American tennis legend John McEnroe was glad that he was able to help tennis become more popular in his time but admits what the Big Three have done for the game is a completely different league. After winning his first Grand Slam title at 1979 US Open, McEnroe was one of the most dominant figures in the early 1980s.
In the end, McEnroe finished his career with seven Grand Slam titles. Besides being one of the best players during his time, McEnroe was also known for his fiery personality. In his days, McEnroe was selling out stadiums and drawing attention to tennis.
The crowds loved McEnroe and what he was bringing to the table. “I said it in 1984 or ’85, so it was a while ago, before these other guys Federer Nadal and Djokovic,” McEnroe said on CBS Mornings, via Sportskeeda.
“These guys seem to have gone by me but at that moment my hair was a different color with different times, the end of the wooden racket era, but at that moment I thought I’d taken the game to another level.”
McEnroe is a bit calmer now
Now at the age of 63, McEnroe admits his temperament has softened up a bit. “Well, six kids later, I’m better than I was. I wouldn’t call that my strong suit,” McEnroe explained.
“I sort of look at things fairly black and white although it ends up being sort of a gray area like when push comes to shove. I mean look at politics, everyone’s on one side or the other but it seemed like we’d be better off somewhere in the middle and I think in general that would be better the way to lead life.”
Nowadays, McEnroe is often working as a tennis commentator and analyst. McEnroe is still closely connected to the game and regularly follows the men’s and women’s Tours.
