John McEnroe

John McEnroe was a winner and a whiner, a super talent nicknamed Superbrat. A lefthander with all the strokes, he never felt a need to stroke anybody. John Patrick McEnroe Jr. is an American former professional tennis player. McEnroe attained the world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles, finishing his career with 77 singles and 78 doubles titles; this remains the highest men's combined total of the Open Era. He won seven Grand Slam singles titles, four at the US Open and three at Wimbledon. Additionally, nine Grand Slam men's doubles titles, five at Wimbledon and four at the US Open, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title at the French Open. His singles match record of 82–3 in 1984 remains the best single season win rate of the Open Era.

McEnroe also excelled at the year-end tournaments, winning eight singles and seven doubles titles, both of which are records. Three of his winning singles year-end championships were at the Masters Grand Prix and five were at the World Championship Tennis (WCT) Finals, an event which ended in 1989. Since 2000, there has been only one year-end men's singles event, the ATP Finals (the new name for the Masters Grand Prix). He was named the ATP Player of the Year and the ITF World Champion three times each: 1981, 1983 and 1984.

A serve-and-volleyer, his shotmaking artistry enabled him to dominate tennis from 1981-84. He dethroned Bjorn Borg at Wimbledon, winning three championships on the prestigious grass courts just outside London. His 1980 Wimbledon final against four-time champion Bjorn Borg was a classic. Down two sets to one, and trailing 5-4 in the fourth set, McEnroe broke Borg, and soon it was 6-6. In a tiebreaker for the ages, McEnroe saved five championship points before prevailing, 18-16. McEnroe, though, couldn't break Borg again and lost the fifth set, 8-6. But in 1981, the attacking McEnroe ended Borg's Wimbledon reign at five consecutive championships and 41 straight winning matches when he beat him in the finals in four sets, including two tie-breakers. 

In 1987, McEnroe didn't win a title for the first time since turning pro. He took a seven-month break from the game following the U.S. Open, where he was suspended for two months and fined $17,500 for misconduct and verbal abuse. McEnroe retired from the professional tour at the end of 1992. He ended his singles career ranked No. 20. He played in one tournament in 1994 as a wildcard at the Rotterdam Open, losing in the first round. This was his last singles match on the ATP Tour.

McEnroe was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999. He is now a sports commentator at Wimbledon for the BBC in the UK. He also provides commentary at the Australian Open, US Open and lesser ATP tennis tournaments in the US on networks such as CBS, NBC, USA, and ESPN, as does his brother Patrick.

Grand Slam Singles record:

Australian open: SF (1983, 1984)

French Open: F (1981, 1983, 1984)

Wimbledon: W (1981, 1983, 1984)

US Open: W (1979, 1980, 1981, 1984)

Grand Slam Doubles record:

Australian open: SF (1989)

French Open: QF (1992)

Wimbledon: W (1979, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1992)

US Open: W (1979, 1981, 1983, 1989)