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When McEnroe Lectured Sampras For Being Boring
2 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Bios
By Scoop Malinowski
Tennis is a serious sport which requires infinite focus and concentration so it’s understandable that many top players like Ruud, Sinner, Fritz, Hurkacz, deMinaur, Opelka, Draper, Humbert may be considered boring – while the colorful, charismatic types like Kyrgios, Moutet, Fonseca, Carlos, Medvedev, Djokovic are the rare breed who stand out and generate buzz and controversy.
Today the players who lean more to the boring side personality-wise in their on court performance are respected and never criticized. They are accepted and respected for their abilities and character. But this was not always the case. Back in the 1990s when Pete Sampras was the dominant force in the game, the tennis establishment tried to make the great Pete Sampras change his personality.
In his book “A Champion’s Mind” Pete Sampras revealed that the recently retired John McEnroe lectured him to change his behavior and personality in the mid 1990s. Sampras said McEnroe wrote a column in the London Times that “trashed me for being boring and gave me some paternalistic advice about showing ‘more personality.'”… I was pissed about this issue and word got back to John. So he came into the Wimbledon locker room, put his arm on me, and brought his head real close. He was saying something like, ‘Pete, no offense meant, man, I just want you to do this, I want you to show a little more of this, do a little more of that…’ And all the while I was thinking, the guy has basically been saying I should be more like him, that I was boring and not great for the sport… We got into it a little bit and I told John where exactly to get off, but without losing it or getting all agitated…”
McEnroe’s motivations were curious. Like Sampras, both were contracted to Nike. McEnroe was a growing force in the tennis broadcasting business. He was Mr. Establishment. Ivan Lendl would come to the defense of Sampras, reminding the public how good of a role model Pete’s exemplary example was for kids.
Why McEnroe targeted Sampras to try to change his behavior and personality was odd because McEnroe never criticized his rival and friend Bjorn Borg for being boring. Borg might have been even more reserved and contained and “boring” as Pete as a competitor. McEnroe also never chastised Stefan Edberg, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, Roger Federer, Jannik Sinner for being boring. Maybe McEnroe just got caught up in the times and when Pistol Pete was on top, McEnroe’s still existing competitive spirit saw Pete’s impeccable on court character as a weakness to attack and to try to knock him off his perch of domination.
McEnroe’s lecture failed though and Pete kept on being Pete and winning Grand Slams and eventually surpassed Roy Emerson and retired with 14 Grand Slam titles.
It certainly would be interesting if McEnroe decided to revive his anti-boring crusade and took actions to confront and lecture Sinner, Ruud, Fritz, Hurkacz, Zverev, Musetti, Pegula, Navarro, Keys and Badosa to be less boring and more entertaining for the viewing pleasure of tennis audiences and sponsors.
(McEnroe oil painting my Scoop Malinowski.)
John McEnroe · Nike · Pete Sampras · Wimbledon
Steve · May 28, 2025 at 10:05 am
I vaguely remember Sampras also saying in the book that McEnroe always tried to ingratiate himself with whoever was the #1 player in the world once the become a commentator.
A far cry from Wilander & Arias.
Scoop Malinowski · May 28, 2025 at 11:33 am
McEnroe admitted last week he was confronted by a few players and some coaches for some of his elitist comments on air and he said he learned to appreciate that for some of the power ranked players just qualifying into a Grand Slam main draw in a dream come true. Marcelo Rios revealed a few years back that Gaston Gaudio actually clocked Mac in the head in the French Open locker room after he won his title vs Coria, for some comments Mac had supposedly said about him in the past. You’re right, Arias and Wilander kiss up to no player, their irreverence is a breath of fresh air. The constant worshipping of top players becomes tiring.