Tennis: Crowd turns on McEnroe, but he rallies again to win

Champions Tour title

Richard Dunn

NEWPORT BEACH - For the second time in the Success Magazine

Champions Tour at Newport Beach Tennis Club, John McEnroe, who went from

crowd hero the first three matches to villain in the championship final

Sunday, rallied to win in the championship tie-breaker.

This time, McEnroe came back and defeated Pat Cash, 7-6 (4), 5-7,

10-7, after trailing in the championship tie-breaker, 5-7, to the

Australian fitness buff who became a Mother’s Day favorite in Newport

Beach mainly by default.

It was McEnroe’s emotions unraveling -- what else is new? -- that

turned the crowd against him in the first set. A man in the third row of

the east-side bleachers hollered, “Throw your racket, John!”

McEnroe, ahead 6-5 at the time with Cash serving at 30-15, glared up

at the fan, and what followed was Big Mac’s first of many expletive-laced

remarks throughout the match with ball boys and girls within earshot.

For the first time in the men’s senior tennis event at Newport Beach,

which started Wednesday, the crowd seemed to almost stop cheering for the

Stanford legend. “Come on, Pat!” became the most frequent comment from

the crowd as Cash became the knight on a white horse.

But McEnroe, who thrives on energy from the audience whether they’re

booing or cheering, found another way to rally and capture his eighth

Champions Tour title in 2000-01.

“The last time I played Cash, the same thing happened, but only

reversed,” McEnroe said. “I had two match points and lost to him in

London last December. I figured it was my turn to get lucky. If I could,

I was trying to get the last bit of momentum, because it’s the last one

that counts.”

In a round-robin singles match Friday night, McEnroe trailed Yannick

Noah, 3-6, in the championship tie-breaker, which is played up to 10 with

a two-point difference. McEnroe rallied to win, 10-8.

Sunday, Cash enjoyed a 7-5 edge in the championship tie-breaker, which

replaces a full third set on the circuit, but lost five straight points.

“That’s still a long way to go (ahead 7-5), but you’re in the best

position you want to be and with the serve to come,” Cash said. “But I

missed on the first serve and missed (on a lob shot).”

McEnroe tied it, 7-7, on a drop shot at the net, then pulled ahead by

one point on an overhead volley. McEnroe earned double match point, with

Cash serving, on a backhand passing shot, then closed out the 2:10 match

when Cash hit a return into the net.

“It seems like I had (McEnroe) the whole way, didn’t I?” Cash said. “I

had my chances. I just didn’t serve well and couldn’t finish the

tie-breaker out. It’s pretty rare that I have a bad day on my serve, but

today was one of them ... I had a wild serving day. I just couldn’t get

enough first serves in.”

With the victory, McEnroe continues to lead the Champions Tour points

standings, earning 400 points Sunday to put him at 3,900, while Cash was

awarded 250 points for his runner-up finish and moved into second place

in the standings with a distant 1,285. No prize money is awarded at

individual tournaments, but the top eight compete in a year-end

championship.

“I can outlast everybody on this circuit (because of good physical

conditioning), but with that third-set tie-breaker, there’s no real

advantage for me,” said Cash, 36. “The older guys like John (42) can get

through it if they’re a little tired. (The championship tie-breaker) is a

bad thing for me, but it’s good for him.”

When asked about McEnroe tirades on line calls, Cash added: “He’s

glaring at balls that are at least three feet out. That’s just the way he

is. It’s the way he’s always been. It just gets a little frustrating.”

McEnroe, whose marquee tag carries the worldwide men’s senior tennis

circuit, lost to Cash twice earlier this year.

“I knew he was going to be tough, that’s what I told you (Saturday),”

McEnroe said. “But I was able to take it up a notch (in the championship

tie-breaker). That’s when you get into thinking your opponent is tight,

even if he isn’t.”

McEnroe, who said he would prefer to play a full third set rather than

a tie-breaker up to 10, said he plans to play another three years on the

Champions Tour, which he has completely dominated. He’s the only player

ever to receive the tour’s Player of the Year honor.

“I don’t feel any pressure to (remain on the tour as its top

headliner),” McEnroe said. “The sport needs to do a lot of things, not

just the senior tour. You know the old saying, cake always tastes better

with icing. Well, the senior tour’s the icing, not the cake, and if the

cake’s struggling, that hurts us. But (the senior tour) is a good viable

option for people to have.”

Sunday’s estimated crowd of 1,500 -- with a stadium capacity of 2,105

-- was less than the attendance Thursday night, Friday night or Saturday

afternoon, all of which drew about 1,750.

In the championship doubles match Sunday, Cash and Scott Davis

defeated Guillermo Vilas and Leif Shiras, 6-4, 6-4.