TENNIS : McEnroe to Give Up Tournaments

John McEnroe retired from tournament tennis Thursday after losing to Goran Ivanisevic, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, in the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam Cup.

“I don’t personally think you will see me playing tournaments,” McEnroe said. “I think you will see me playing some exhibitions here and there, hopefully against the best guys because that would be a lot more interesting.”

Although he said he wasn’t going to “officially announce” his retirement, McEnroe said, “I feel that’s it.”

Said Ivanisevic: “This match is going to be always in my memories. . . . He is such a great champion and person. He was an idol for me.

McEnroe, 33, battled valiantly but had to bow before a player who symbolizes the power game of the young rising stars.

Ivanisevic, a 21-year-old Croatian, served 18 aces, bringing his season total to 992, en route to a victory that earned him $450,000 in the richest tournament in the world, which gives out $6 million in prize money.

The match lasted 1 hour 42 minutes, and the crowd in Munich’s Olympic hall gave McEnroe a standing ovation when it was over.

McEnroe said his decision to give up tournament tennis was a tough one. “That’s why I am not officially announcing my retirement right now, because I don’t think it’s in my best interest,” he said.

“I still feel like I am playing really well and I had a lot of good wins this year, but at the same time, I didn’t win the big things.

“It just got to be too long where I hadn’t won the big one. I couldn’t convince myself that it was going to actually happen any more.”

McEnroe’s last Grand Slam singles victories came in 1984, when he won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. He also won Wimbledon in 1981 and 1983 and the U.S. Open three consecutive years between 1979 and 1981. McEnroe is ranked No. 20.

Dan Maskell, the former BBC tennis commentator known as the “Voice of Wimbledon,” died of heart failure at a London hospital at 84.

Maskell retired earlier this year after 42 years at the BBC.