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John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe was born on February 16, 1959, in Wiesbaden, Germany. While McEnroe exhibited qualities of a tennis prodigy, he enthusiastically played many other sports. However, it soon became obvious that he possessed a great deal of natural ability on the tennis court. In 1970, McEnroe was placed at the Port Washington (Long Island) Tennis Academy.
A pivotal series of events in McEnroe's career took place in 1977. He was given the opportunity to play in Europe, where he won the French Juniors Tournament. Aiming for the Junior's title at Wimbledon, he had to pull out of the event when he qualified for the men's competition. He advanced to the semi-finals, where he was beaten by the more experienced Jimmy Connors. At that time, McEnroe became the youngest man ever to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals. He was voted Tennis magazine's Rookie of the Year for 1977.
In 1978, McEnroe reached the semi-finals of the U.S. Open. By the end of that year, he was ranked sixth in the world in singles and fifth in doubles. In 1978, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) recognized him with a Newcomer of the Year Award and ranked him number four in the world, behind Borg, Connors and Vilas.
In 1979 McEnroe bounced back and won his first United States Open Championship. He became the youngest player to win the U.S. Open since 1948. Shortly after his U.S. Open triumph, he led the U.S. Davis Cup team to victory over Argentina, Australia, and Italy to allow the team to retain the cup.
In 1984, McEnroe won 82 of 84 matches, including his fourth WCT final, his third U.S. Pro Indoor Championship and his second Grand Prix Masters title. He captured his third Wimbledon title, and his fourth U.S. Open title. This victory was to mark the last Grand Slam title of his career.
In 1995, McEnroe began to call matches with the U.S.A. coverage of the French Open. This began his present broadcasting career. He is a network television commentator for both NBC and CBS at Wimbledon, the French Open and the U.S. Open. He currently competes in a select number of tournaments and special events, largely for charity. Most of his charity work targets children's causes and he devotes a good deal of time to the Arthur Ashe foundation for the defeat of AIDS. In 1999, McEnroe was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and was named captain of the Davis Cup team.
Unlike many top tennis players, tennis was not the end-all-be-all for McEnroe. He has always enjoyed a wide range of activities. An avid rock fan and guitar player, he occasionally plays at charity events. His interest in art led him to open the John McEnroe Art Gallery in New York City which features up-and-coming young artists.
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