World Tennis Magazine

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Novak Djokovic “Completes All The Records” With Historic Olympic Gold Medal Win

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

It was the one missing piece in the puzzle in career in Novak Djokovic.

But in a dazzling display of tenaciousness and shot-making in what may be considered the greatest two-set tennis match of all time, Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(2), 7-6 (3) to win the Olympic gold medal in the Paris Olympics, the one big title that Djokovic had not won in his career.

“Overwhelmed with everything that I’m feeling right now, feelings of different emotions, of course, positive. Too proud. Too happy. Thrilled with the possibility to fight for a gold and to win a gold for the first time in my career for my country. Arguably, the biggest success I ever had,” said Djokovic to Peacock TV reporter Brittany Eurton moments after his victory. “Of course, I won everything that is to win, probably, in my individual career, but winning Davis Cup and particularly gold medal at Olympic Games for Serbia at age 37 is unprecedented.”

“I’m super grateful for the blessing to win a historic gold medal for my country to complete the Golden Slam, to complete all the records,” he continued.

The winner of 24 career major singles titles, a record among men, the man from Serbia had yet to win the gold medal at the Olympic Games as he entered his fifth career Olympiad this year. The “Career Golden Grand Slam” had only been won by two other men, Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal, and two women, Steffi Graf and Serena Williams, since tennis returned to the Olympic program in 1988. It was the main focus for Djokovic for years, who holds an immense pride playing for his country.

Djokovic tripped near the finish line three previous times, losing Olympic semifinals in 2008 to Nadal, in 2012 to Andy Murray and in 2021 to Alexander Zverev (all the eventual Gold Medalists). He also tripped at the starting line in 2016, falling in the first round of the event to eventual silver medalist Juan Martin del Potro.

Djokovic entered the 2024 Olympic Games on shaky ground, having not won a tournament all year (having won 98 in his career previously) while also having to undergo knee surgery after an injury in his fourth round match at the French Open, causing him to withdraw from the tournament. His status for Wimbledon and the Olympics were in doubt but a miraculous recovery helped him compete in both, losing to Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final and winning the Gold over Alcaraz in Paris.

“It’s a staggering achievement considering his fitness level this year and the fact he hadn’t won one tournament this year,” said Mary Carillo on the Peacock TV coverage of the final. “It’s the only hole in his resume and it’s filled.”

“He’s the greatest tennis player we have ever seen play this game,” said Rennae Stubbs on Peacock “For him to finally to get this reward of a gold medal. There is no one more deserving  of singles gold medal at the Olympics, his fifth attempt at doing so. He loves his country so, so much.”

“There was no tournament, no victory that was going to be more important to Novak Djokovic this year than this one,” Stubbs continued. “He has own every Grand Slam title. He holds the record for the most. There is nothing more important than what he has done today.”

In addition to all four major singles titles and now the Olympics, Djokovic has also won all nine of the elite “Masters 1000” level events on the ATP Tour, the only man to do so, as well as the year-end ATP World Tour Finals championship. He also led Serbia for the Davis Cup title in 2010.

Can Fashion Help Revive American Tennis?

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

 

There has been much discussed and written of late about the state of American pro tennis.

Over the past quarter century, American dominance in the world of tennis has diminished as the game has become more global. An American man has not won a major tournament since Andy Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open  – the longest drought for American men in the history of the sport. There are no immediate serious prospects for that to change – No. 105-ranked Denis Kudla was the only American man to reach Wimbledon’s fourth round this year.  While Serena Williams is the dominant force in global tennis at the moment (following in the footsteps of her older sister Venus Williams), she has lacked a supporting cast of legitimate American contenders for major titles.

One player who could take over the this mantle as a new threat for Grand Slam tennis glory following Serena is 20-year-old Madison Keys. Coached by former Wimbledon, U.S. and Australian Open champion Lindsay Davenport, Keys has one of the biggest serves in the sport and earlier this year, broke through to reach the semifinals of a major for the first time at the Australian Open.

How did this budding American player get recruited to play the sport of tennis?

Fashion.

Speaking to Mary Carillo during the Tennis Channel broadcast of Wimbledon, Keys spoke of her first motivation to get pick up a racket and start to play tennis.

“I saw Venus Williams play tennis at Wimbledon in a tennis dress and I told my parents I wanted that tennis dress” Keys said. “My parents said ‘We are not going to buy you a tennis dress if you don’t play tennis.’ So I said, ‘OK, I will play tennis.’”

The rest, you can say, is history. So while tennis marketers and organizations use inner-city clinics, sophisticated marketing campaigns, celebrity endorsements and TV commercials, and promoting tennis as fun and good for your fitness as ways to recruit the best young athletic talent into the sport, looking pretty – or cool – and being able to wear nice and fashionable clothes just might be the carrot. So to Nike, Adidas, Lacoste, Fila and all of the other tennis clothing manufacturers out there – it’s your serve.

Look for Keys to continue her move up the rankings where she threatens to break into the top 10 this summer – or perhaps make a huge impact in women’s tennis at Wimbledon this year.

Madison Keys
Madison Keys

TOURNAMENT TOUGH Tennis Book By Carlos Goffi Updated, Available As Kindle EBook

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TOURNAMENT TOUGH: A GUIDE TO PLAYING CHAMPIONSHIP TENNIS, the best-selling book by world-renowned tennis coach Carlos Goffi that offers a unique program for winning tennis matches, has been updated and re-released as an electronic Kindle ebook. Goffi is a former coach of John and Patrick McEnroe.

The best-selling book, first published worldwide in 1984 and translated into many languages, includes valuable commentaries from John McEnroe, Patrick McEnroe, Peter Fleming and Mary Carillo. TOURNAMENT TOUGH has been also endorsed by many other icons of the sport. The book deals with all phases of technique and shot-making, but more importantly, covers subjects as how to pace a match, choking, anticipation, fitness and, above all, mental toughness. Intended as much for parents as for young players, and for all competitive tennis players regardless of age, TOURNAMENT TOUGH aims to help each tennis player realize his or her full competitive potential.

Said Goffi, “It is a pleasure and an honor for me to see Tournament Tough available to today’s generation of competitive players so it may continue to serve its purpose: contribute to the enrichment of our great game.”

TOURNAMENT TOUGH is available for download for $9.99 here in the United States:

http://m1e.net/c?96279190-df9OAwoyJ3WS6%4015240502-S2yGE87NyDX6o and here in the United Kingdom:

http://m1e.net/c?96279190-4frXADWEjBXnM%4015240503-jgcMrUlR3Cnlg The book is also available for download in Canada, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Japan and Brazil among other countries.

A former top Brazilian junior player and collegiate player at the University of Corpus Christi and the University of Kansas, Goffi began his coaching career in 1975 at the Port Washington Tennis Academy in New York, by recommendation from his mentor, Harry Hopman. He became its Junior Program Director and worked closely with the Academy’s top junior players, which included John McEnroe. Carlos is also a former coach to John and his brother Patrick on the ATP Tour. He was the Director of Tennis at Orange Lawn Tennis Club, NJ, when it hosted the ATP pre-US Open tournament, and the Director of Tennis at Seabrook Island, SC, where he developed its tennis program with Peter Fleming into one of the top tennis resort destinations.

The success of TOURNAMENT TOUGH led him to other tennis contributions including the publishing of Junior Tennis magazine; a nationwide tour of Tournament Tough Parent/Player Workshops sponsored by Nike, Dunlop, Ray-Ban and the USTA; the Nike Tournament Tough Camps, as well as several grass roots, high school and charitable programs.

Goffi has been a keynote speaker of numerous tennis conventions and conferences, including the USPTA National Conventions, USTA National Teachers Conferences and PTR Conferences. He is the 1991 PTR Coach of the Year. He has been Director of Tennis Promotions for Dunlop Slazenger and Director of Tennis Marketing for Nike in Latin America.

Goffi’s son Josh, also a contributor to the updated version of TOURNAMENT TOUGH, is a former ATP professional player and Davis Cup player for Brazil who is now men’s tennis coach at the University of South Carolina.

 

"TOURNAMENT TOUGH: A GUIDE TO PLAYING CHAMPIONSHIP TENNIS" Ebook
“TOURNAMENT TOUGH: A GUIDE TO PLAYING CHAMPIONSHIP TENNIS” Ebook

Nadia Petrova: “Being what she might have been”

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By David Kane, Special for WorldTennisMagazine.com

Exciting up-and-comers come and go, but in tennis (as in life), you never forget your first love.

It would be impossible to explain why fans support the players they do. It could result from nationalistic pride, or even a chance encounter on the grounds of a tournament. No matter the meeting, the resulting emotional connection is usually indelible, and as long as that player has a racquet in his or her hand, the fan will be there, cheering them on to the last point. If the connection is to a ten-or-more Slam titlist, then “loving you is easy,” to quote Sarah McLachlan.

If the connection is to Nadia Petrova, then Avril Lavigne would call it “complicated.”

Despite her many gifts, including athletic genes and an effortlessly powerful serve, Nadia Petrova perfectly personifies the chaos that has often reigned on the WTA. While she may be one of the most talented players never to win a slam, very rarely is the body and mind of the tall Russian in proper alignment. During her long career, one or the other has failed her at crucial times, be it the upper leg injury that sent her packing from a French Open she was favored to win, or the many defeats she snatched from the jaws of victory. As recently as the US Open, both weaknesses appeared on display as a bandaged Petrova surrendered an early third set break to compatriot Maria Sharapova under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Combine these singular disappointments with a three year slump that has seen her fall from the top 20 and it would have been sensible to peg the 30 year old as a likely retirement casualty.

Leave it to Nadia to continue confounding expectations.

Earlier this year, her revolving door of coaches saw the arrival of Ricardo Sanchez. The man behind Jelena Jankovic’s rise to #1 and Caroline Wozniacki’s fall from the top spot brings his share of baggage and controversy. Such controversy was literally given a microphone when he let a few choice words slip this week during a coaching time-out. Love him or hate him, he appears to have gotten through to his charge in a way that few have in the last decade. In Tokyo, Petrova showed a new willingness to use her power and net prowess to end points and take the agency away from players like Sara Errani, Sam Stosur and Agnieszka Radwanska, three top 10 players who prefer to work points and create opportunities over long rallies. Against Petrova, they rarely had the chance.

A new physical strategy seems to coincide with a new mental mantra as well. Sanchez is overwhelmingly positive from the stands, and has morphed Petrova from a oft-described sourpuss into something of a fist pumper, a player more concerned with the progression of the match as opposed to perfect play. The player who survived a second set blowout by the world #3 to play positive tennis in the third was a stranger to all who watched her. She became even more unrecognizable as she pounced on the only break point of the set and punctuated a long rally on championship point with a ferocious swing volley.

Nadia Petrova falls to her knees upon winning the Toray Pan Pacific Open.

Throughout the week, she played more than her fair share of long matches, and the longtime fan in me was ready to forgive her for letdowns that never came, but even a run to the final would have done little to convince me that this was more than the result of a lucky break; after all, she owes her place in the draw to the late withdrawal of doubles partner and fellow London bronze medalist Maria Kirilenko.

But as Petrova silenced Radwanska, a troublesome opponent when the Russian was at her best, and won her way to her highest ranking in two years, her on-court decision-making and positive attitude made the run seem like it could be more than a fluke, that at 30, her long-discussed promise could still be realized. Either way, results like this give hope to players and fans alike that, to quote the inimitable Mary Carillo, “it’s never too late to be what you might have been.”

Christina McHale Teams Up With Buddy Fruits: This Week in Tennis Business with Justin Cohen

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McHale signs partnership agreement with Buddy Fruits

World No. 32 and New Jersey native Christina McHale has signed a partnership deal with Buddy Fruits, the leader in the market of all natural fruit snacks. Financial terms of the agreements have not been disclosed. “I have to be picky about what I put in my body as my tennis performance can depend on it,” said McHale. “I always keep Buddy Fruits products with me. They help to provide an energy boost for my hectic schedule. With Buddy Fruits, I can feel good about what I am eating and even better, I can throw it into my gym bag to enjoy as an on the court snack or even pre- and post-workout.” Buddy Fruits various flavors include mango, passion fruit, multi fruit, banana, strawberry and apple cinnamon. Each product features no artificial flavorings or colors, no genetic modifications and are also gluten-free. “We are very excited to have the opportunity to partner with Christina,” said Fabian Milon, Co-Founder of Buddy Fruits. “As a world-ranked athlete, she must take her health seriously, and we are pleased that she has chosen Buddy Fruits to assist in reaching her fitness goals. Christina’s achievements serve as a role model for health and what you can achieve when your body is given the proper nutrition. We share a passion for delicious, convenient and wholesome choices.”

Carillo earns contract extension with Tennis Channel

Tennis Channel has extended the contract of tennis broadcasting legend Mary Carillo and will now add Wimbledon and select domestic tournaments to her schedule, starting at this week’s Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. Bringing 32-years of broadcasting experience to the table, Carillo joined Tennis Channel in 2011 during its coverage of the French Open and US Open. “We had a great time in Paris and New York last year, and I’m excited to keep working with Tennis Channel,” said Carillo. “I’m looking forward to joining the team in Miami and London.” During her playing career on the WTA Tour, Carillo reached a personal best singles ranking of No. 33 in the world in 1980, while teaming with Hall of Famer and fellow New Yorker John McEnroe to capture the 1977 French Open Mixed Doubles title.

USTA and TGA Premier Youth Tennis form partnership to bring more kids to the sport

According to a press release, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced on Tuesday it has teamed with the newly launched TGA Premier Youth Tennis (TGA), an innovative, youth sports franchise firm, to help introduce tennis to kindergarten through 8th grade youth throughout the country. The partnership supports USTA’s 10 and Under Tennis youth initiative, which is geared towards getting more kids to participate in tennis using modified equipment and courts tailored to a child’s size. The organizations have developed a model that impacts the landscape of the tennis industry and its future growth prospects. The USTA has been implementing programs to attract youngsters to tennis, and recognized the success that TGA has had with its golf business. Currently, thousands of schools nationwide participate in TGA’s after-school enrichment programs.  Using its current business philosophy of enriching kids’ lives through physical fitness, health and nutrition, education, and character building, along with its scalable business model, the USTA and TGA have worked together to develop curriculums for K – 3rd grade and 4th – 8th grade. “The partnership is a great fit and will build a pathway for elementary and middle school kids to enjoy tennis through after school programs,” said Kurt Kamperman, USTA Chief Executive, Community Tennis. “TGA’s enrichment curriculum along with USTA’s tennis program will bring many kids to the court while enabling them to improve life skills and character development.” TGA began forming its alliance with the USTA in December 2011, and is expected to become a pipeline for the game by introducing tennis to boys and girls enrolled in elementary and middle schools, child care centers and community-based organizations throughout the U.S. Children who participate in the programs will have the opportunity to transition from at-school programs to junior camps, clinics, and USTA programs at facilities nationwide. In addition to exposing kids to a life-long, character-building sport, the full service franchise company will create jobs and business ownership opportunities within the industry. This month the company will begin awarding TGA tennis franchises to the public, which is expected to attract tennis professionals as well as business professionals within the 17 USTA sections around the country. Self-starters who are passionate about tennis and have an interest in youth sports can embrace a business opportunity while benefiting their communities.

AEGON Championships shortlisted at Sports Industry Awards

The AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club has been shortlisted for “Best Sponsorship Of An Event Or Competition” at the prestigious Sports Industry Awards. The tournament is up against five other events from the worlds of football, rugby union, cricket and adventure racing. “To be nominated alongside world-class events from other sports is very satisfying and a great credit to AEGON and everyone involved in the tournament,” said Chris Kermode, Tournament Director. The awards will be announced in early May at a star-studded ceremony in London. “Being named on the Official Shortlist for the Sport Industry Awards is definitive proof that a team, brand or organization’s work has been amongst the very best in its field across an entire year,” said Nick Keller, the Chairman of the Sports Industry Group.

del Potro commits to AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club in London

Former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro announced he will take part in the 2012 AEGON Championships, which will be played at the historic Queen’s Club in London from June 11-17. “I like the surface, I’m not a grass-court specialist, but I’m improving,” said Del Potro. “The AEGON Championships at Queen’s is an amazing tournament, very nice to come to, to play, to train and I will be there for sure trying to win my first title on grass. I think that if I play my best tennis I have a chance to win a Grand Slam on grass but it will be very difficult.” The No. 9 ranked player in the world joins Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as other Top 10 players already committed to the field.

Founding Editor of New York Times Straight Sets blog publishes e-book

Ray Krueger, the founding editor of the New York Times Straight Sets blog and current managing editor of the New York Times News Service, has written and published an e-book, 45-Love: My Yearlong Quest to Fulfill a Lifelong Dream in the Sport of Tennis. 45-Love tells the story of Ray’s quest to be an accomplished player in the USTA’s 45 and Over division. The book is available for readers who have Kindle, iPad or similar e-reader, through Diversion Books.

The “Heavyweight Championship of Tennis” to be held in Cincinnati from April 13-14

The annual Clydesdale Open & Pro Am Tennis Charity Classic sponsored by Beacon Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, which is dubbed the ‘Heavyweight Championship of Tennis’ since qualified doubles teams must tip-the-scales at minimum combined weight of 425 pounds, returns to The Club at Harper’s Point in Cincinnati, Ohio, from April 13-14. Founded by Cincinnati resident Ken “The Commish” Munson in 1992 and featured on Tennis Channel in 2005 during a one-hour special, the Clydesdale Open has already generated nearly $500,000 for local charities. Proceeds from this year’s tournament will benefit the Andy Caress Melanoma Foundation. The Andy Caress Melanoma Foundation was formed shortly after the former college tennis player lost his battle with the deadly disease. Additionally, a secondary benefactor is the Blue Cure, a Prostate Cancer Awareness Foundation. Munson was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in 2005 and just celebrated his sixth year of being cancer free. The fun-filled weekend will kick-off at Cincinnati’s most popular racquet club with a tennis Pro Am Round Robin tournament. Sixteen of Greater Cincinnati’s most celebrated tennis teaching professionals will team with amateur players to compete for prizes and bragging rights. Participants in the Pro Am event will be divided into two divisions based on playing ability and your weight will not be a factor. For just $250, you can participate in this outstanding event. For just a generous $30 donation on Saturday, April 14 from 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. you can take part in the adidas Tennis Boot Camp Clinic. All participants will have the opportunity to play with local pros, while competing for prizes and enjoying refreshments. Following the afternoon fun, the highly-anticipated Clydesdale Open will start at 5:30 p.m. with the fan-favorite weigh-in. Once again, doubles teams will be divided into two divisions, 3.5/4.0 and 4.5/5.0 (USTA Rating). Winners and finalists will receive trophies, while players and fans can enjoy dozens of great raffle prizes, free food and refreshments, and live entertainment throughout the night. Presenting sponsors for this year’s event include adidas, Babolat, Midwest Sports, Queen City Fitness and Racquet Club and The Club at Harper’s Point. For more information or to sign up for any of the events, please call Katie at (513) 489-9700.

Volley in the Valley Tennis Tournament to be held May 6-7

The St. Helena Hospital Volley in the Valley Tennis Tournament will be held Sunday, May 6 and Monday, May 7 at Meadowood Napa Valley. Proceeds from the tournament will benefit the St. Helena’s Heart Institute. This year’s tournament format will feature four doubles Round Robin Tournaments – one men’s, one women’s and two mixed doubles. The tournament is open to all amateur players. Your $1,000 entry fee includes two days of tennis play and an elegant dinner event featuring celebrity speakers Brad Gilbert and John York, MD. The dinner will take place at the prominent Napa Valley Reserve on Sunday evening, May 6. Dinner only tickets cost just $500 each. For questions or more information, please contact Danielle at the St. Helena Hospital Foundation at (707) 963-6208.

SAM STOSUR PLAYS LIKE A MAN

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By Blair Henley

Francesca Schiavone may have rained on Samantha Stosur’s French Open parade, but the 26-year-old Australian’s run of upsets at Roland Garros this year cemented her status as a new “it-girl” on the women’s tour.

The media took advantage of any opportunity to get to know Stosur in Paris, asking her countless questions about everything from her mindset to her signature sunglasses.

But there’s one more question I would love to know the answer to:

How does it feel to be told you play like a man?

ESPN analyst and former touring pro Mary Carillo made the analogy during Stosur’s match against Justine Henin. After a slow start Stosur proceeded to dominate the four-time French Open champion, kicking in serves that bounced above head-level and running the Belgian relentlessly from side to side with superhuman amounts of spin.

Aussie great Pat Cash was quick to give his opinion after Stosur upset top-seeded Serena Williams in the next round.

“She’s got the perfect game for clay: big, powerful,” he said. “She plays like a man. Big serve and brings a lot of pressure.

On one hand this is the ultimate compliment.

Stosur’s approach to the game is the opposite of dramatic. Her racket bag is like her briefcase. The court is her office, and she’s just there to get the job done. There is no shrieking. There are no obnoxious celebrations. She acts like she’s been there before, even when she hasn’t. She is the antithesis of the many attention-seeking players on the women’s tour.

Add that to the fact that she has an unusually high-bouncing, penetrating kick serve as well as punishing groundstrokes with topspin to spare and it seems like Carillo and Cash have made a fair assessment.

But it just so happens Stosur also looks like she could leg press the weight of my car and beat Mike Tyson in an arm-wrestling contest.

In short, it seems unlikely that such an analogy would have been used if she had a physique more closely resembling ultra-feminine stars Maria Sharapova or Ana Ivanovic.

Even Serena Williams, who has more power behind her shots than just about anyone on the women’s tour is, for the most part, spared that crass comparison. Why is that?

The trouble comes when fans, commentators and even fellow players have difficulty separating the game-style and the person.

Just ask Amelie Mauresmo.

Lindsay Davenport apologized for comments she made after losing to a muscular Mauresmo in the semifinals of the 1999 Australian Open. Davenport said she felt “like she was playing a guy.”

Martina Hingis went even further that same year calling the broad-shouldered Frenchwoman “half a man.” The comment was quickly retracted.

After Stosur steamrolled (man-handled?) Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals at Roland Garros last week, the willowy Serb made similar comments.

“To be honest, she kind of has almost a game like a man,” Jankovic said. “That’s what it feels like. When I look at how the men play, she has a very good kick, which not many women have. It’s very heavy, the spin. And then she runs around the forehand. She’s been very impressive.”

And that is the definition of a backhanded compliment.

Unlike Cash and Carillo’s observations, Jankovic’s words seemed more like an attempt to make excuses at her opponent’s expense for an embarrassingly bad loss.

Interestingly, Davenport and Hingis were blasted in the press for their words over ten years ago, but Jankovic got off scot-free. The two situations differ in only one way. Mauresmo had acknowledged her same-sex preferences to the media prior to the remarks being made.

Sam Stosur has always handled the media with grace. There’s no doubt she would brush off these comments if asked about them directly – heck, she may even be flattered by them. But people should use caution before throwing the gender card around at will.

After all, you’d think twice before telling a guy he plays like a girl, right?

JOHN MCENROE TO COVER FRENCH OPEN ON TENNIS CHANNEL THROUGH 2013

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LOS ANGELES, May 10, 2010 – Tennis Channel, the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle, has extended its French Open relationship with tennis icon John McEnroe.  The man with one of the best-known faces in televised tennis today will continue his lead analyst’s role during the network’s annual coverage of the event (also known as Roland Garros) through 2013.  The announcement comes just prior to the Hall of Famer’s fourth year in the booth for the channel at the world’s most prestigious clay-court tournament, beginning with the start of play Sunday, May 23.

McEnroe will provide his unique insight, champion’s opinion and overall analysis throughout Tennis Channel’s two-week telecast.  As in years past, he will also contribute to the network’s nightly prime-time show, French Open Tonight, hosted by veteran sports anchor Bill Macatee.  Additionally, McEnroe will offer perspective and commentary with fellow analyst and Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova, herself a mainstay of Tennis Channel’s French Open activity.  The network’s complete 2010 French Open on-air schedule is forthcoming.

“It’s been great representing Tennis Channel since our first French Open broadcast,” said McEnroe. “I’m glad to extend our relationship and am looking forward to getting back into the Roland Garros booth again in May.”

As one of the most recognizable and credible television analysts in tennis today, McEnroe has captivated sports fans since bringing his fiery personality to the pro tennis scene in the late 1970s.  He won 77 singles and 78 doubles titles during his career, including four US Open and three Wimbledon singles championships.  McEnroe won the French Open mixed doubles championship with Mary Carillo in 1977, and reached the tournament’s singles final in 1984.  He is possibly the most dominant Davis Cup player of all time, winning the championship five times as a member of the U.S. team and remains the all-time record holder in U.S. Davis Cup total wins (59 wins vs. 10 losses), singles wins (41-8), ties or rounds played (30), and years played (12).  McEnroe was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1999.

McEnroe helped usher in a new era in Grand Slam television during Tennis Channel’s inaugural French Open telecast in 2007.  With round-the-clock match play, action that jumped from court to court, a nightly prime-time recap and interview show, expert analysis from the biggest names in the sport, and free live broadband streams from as many as five daily courts, Tennis Channel left its mark in major tennis coverage and set the standard for the network’s future Grand Slam telecasts of the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.

This year Tennis Channel will devote more than 230 hours of programming to the French Open (all in high definition) including live matches, encore replays and highlights via French Open Tonight.  The network will also offer multiple live match streams on its Web site, www.tennischannel.com, as it has since 2007.  2010 is the second year that Tennis Channel will cover all four of tennis’ major competitions.