‘I Felt a Little Old Out There’ : McEnroe Dethroned in by No. 8 Seed

WIMBLEDON, England —  In a shocking upset on Centre Court, a strangely listless John McEnroe tumbled out of the Wimbledon tennis championships today. The defending champion and No. 1 seed was ousted from the quarterfinals 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 by Kevin Curren, the No. 8 seed.

“I felt a little old out there. The way I played and felt, I was not as fresh as I would have liked,” the 26-year-old McEnroe said. “It was obvious he was hitting the ball harder than me. He just overpowered me.”

Asked if there was any time in the match when he thought he might still win, McEnroe replied jokingly: “Only if he broke an ankle or something. He completely outplayed me. I played a sub-par match and I was surprised how badly I was serving. When you lose, everything seems to hurt a whole lot more.”

It took Curren an hour and 49 minutes worth of power serves, sharp returns and lightning passing shots to polish off McEnroe, who was aiming to become the first American to win the Wimbledon men’s singles crown three straight times.

Curren will face fellow American Jimmy Connors, seeded third, in Friday’s semifinals. No. 5 seed Anders Jarryd of Sweden will meet unseeded 17-year-old Boris Becker of West Germany.