JOHN McENROE : Becker’s Wimbledon Win May Have Given No. 1 Player Incentive He Needs

On the day before the semifinals at the 1984 French Open, John McEnroe found himself without a practice partner.

Learning of McEnroe’s predicament, Romanian Ion Tiriac, a friend and adviser to players such as Ilie Nastase and Guillermo Vilas, said he recently had begun coaching a young player, a novice really, who would consider it a great honor to practice with the world’s No. 1 player.

How young, McEnroe wanted to know.

Sixteen, Tiriac said.

“I said, ‘Where did you come up with this guy?’ ” McEnroe recalled. “I said, ‘Can he hit the ball?’ ”

That is how McEnroe was introduced to Boris Becker.

Could Becker hit the ball?

“He could hit the ball all right,” McEnroe understated.

After that practice session, McEnroe began predicting that either Becker or Sweden’s Stefan Edberg would be professional tennis’ next great player.

It was little consolation to McEnroe when Becker, 17, became the youngest player ever to win the men’s singles championship at Wimbledon earlier this month, a championship McEnroe had won three of the previous four years, but at least he knows he probably was right about the West German teen-ager. Becker appears destined to become the next great player.

“It just happened sooner than expected,” McEnroe said. “It was a shock to me and everyone else.”

It also may have served as a kick in the motivation for McEnroe.

That was the theme of last week’s press conference, arranged by the promoters of McEnroe’s exhibition match against Yannick Noah Monday night at the Forum.

McEnroe wore a red warmup suit and a day-old beard, which led to comments about his commercials for a disposable razor.

He was in good humor. That isn’t unusual, although it may come as a surprise to those who judge McEnroe only by his sometimes petulant behavior on the court. Some people probably believe he eats disposable razors for breakfast.

After losing in the Wimbledon quarterfinals in straight sets to Kevin Curren, McEnroe said he had felt “a little old out there.”

Asked to elaborate at his press conference, McEnroe said: “I felt a little old at that tournament. When you’ve got a 17-year-old guy winning the tournament, it makes you feel old at 26.”

But he said it was a mistake to conclude, as some British newspapers had, that he is contemplating retirement.

On the contrary, he said that his loss at Wimbledon and the emergence of Becker, may have been the stimuli he needed.

“This has made me think again about how I’m going to handle the next couple of years,” McEnroe said. “I’d like to try to get even better before I quit. That’s the motivation. Maybe the challenge of a guy like Becker can help me in the long run because I need to be brought up to a different level.”

McEnroe said that he was at his best last year, when he won Wimbledon for the third time and the U.S. Open for the fourth time, but he said he didn’t have the same desire this year.

From his comments, it was difficult to tell whether he felt too much pressure because of his No. 1 ranking, which he has held for four years, or not enough pressure from the competition.

He talked a little about the tension and a little about the boredom.

“When you’re No. 1, it’s difficult,” he said. “For a year, a year and a half, I’ve really been playing great tennis. You can’t keep it up all the time. You find yourself afraid of losing it instead of doing the things that got you to No. 1. I let down a little bit and let the competition get back to my level. I should be coming into my best years, but I’m in a lull right now.

“This has happened to me in the past. In 1981, I was No. 1 and dropped to No. 2 for a while in 1982. I was No. 1 again in 1983 but not by much. Then, last year, I really put it all together and was, I felt, a level above everyone else. But this year, for some reason, I was waiting for something bad to happen, and now it’s happened.

“Maybe it’s better this way. The sport seemed boring to me. I’m sure it was pretty boring to other people as well. I’m glad there are new faces. We don’t need the same guys winning the major tournaments year after year.”

Having said that, McEnroe talked about changes he believes he needs to make to remain dominant. Did you really think he wants to see new faces at the top?

“I feel I need to slow down,” he said. “I’ve played 30 to 35 weeks a year for seven or eight years. I tried to cut my schedule down this year, but I haven’t been able to do it. It’s difficult because tennis is a year-around sport.”

McEnroe has more time off this year than in the past because he isn’t playing Davis Cup, the result of a dispute with the sponsor, but he said he hopes to resume that part of his schedule next year.

He said he also has begun jogging and may begin lifting weights. This from a man who until recently didn’t even like to practice tennis.

One of the few criticisms of McEnroe’s play in recent years was that he hasn’t always been in top physical condition. He has repeatedly denied that, but now, considering the size and strength of the younger players, he said he needs to become stronger.

“I never thought five or six years ago I’d have to lift weights to play tennis,” he said. “I thought that was for football players.”

Another reason he has been less committed to tennis this year, McEnroe said, is his relationship with actress Tatum O’Neal. A New Yorker with residences on Long Island and in Manhattan, he bought a house in Malibu six months ago so that he could be close to the beach and O’Neal, not necessarily in that order.

“To have a new relationship, anyone who’s been in love knows that’s not simple,” he said. “It’s like a job in itself. There’s only so many jobs you can do. But what was I going to do? Not have any life outside of tennis? I didn’t plan this. It just happened.”

Never fond of the British tabloids, a feeling that appears to be mutual, McEnroe said he was even more offended this year at Wimbledon by their interest in his relationship with O’Neal.

“Who I’m going out with and living with seemed to be of great interest to the people of England,” he said. “That made the task at hand more difficult. I let it get to me more than I have in the past. It’s made me think whether it’s worth it for me to play there. If the negatives outweigh the positives, I won’t play there. I won’t retire from tennis. I just won’t play there.

“It’s not the tennis that I don’t like. The people at Wimbledon have made an effort, gotten easier for the players to deal with in the last few years. It’s the other factors that really bother you after a while.

“It’s the press talking about your girlfriend, following you around, camping out at your door. I won’t even go out of my place when I’m there until I have to play. They don’t want to talk about tennis but about other things.”

McEnroe already has eliminated the British tournaments leading to Wimbledon from his schedule.

Asked how close he is to bypassing Wimbledon, he said: “It wouldn’t take a whole lot more. I don’t want to make it sound like I’m saying I’m not playing there any more, but I’m closer to it than I was a year ago.”

Otherwise, McEnroe appeared content.

“In general, my life is a lot better,” he said. “I’ve matured as a person. I’m open to more things. I’ve gotten into a relationship that’s very nice. I’m just happier. I think it shows.”