McEnroe Shows Them He Isn’t Finished Yet

Every so often, John McEnroe would pop up into full view during his 6-month suspension and his self-imposed exile from the tennis tour. There he was standing on the sideline at a Chicago Bears playoff game or collecting a 6-figure paycheck at the Stakes Match or, of course, sitting courtside at a Laker game.

He didn’t disappear, really, only just from the sanctioned tennis tour. But, all this brought forth the question --Where have you gone, Mr. McEnroe?--from the sporting public and his fellow players.

And, out on the newsstands today, Tennis magazine has a picture of McEnroe on the cover of its May issue. The headline reads: Is McEnroe Done? Inside, pros such as Tim Mayotte, for example, are quoted as saying that it is a possibility.

This, obviously, was said well before McEnroe made his successful return to the circuit by defeating No. 3-ranked Stefan Edberg earlier this month in straight sets at Tokyo.

“The timing was good for me,” McEnroe said with a half smile, half smirk as he viewed a copy of the story after beating Edberg, 6-3, 6-4, Monday night at the Forum in the Michelin Challenge series final.

“I’ll promise you that you’ll see it (the talk disappear),” McEnroe said. “If I start playing the way I can play, I predict within six months you’ll see this so-called thing disappear. Keep your eyes open and you’ll see it (happen).”

Here’s exactly what Mayotte told the magazine:

“This last pullout (at Philadelphia in February) might have decided the issue in many people’s minds. I think the bubble of his mystique has burst.”

Ken Flach, who played in a doubles event before the McEnroe-Edberg match Monday, had been asked by the magazine for his opinion, too. He said:

“It’s amazing how quickly people forget. I guess it’s too dog-eat-dog out here. It’s kind of nice not to have John around, too. It means one less guy to worry about.”

Flach elaborated on his remarks Monday, after he and Robert Seguso defeated John Lloyd and Christo van Rensburg, 6-2, 6-2, stressing that he certainly didn’t intend to rip McEnroe.

“I said it kind of in humor,” Flach said. “It is true, it’s not like we’re sitting around here in the locker room saying, ‘Oh, where’s John?’ I like the guy. But there’s just too many players out there. I meant if you have a player of his caliber in one section of the draw, it’s kind of like that section with Mac is closed off. If a player of my caliber goes out there with him--you always think you have a chance--but it’s not very likely you’re going to beat him. It’s kind of like he’s a stopper in the draw.”

And, again in Tennis magazine, Mayotte offered further evidence as to how quickly the public is capable of forgetting a top athlete.

“In New York, the cabbies always used to ask me what McEnroe was really like,” he said. “Now I notice that some of them say, ‘What happened to that guy--geez, you know, the guy who had the temper, what’s his name?’ ”

McEnroe, of course, realizes this goes with his standing in the game.

“That happens to everyone that drops down,” he said. “Everyone has to deal with it. He’ll (Mayotte--) have to deal with it. (Jimmy) Connors did, too. Everyone eventually has to.”