Now the U.S. tennis establishment has come to see it McEnroe’s way. Having watched the Davis Cup slip off American sports fans’ radar, it has turned to its most controversial figure to try to rekindle some Cup excitement. When the United States plays its opening match this Friday in Zimbabwe, it will mark the debut of McEnroe, a man who remains more punk than politic, as Davis Cup team captain. “I think I can inject some positive energy,” says McEnroe. “The Davis Cup deserves to be up there with the biggest sporting events.”
No amount of energy can completely transform this once popular competition–now a confusing configuration of 129 different countries playing an elimination tournament intermittently all over the world. Still, a Mac attack may be the Davis Cup’s best hope. “I think a lot of people will start paying attention again,” says NBC tennis commentator Bud Collins, “if only to see if John provokes an international incident.” Team member Pete Sampras is less puckish: “We need some kind of jolt,” he says. “John being captain isn’t a complete fix, but it definitely helps.”
McEnroe, 40, has coveted this job–basically a nonplaying coach’s role–ever since he quit competing in the Davis Cup back in 1992. And the decision to give it to him was born of almost equal parts pragmatism and principle. McEnroe’s devotion to the event is unrivaled in the modern tennis era. He holds or shares 20 U.S. Davis Cup records, including most years competed (12), most matches played (69) and most victories (59). (By contrast, Jimmy Connors played just 13 Cup matches in his long career.) “The timing is right for him,” says Judy Levering, the United States Tennis Association president who made the call. “John has really run around for the flag.”
The practical consideration was this: McEnroe, as a great champion, has the prestige and, as a regular network TV commentator, the bully pulpit to lure the best players onto the team. The theory worked. When America lost to Australia in last year’s quarterfinals, neither Sampras nor Andre Agassi, the world’s top two players, competed in singles for the team. Both players have committed to this Cup’s full schedule, though Sampras injured his hip last week and will miss the Zimbabwe opener. “McEnroe simply shamed Sampras into joining by saying loudly and publicly, ‘It’s time Pete did his duty’,” says Collins. Regardless of how it came about, the Agassi-Sampras pairing is so strong that when December’s final rolls around, America will likely be draped in flag-waving glory.
Still, McEnroe is a strange choice for a post that has always had more ambassadorial than on-the-court responsibilities. His tennis legacy, which includes four U.S. Open and three Wimbledon titles, will always bear the tarnish of his incendiary temper and his tart tongue. In the office at his downtown New York City art gallery, McEnroe keeps a 1981 NEWSWEEK cover that calls him “The Champ You Love to Hate.”
McEnroe swears–uh, make that insists–that he is up to the diplomatic mission. He says age, marriage (he is divorced from actress Tatum O’Neal and remarried to rock singer Patty Smyth) and fatherhood (six children) have changed him. As a parent particularly, he says, he is sensitive “to the consequences of using bad words so I’m really determined to cut that out. There are a lot of things I can do to help our team that won’t include repeating my most famous lines to umpires.”
It isn’t clear, with Sampras and Agassi lined up for the tougher matches later this year, what more will be required of the captain. The last time both stars played for the United States was 1995–not coincidentally, the last time America won the competition. “I hope they perform up to their ability so I can just sit there and twiddle my thumbs,” McEnroe says. He did flirt with the notion of selecting himself to play in the doubles match. But despite his reputation as America’s best doubles player ever, he chose to avert any controversy and defer to generation next. “My hope is that I can teach some players to play better doubles than I now could.”
The American players aren’t sure what to expect from McEnroe in Zimbabwe. But nobody thinks the captain will replicate the low-key approach of his predecessor, Tom Gullickson. “The week will be a little more stressful than what we’re used to,” says Todd Martin, who may sub for Sampras in the singles. “But some added urgency will make it more exciting.”
McEnroe knows how hard it will be to get fans here to share that excitement. But the coupling of his center-stage personality with a tennis Dream Team is a good start. And the lesson of last summer’s women’s World Cup was not lost on McEnroe. Americans love a winner. A couple of smashing victories followed by Agassi, Sampras and crew romping around the court wrapped in red, white and blue should create a bit of a stir. McEnroe sees a natural progression from the Cup’s current TV fate in the sports netherworld of ESPN2 to ESPN and, finally, to network. And he can be counted on to deliver some added glitz. As serious as he is about tennis, McEnroe has always taken his cues from celebrity pals like Jack Nicholson and Mick Jagger. America is likely to play Britain this spring in a second-round matchup in L.A. Can’t you just see Mick, Jack and Mac high-fiving at courtside?
