He had already received a warning for smashing his racket. So when a frustrated Andy Roddick launched a ball high into the Cincinnati night during the third set of his matchup with Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber at the Western & Southern Open (a seemingly harmless reaction), chair ump Carlos Bernardes slapped the Texan with a point penalty — a punishment that cost the No. 15-ranked American a key service break. Roddick, who continuously showed his displeasure during subsequent changeovers, never recovered and went on to lose the match 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-1.
Bernardes may have frowned upon Roddick’s outburst, but some, like Mr. Meltdown himself, John McEnroe, applaud such shows of emotion.
“God bless America,” said McEnroe, appearing on a pre-U.S. Open conference call. “It’s good to see.”
When Inside Tennis asked if the sport’s sometime stringent code of conduct needs to be loosened up a bit, McEnroe retorted, “You’re not asking me that seriously, right? You’re just feeding me [like] blood in the water for the sharks.”
IT then noted, “You’re the man, John. America is waiting for to hear from you. Preach!”
Mac then added, “There’s no question in our sport, in a one-on-one game, that people gravitate toward players they can relate to on some level emotionally,” he continued. “That’s why I think the game’s on an upswing — the men’s game in particular — because you’re seeing guys show more of their personality. The quality is improving, and the athleticism, but as importantly, you’re starting to see more emotion from guy like [Novak] Djokovic, sort of back to the way he was. I felt that was a tight call when Andy got that point penalty to lose his serve in the third. He was sort of melting down, but [Bernardes] sort of contributed to the meltdown and maybe that didn’t need to happen. That’s a tough one. But I think they realized long ago when they tightened the rules for me and [Jimmy] Connors, mainly, and a few other guys, that over the course of time, they squeezed it too much. I think they are trying to loosen things up. That’s definitely something they need to do.”
So whether it’s Roddick sending balls skyward, Djokovic smashing up his gear at Wimbledon, or 19-year-old, wears-his-heart-on-his-sleeve Ryan Harrison bouncing rackets off the hard courts, does Mr. McEnroe think it’s good for the game?
“Of course,” he deadpanned. “Is the Pope Catholic?”
