This is the tenth year that John McEnroe has played at the BlackRock Masters, but he has never lost his temper in an opening match at the Royal Albert Hall quite as emphatically as he did in scraping against Anders Jarryd on Wednesday.
The American, a four-time winner of the event, was made to fight for two and a quarter hours before finally overcoming the Swede 7-6(9), 4-6, 10-7 (on a Champions’ Tie-Break).
He required four set points to win a first set that Jarryd was also just a point away from winning, and, when a series of line calls went against him, McEnroe exploded.
He was warned for firing a ball at the Royal Albert Hall’s organ pipes, booed for constantly berating the chair umpire and his assistants, and almost given a point penalty when he crashed a racquet into the court which then bounced into the crowd.
His tantrums did not detract from his performance.
“If anything, they woke me up,” said McEnroe afterwards.
“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.”
At 45 and 47 respectively, Jarryd and McEnroe are the oldest men in the tournament, but it was difficult to tell. Neither has a sliver of fat on them, and both are in impeccable shape.
“I knew it was going to be tough,” McEnroe added.
“Anders plays well on this surface, he’s done well here before, and we’ve had a lot of close matches over the years. He’s one of the guys that inspire me to work hard because he’s so fit. He’s only a couple of years younger than me and it was a real fight out there. When it broke the two-hour mark I thought it was never going to end!”
Both players received standing ovations afterwards, and Jarryd was happy despite registering a second straight defeat to end his 2006 campaign at the BlackRock Masters.
“The crowd reaction was really nice,” said Jarryd.
“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.”
It means McEnroe and Pioline will both advance to Friday’s quarterfinals, but they will meet on Thursday in a match that will decide their opponents in the last eight.
RIOS WARNS RIVALS: ‘I’M ON FIRE’
Marcelo Rios won his debut at the BlackRock Masters in double-quick time and then warned his rivals that he intends to ‘do some damage’ at the Royal Albert Hall this week.
The Chilean, the runaway leader in the South African Airways Champions Tour Rankings, beat Jeremy Bates 6-2, 6-1.
“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,” he said.
It was the first time he had sampled the atmosphere in the Royal Albert Hall, and Rios liked what he saw.
“It’s a nice place, a nice atmosphere, but it does takes time to get used to the conditions.”
Elsewhere, Sergi Bruguera won a battle between two former French Open champions when he overcame Thomas Muster 6-3, 3-6, 10-5 (Champions’ Tie-Break), while defending champion Paul Haarhuis defeated Carl-Uwe Steeb 3-6, 6-2, 10-2 (Champions’ Tie-Break).
The 12-man field is divided in four groups of three, with the players meeting over a round-robin basis.
The top two players in each group will advance to Friday’s quarterfinals. There is winner-take-all cheque of $100,000 on offer to the victor.
###########
To be eligible to compete on the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions, players must have been either a World No.1 during their competitive playing careers, a Grand Slam singles finalist or champion, or a singles player on a victorious Davis Cup team, and no longer active as an singles player on the ATP circuit. Each event can also invite two players of its choice to take wild cards.
Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading wealth management, capital markets and advisory companies with offices in 36 countries and territories and total client assets of approximately US$1.8 trillion. As an investment bank, it is a leading global trader and underwriter of securities and derivatives across a broad range of asset classes and serves as a strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals worldwide. Through Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, the company is one of the world's largest managers of financial assets. Firmwide, assets under management total US$589 billion as at 30th June 2006. For more information on Merrill Lynch, please visit www.ml.com.
South Africa's international flagship airline and the continent's most awarded carrier, South African Airways is the official airline of the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions. Its modern fleet features a comfortable Economy Class cabin recently reconfigured for extra legroom and a Premium Business Class cabin featuring the airline's award-winning, lie-flat seat. Complimentary South African wines, inspired cuisine and personal on-demand entertainment for all travellers make the trip to Africa fly by. Built on a venerable 72-year history of bringing the world to Africa and taking Africa to the world, the airline's network is unsurpassed on the continent - connecting travellers to more than 20 destinations within South Africa and more than 20 cities across Africa. As a recent member to the worldwide Star Alliance, South African Airways is now able to offer its customers 852 destinations in 152 countries and more than 15,500 flights daily.
