  This is the charge.  Roger would gladly pay if McEnroe gives him back his game—as would Roger's greatest fan!

John Patrick McEnroe Jr. is the greatest player ever to play the game of tennis.

This article is the result of a bet I lost with Leroy Watson—I took Michigan State and he took that other team. I was supposed to write about how Mac was a better tennis player than Roger Federer. I cheated just a bit!