John McEnroe admitted he never topped the feeling of his 1980 Wimbledon finals loss to Björn Borg.GETTY IMAGES
JOHN MCENROE admitted his "old attitude was too much for him, and maybe for others," and also revealed how much he missed BJÖRN BORG when the Swede retired at 26, in an interview with Sean Ingle of the London GUARDIAN. Addressing this year's tournament, McEnroe said, "What ROGER FEDERER has done over the past 18 months is the most incredible thing I have seen in tennis. He hadn't won a major in four years. Now he has three of the last six. It's insane." At the Chelsea hotel, where McEnroe bases himself during Wimbledon, McEnroe said, "Listen, tennis is a great sport. But I'm concerned. Roger and RAFA NADAL -- the two greatest players of all times, with NOVAK DJOKOVIC not far behind -- are approaching the last year or two of their careers. SERENA and VENUS [WILLIAMS] are too. ... And then what? Perhaps it's easy for me to be a backseat driver. But it seems to me like Nadal and Federer are still hungrier than the guys coming through." Hunger, desire and passion; "even now, you can smell it off McEnroe like an aftershave." He added, "Generally the kids are so pampered now. They barely have to do anything by themselves. When I came to Europe for the first time I was given $500 and a plane ticket and that was it for a seven-week period." McEnroe "clearly loved hanging out with rock stars and actors." When asked what it was like "trying to keep up with the Rolling Stones on a night out," McEnroe said, "I can hold my own, but it's a different level. That's the difference between musicians and athletes. We've got to sleep a little more." The partying, however, "did not stop McEnroe reaching the very top." He described his famous fourth-set tiebreak against Borg in '80, which he won 18-16 only to lose the match in the final set, as being akin to an "out-of-body experience." He said, "As it turned out, I never topped that feeling. I mean, I had great moments but I never topped that moment" (GUARDIAN, 7/8).
