McEnroe remains relevant on, off court

Long before John McEnroe was being chauffeured around Los Angeles by Larry David on HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" or egging cars in midtown Manhattan with Adam Sandler in "Mr. Deeds," he was one heck of a tennis player.

McEnroe, a four-time winner of the U.S. Open and a three-time winner of Wimbledon, was among the game's greatest players in the 1980s. His battles with Ivan Lendl and Bjorn Borg were as legendary as his fiery competitiveness and intensity on the court.

Now 52, McEnroe remains as active as ever in tennis. He is one of the best television analysts in any sport with his concise, accurate and sometimes biting observations. He has dedicated himself to helping develop the next generation of American tennis players with his academy in New York City.

And he's still playing.

McEnroe returns to the court in an ATP Champions Series tour event at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center. McEnroe, a 1999 International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee, will join fellow Hall members Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Michael Chang in Las Vegas, a place McEnroe admits he doesn't get to very often these days.

"I can't remember the last time I was in Vegas," McEnroe said. "I know it's been a long time since I played there. It was in the Alan King tournament at Caesars (Palace), I'm thinking sometime in the early '80s, and that was a big event when I was coming up.

"I gambled a little back then, so it was an exciting place to be. People were thinking outside the box then to make tennis bigger and more interesting. I wish we had more of that these days."

McEnroe said he's encouraged by the new wave of young American players. He likes what he sees from John Isner, Donald Young, Jack Sock and Ryan Harrison. But he said there's still considerable work to be done before the world sees the next Agassi, Sampras, Chang -- or even McEnroe.

"We have good quality players," he said. "American men's tennis is headed in the right direction. But no one's ready to win any (Grand) Slams at this point. But I think they recognize what they need to do, keep working at their game, be in the best shape possible and be ready to move forward."

McEnroe said he's enjoying developing the game at the grassroots level. From his perspective, not everyone can go to Florida to be coached by Nick Bollettieri -- the way Agassi did when he was a teenager -- and then be successful.

"I'm not sure it's the best way, either," McEnroe said. "I know for me, personally, it wouldn't have worked out well. And if you read Andre's book ("Open"), he didn't have a lot of fun at Nick's academy. I'm not saying my way is the best way; I just think there are alternatives to developing players.

"What we don't want is having kids start playing when they're 14 or 16 (years old), and then they're out of the game at 20."

Those kids weren't even a gleam in their parents' eyes when McEnroe was beating opponents with his wood racket. He was the last player to win a Grand Slam title with wood when he captured the 1984 U.S. Open.

"The game's so much different now," he said. "But in this (Champions Series) format, I might still be able to compete. It's one set -- anything's possible."

McEnroe is scheduled to play in the final six Champions Series events. His run began against Sampras on Thursday in Seattle, and he'll face Agassi in Los Angeles tonight. On Saturday, McEnroe will play Sampras in the first match at the Thomas & Mack, with the winner playing the Agassi-Chang winner in the final.

The format calls for one-set semifinal matches, with the final an eight-game pro set (the first to win eight games).

McEnroe said if today's generation knows him for his TV commentary rather than his backhand, or being in the movies instead of arguing with chair umpires, he's fine with that.

"I'm just thankful they know me for something," he said. "But with YouTube and (ESPN) Classic, people can still see what I did back in the day. It's not like I'm that ancient."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.