You’d be hard pressed to find a guy with more perspective on our sport than Patrick McEnroe, an astute observer who’s experienced the game from every angle imaginable – from inside the locker room, the court, the Davis Cup captain’s bench, the broadcast booth and the boardroom. All of which makes “Harcourt Confidential: Tales From 20 Years In the Pro Tennis Trenches” (Hyperion/co-authored by Peter Bodo) an invaluable resource for those who hunger for insider analysis.
The player/coach/commentator/ player development czar provides a no-holes-barred look at professional tennis — unapologetic, up-close-and-personal insight that blankets more than 20 years of tennis happenings. Example: PMac says that his brother John‘s ill-fated, three-tie run as U.S. Davis Cup captain (which came to a screeching halt with “an unmitigated disaster” of a loss in Spain in ’00) was, in essence, doomed from the start. “He misjudged the extent to which other top players shared his passion, as well as the effect his captaincy would have on the motivation of his players,” writes Patrick, who replaced his brother and eventually led the U.S. to its first title in a dozen years in ’07. “He assumed that because he was a great player, his peers…would play for him and respond positively to his personal style. But there’s a big difference between being a leader and a Davis Cup captain, because captain calls for more in the way of management and interpersonal skills. And we all know John doesn’t have the deftest touch.”
We learn that…
• John’s not the only fly-off-the-handle member of the McEnroe clan (“If you think John’s got a temper — well, you don’t know Mark“).
• That John and Patrick “often have bouts of frosty silence.”
• That Davis Cupper James Blake “didn’t want to hear any suggestions that went against his philosophy” and his “reluctance to change things up or try something new quickly became a running joke on the team.”
• That Donald Young‘s dad says no one will practice with his son “at the Challengers because he’s African American.”
• That, to this day, Patrick is haunted by his first-round loss to a 39-year-old Jimmy Connors at the ’91 U.S. Open.
• That he leans toward Roger Federer, not Pete Sampras, when it comes to the Greatest of All Time debate (“I’d give Federer the edge, hands down, on any surface but grass”).
• That Andre Agassi was “one of the most insecure, moody and easily rattled of all great players.”
• That, like Agassi’s controversial assertion in his bio, “Open,” Sampras was “cheap — very cheap.”
• That he thinks the ITF’s “rules governing the abuse of recreational drugs are draconian.”
• That the Bryan Bros. are “tennis geeks.”
• That he once got stuck in an elevator with Mary Joe Fernandez and missed the start of a broadcast in Miami.
• And that, during his U.S. Open semi against Johnny Mac in ’80, Connors spat at his opponent’s box, in which the likes of Jack Nicholson were seated (“He hawked up a real nasty lougie”).
Patrick McEnroe has done quite well for himself despite existing in the formidable shadow of his SuperBrat sibling John. “Hardcourt Confidential” is more evidence that he’s always been his own man
