John McEnroe is one of the most prolific members of the ATP No. 1 Club, having spent 170 weeks atop men’s tennis and earning four ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF finishes. But decades after his retirement, the American continues to learn about the sport.
During an interview with ATP Media at the Nexo Dallas Open, McEnroe explained how much he “really respects” one thing in particular about Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and more recently Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
“They keep pushing. It might be a little late but the lesson I learned is maybe I should have pushed a little harder then instead of waiting to see what would happen,” McEnroe said. “So you get life lessons as you’re dealing with all this stuff that, later on, probably makes you a better person in the end.”
The legendary lefty first became the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings in March 1980,
“The first time that I hit No. 1 on the computer was a different time than when I was the No. 1 and that there was no doubt about it,” McEnroe said. “There was probably a year and a half between that happening in Memphis in February of ’80 to September at the US Open of ’81 when I supplanted Bjorn at that time as No. 1.”
When McEnroe became No. 1 his great rival, Bjorn Borg, was still at the top of the sport. But 1981 would prove to be the iconic Swede’s final full-time season.
“When it did happen, it coincided unfortunately as it turned out with my greatest rival deciding not to play any more. So it was gut-wrenching in a way,” McEnroe said. “That led to me struggling with feeling a bit like I’d walked into something that was a little bit overwhelming. And it took me a while to figure it out. And then by the time I figured it out, I was still out there finishing No. 1 the third, fourth year. But then after that, lifting myself to that level I was like, ’Alright, now I’ve shown them’.”
McEnroe’s final stint at World No. 1 ended in September 1985. More than 40 years later, he still is seventh of 29 ATP No. 1 Club members for weeks at the top of the sport.
“I appreciated it then, but I also appreciated being No. 2 in the world. I had this conversation with Bjorn quite a bit,” McEnroe said. “He was like, ‘Look, if you’re not No. 1, what the hell difference is it being No. 2 or 100?’ I go, ‘Well, [No.] 2 is a lot better than 100’. So it’s just sort of the way you look at it.
“To me, there are a lot of people out there trying to do their thing. So if you gave it the best you can give and you were 5 in the world or you’re 50, whatever it is, the pride you have to take is that moreso than, ‘Okay I’m No. 1 and therefore I’ve got to act a certain way’.”
Nobody will ever be able to take away what McEnroe accomplished in tennis and those achievements are a big reason why fans still flock to see the New Yorker.
McEnroe said: “To me, ultimately, I think that being able to say that for a period of three, four years, that I was the best and then there were other years I was one of the two of three best, that feels better as you get older.”
