‘A Very Frustrating Game’ – ‘Superbrat’ John McEnroe Revealed Why He Never Tried to Have Ice-Cold Attitude Like Bjorn Borg or Rafael Nadal

Former American tennis star John McEnroe was one of the most impulsive tennis players during his time. Sometimes, his emotions got the better of him, as he vented his frustration on the tennis court. However, according to one of his recent interviews, this is how a normal human being should behave.

In the interview, McEnroe talked about some of the top players from his generation, like Jimmy Connors, and Bjorn Borg, and players like Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal. According to him, most people relate to him and Connors more than others who dominated in his era.

John McEnroe compares his manners on the court with Bjorn Borg and Rafael Nadal

It is worth noting that former American tennis star Jimmy Connors also had a reputation for his explosive attitude on the tennis court. “Generally, I think people are, as far as tennis goes, more like me and Connors than Borg, who never showed any expression,” McEnroe said. 

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“It’s a very frustrating game that it’s hard not to get emotional about. I’d be, like, ‘I’m gonna go practise and be like Borg for two hours,’ and that would last, like, five minutes. It just wasn’t in my DNA,” he further said. 

Moreover, he cited Rafael Nadal‘s example of how the Spaniard never broke a racket on the tennis court. According to the American, players like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Bjorn Borg are not relatable to other players or normal people because of their immense composure on the tennis court.

McEnroe’s famous outbursts

Due to his countless outbursts on the tennis court, many nicknamed him ‘Superbrat’. In the 1984 French Open final, he lost the match against Ivan Lendl after losing his cool in between the match.

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Moreover, he had received many fines over the course of his career due to his on-court antics. His most famous outbursts came in the first round of the Wimbledon Championships in 1981. When a line judge called one of his serves out, he immediately looked at the chair umpire and vented out his frustration. During his altercation with the chair umpire, McEnroe uttered the words, “You cannot be serious!” which has become one of the iconic moments in the history of the sport.

Later, he went into a massive rant against the chair umpire, which forced him to penalize the American player by giving a point to his opponent. Later, McEnroe wrote his autobiography and named it ‘You Cannot Be Serious‘.

In a similar incident, he was also disqualified from the Australian Open due to his behavior. Many believed his on-court antics overshadowed his tremendous tennis career, as he was one of the very first players to achieve no.1 rankings in both doubles and singles.