Tennis Icon John McEnroe

Fresh Air

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4.3 • 36.1K Ratings

🗓️ 23 December 2022

⏱️ 46 minutes

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Summary

Our best of 2022 series continues. John McEnroe is remembered as one of the most talented — and hot-headed — tennis players of all time. Over the course of his career, he won 155 combined titles — more than any man in the game's modern era. We talk about wins, losses and notorious moments on the court.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Fresh Air.
0:01.2	I'm Dave Davies in for Terry Gross.
0:03.9	We are playing back some of our favorite interviews from the year, and our guest today
0:07.8	is John McInero, remembered as one of the greatest tennis players ever, and one of the
0:13.2	loudest.
0:14.4	He won 158 combined titles, that singles and doubles, more than any man in the game's
0:19.8	modern era.
0:20.8	And he's won 25 singles titles on the Champions Tour, the circuit for those who retired from
0:26.4	the mainstream tour.
0:28.2	His playing days are also remembered for moments like this.
0:32.1	You can't be serious, man.
0:34.0	You cannot be serious!
0:36.0	That ball was on the line.
0:38.4	Shaw flew up.
0:39.4	It just clearly is.
0:42.6	How can you possibly call that out?
0:45.3	How many are you going to miss?
0:46.9	That's McInero arguing a line called at the 1981 Wimbledon Tournament.
0:51.3	John McInero is the subject of a documentary film released this year, directed by Barney
0:56.0	Douglas, that's streaming on Showtime.
0:59.2	It chronicles McInero's remarkable success at a young age, and his marriages to Tatum
1:03.9	O'Neill and Patty Smythe, all in the glare of intense media scrutiny.
	...

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