Mayhem in Melbourne: John McEnroe's 1990 default from the Australian Open is revisited
“You cannot be serious,” John McEnroe frequently said in what became his iconic expression during a storied tennis career that included seven Grand Slam singles titles and 10 in doubles. Now, 36 years after his default from the Australian Open in Melbourne — the first in the history of Grand Slam tournaments in the Open era — yes, seriously, Tennis Australia is indeed flashing back to that day in January 1990 to remind longtime fans of that historic occurrence and perhaps a whole new legion of millennials who never knew it happened. It's in the form of a podcast which includes players and others who were there on the day at a stadium that was later to be named Rod Laver Arena.
AO Originals released this week the first episode of a four-part podcast series called “ SNAP : The John McEnroe Default Saga. ” The podcast has contributions from recognizable tennis names including Jim Courier, Tim Henman, Todd Woodbridge, Pat Cash, former Australian Open chief Paul McNamee, Patrick McEnroe and Barbara Schett. “It’s a moment that transcends tennis.
People still talk about it decades later because it changed the way the sport is officiated and perceived,” said Woodbridge, a 22-time Grand Slam doubles champion from Australia. The opening minutes of the podcast’s first episode don’t mince words from McEnroe — 'you’re a disgrace … this is unacceptable,” among them, while Courier adds that McEnroe knew “exactly how to push the boundaries” to get what he wanted. Except that he pushed it too far that Sunday in a fourth-round match against Swedish player Mikael Pernfors, when temperatures were around 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) — conditions which McEnroe conceded might not have helped his mood.
Henman, coincidentally, was defaulted from a Grand Slam tournament when he and doubles partner Jeremy Bates were thrown out of Wimbledon in 1995 after Henman hit a ball that struck a ballgirl in the ear. Novak Djokovic also was defaulted from the fourth round of the 2020 U. S.
Open after accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball. Before the start of the professional Open era in 1968, Willie Alvarez, a Colombian-born Spanish player was disqualified from the 1963 French Championships (now French Open) during his second-round match against Martin Mulligan for arguing with the umpire. But the McEnroe incident — against Penfors on Jan.