By Tatiana Ponil
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men’s singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 170 weeks, and as world No. 1 in men’s doubles for 269 weeks (third-most of all time). He is one of two male players (alongside Stefan Edberg) to have held both No. 1 rankings, and the only one to hold both simultaneously. McEnroe was best known during his playing career for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court behavior, which frequently landed him in trouble with umpires and tennis authorities.
McEnroe won an Open Era record 155 career titles: 77 in singles and 78 in doubles. This includes seven singles majors (four at the US Open and three at Wimbledon), nine men’s doubles majors, and one mixed doubles major. McEnroe is the only male player to win more than 70 titles in both singles and doubles. His singles match record of 82–3 in 1984 remains the best single-season win rate of the Open Era. McEnroe also excelled at the year-end tournaments, winning eight singles and seven doubles titles, both of which are records. Three of his winning singles year-end championships were at the Masters Grand Prix (the ATP year-end event) and five were at the World Championship Tennis (WCT) Finals, an event that ended in 1989. He was named the ATP Player of the Year and the ITF World Champion three times each: in 1981, 1983 and 1984.
McEnroe contributed to five Davis Cup titles for the U.S. and later was team captain. He has stayed active in retirement, often competing in senior events on the ATP Champions Tour, where he has won 25 titles. He also works as a television commentator during the majors.
McEnroe was married to Academy Award winner Tatum O’Neal, the daughter of actor Ryan O’Neal, from 1986 to 1994. They had three children. After their divorce, they were awarded joint custody of the children, but in 1998 McEnroe was awarded sole custody due to O’Neal’s addiction to heroin.
In 1997, McEnroe married rock singer Patty Smyth, with whom he has two daughters. They live on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.
McEnroe has published two autobiographies: You Cannot Be Serious (released as Serious in the UK) in 2002, and 2017’s But Seriously.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Born
- Edgar Bergen (ventriloquist) –
- Sonny Bono (singer, actor, & politician) –
- LeVar Burton, Jr. (actor) –
- John McEnroe (tennis player) –
- Jerome Bettis (football player) –
Died
- John Gardner (health, education, and welfare secretary) –
- Doris Troy (singer who wrote and sang the top 10 hit Just One Look) –
- Nicole DeHuff (actress) –
- Gary “Kidd” Carter (baseball catcher) –
- Lesley Gore (singer) –
Events
- Future Canadian prime minister (Sir) John A. Macdonald married Susan A. Bernard –
- Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks founded in NYC –
- Canadian Pacific Railway Company incorporated –
- Ladies Home Journal was published for the first time –
- First fruit tree patent (for a peach) issued in the United States –
- Nylon (“Linear Condensation Polymers”) patented –
- Fidel Castro became prime minister of Cuba –
- The nation’s first 911 emergency telephone system was inaugurated, in Haleyville, Alabama –
- Basketball player Wilt Chamberlain scored his 30,000th point in a game between the Lakers and the Suns. He was the first player in NBA history to amass 30,000 points –
- A scrapbook with locks of hair from the first 12 U.S. presidents went on display at The Academy of Natural Science –
- 250-hour, 3-minute, 20-second ice hockey marathon ended, Saiker’s Acres, Alberta –
Weather
- Thirty-two degrees below zero F, Falls Village, Connecticut –
- Massive ice storm in Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, and the Carolinas. In some areas, ice accumulated to three inches. Across south central Kentucky, 16,000 people were without power for three days, making this the worst ice storm in 35 years for the area. –
COURTESY www.almanac.com
