Tennis’ Talking Head : John McEnroe May Be as Controversial in NBC Booth as He is on Court

John McEnroe has long complained about TV’s tennis coverage. He’s admitted “it’s a lot more boring” on television and “tennis isn’t nearly as good on TV as other sports are.” Now he’s promising to try to do something about it.

The three-time Wimbledon champion signed a two-year contract in April to be a commentator with NBC. He could make his debut during the network’s coverage of the French Open.

But don’t think this means he is retiring from the court. His contract allows him to play in the French Open, which began May 25, and begin his television duties once he is eliminated. A similar setup will also be used for Wimbledon in June and July.

“My hope is not to do the TV, but realistically, I realize there’s a good chance I’ll be doing TV,” said McEnroe, who hasn’t been in the final of a Grand Slam tournament since the 1985 U.S. Open, and hasn’t won one since the U.S. Open the year before. “I look at it as a no-lose.”

McEnroe is planning to use his new job as an element in his quest to improve tennis.

“It’s not something where I’m going to walk in the first five minutes and I’m going to make a list of the things that need to be changed,” McEnroe said. “It’s something that will go along with time.

“My way of approaching it will be when the time is appropriate. I’m not going to interrupt the flow so I can talk about some criticism. What I’m going to do is hopefully help tennis, not hurt it.”

McEnroe, 33, said he won’t limit his contributions to just the broadcast booth. His wants to help NBC select better matches and try to overcome technical limitations--like not being able to show the differences between how hard men and women hit.

“There’s a lot of room to improve, but I need to see it from another side,” McEnroe said. “There may be some restrictions. I don’t know the rules about where a camera has to be or what the potential is for change, but I certainly hope I can do something where there would be some more interest in viewership on TV.”

Bud Collins, NBC’s veteran tennis commentator, admitted that television usually does not show the best matches.

“The very best matches are earlier in the tournament, maybe on a court where you don’t have cameras or are on a day you’re not working,” Collins said. “Historically, finals are not the best matches. Sometimes you get lucky, as we did when (McEnroe) played in them. I can understand his frustrations and think he should voice them.

McEnroe’s top gripe about tennis and television is the control broadcasters have over the sport. His No. 1 target is the U.S. Tennis Assn., which runs the U.S. Open, and its policy of having the men’s semifinals on Saturday followed by the final the next day, so CBS can broadcast both events on weekend days when more people are home. It is the only Grand Slam tournament to have the singles semifinals and final on consecutive days, which McEnroe has said means that players are tired, leading to poor tennis in the final.

“I was promised by the USTA people that they were going to change it,” McEnroe said. “Last year they got a new contract, and here they are doing it again. What can you say? People just got bought off.

“As an athlete, I’d like to see the people get their money’s worth, not seeing two tired teams or players play with the adrenaline gone. You’re not going to have your best. Your body can’t recover.

“You can’t blame TV. This has happened in all sports. It’s not just tennis. I remember they played a Friday night (basketball) game at the Forum and they played Sunday at 12 o’clock in Boston. That’s insane. That’s not going to bring out the best in basketball or tennis.”

McEnroe believes the USTA should accept 10% to 20% less money from CBS in exchange for having greater control over scheduling.

“TV buys people off to get the time they want,” McEnroe said. “At Wimbledon, (the tournament organizers) decided when the matches are. TV has nothing to do with it. That’s the best way. At least you have people that have been around the sport as opposed to someone just coming in and showing authority.”

Robert Cookson, USTA president, said he has never spoken with McEnroe about his complaint over the scheduling.

“We are entirely dependent on the U.S. Open to fund our 17 (regional) sections and programs that eventually lead to players becoming professionals,” Cookson said. “When we signed this new contract, we looked at all our options and could not afford to do away with ‘Super Saturday’ (when both men’s semifinals and the women’s final are held.)”

Cookson also took issue with McEnroe’s contention that the scheduling leads to poorer tennis.

“Tennis is a game of fitness and someone should be prepared to play Saturday and Sunday because that is what our schedule is going to be,” Cookson said. “There are a couple of sports science reports that say people of this caliber really have enough time to recuperate.”

But it just isn’t CBS who McEnroe is mad at. ESPN incurred his wrath for delaying the telecast of the final of a Davis Cup match that was tied, 2-2, until midnight Eastern time because of other programming commitments.

“That’s an example of where TV can be a negative,” McEnroe said. “You try to build the whole thing up, and then it’s not even on (live). It’s crazy.”

According to an ESPN spokeswoman, the cable network has delayed some Davis Cup telecasts in part because they are not scheduled as far in the future as its NASCAR races and Sunday baseball games, which each draw audiences about four times larger than tennis.

The French Open will air on Sunday, Friday, Saturday and concludes June 7 on NBC. Times are subject to change because of NBC’s coverage of the NBA playoffs.