McEnroe Wins, Williams Family Accused of Lying in Court

Posted on December 7, 2006

McEnroe Goes Ballistic at Blackrock Masters

"Mellow with age" and "John McEnroe" have never been synonymous terms, demonstrated effectively Wednesday at the Blackrock Masters seniors event where the 47-year-old American went ballistic after some bad linecalls en route to a 7-6(9), 4-6, 10-7 opening-round win over Swede Anders Jarryd.

McEnroe was warned for firing a ball at the Royal Albert Hall's organ pipes, berating the chair umpire and linespeople, and almost (almost the key word on the senior tour, where McEnroe runs rampant) given a point penalty when he smashed a racquet on the court, bouncing it up into the crowd.

"If anything, they woke me up," McEnroe said of his meltdowns. "I got more into it and played better. I was trying to just play tennis, but I did get angry with some of the line calls and then the crowd fed off that, and we both started playing better. It got a little bit wacky out there, but it was still fun."

Both players received standing ovations after the prolonged battle.

"The crowd reaction was really nice," Jarryd said. "It was a really competitive match and we both really wanted to win. I feel pretty exhausted now. I know how he reacts out there sometimes and I had to stay pretty cool. It was still a lot of fun."

Jarryd's loss means McEnroe and group member Cedric Pioline will both advance to Friday's quarterfinals.

Marcelo Rios also won his debut match, pounding Jeremy Bates 6-2, 6-1 and sending a warning to his opponents.

"I didn't even hit the ball that well tonight, but I'm on fire this week and I'm going to do some damage," Rios said.

Sergi Bruguera beat Thomas Muster 6-3, 3-6, 10-5, and defending champ Paul Haarhuis defeated Carl-Uwe Steeb 3-6, 6-2, 10-2.

On court Thursday are McEnroe vs. Pioline, Muster vs. Leconte, Rios vs. Cash, and Ivanisevic vs. Haarhuis.

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