Tennis giants tied in a knot: Did their lady-loves bring them luck?

John McEnroe

John McEnroe with his wife, actress Tatum O’Neal

John McEnroe, often referred to as ‘Superbrat’ by the media, married Tatum O’Neal in 1986 during his sabbatical from professional tennis. When he returned from his break, he won three ATP tournaments but failed to grab any major Grand Slam victories then and in the later stages of his career.

1987 was his first year when he went without a Major title win (singles or doubles) under his belt since he had turned pro. He lost two straight set quarterfinals to Ivan Lendl at the US Open in 1987 and the Australian Open in 1989.

He also lost a two-day long match to Lendl in the fourth round of the 1988 French Open. Following the US Open of 1987, where he was suspended for two months and fined US$ 17,500 for misconduct, McEnroe took a seven month break from the game.

In 1990, Pete Sampras beat McEnroe in the semi-finals of the US Open in a four set match that read 6-2 6-4 3-6 6-3. 22nd October, 1990 marked the last time when McEnroe would be seen in the top ten seeds. He was ranked 9th at that time.

In 1991, he lost in the fourth round at Wimbledon to Edberg, to whom he had also lost a semi-final match in 1989 at Wimbledon and the third round at the US Open to Michael Chang.

In the third round of the Australian Open in 1992, McEnroe defeated Boris Becker 6–4, 6–3, 7–5, who was ranked 3rd then and was also the defending champion, but he was defeated by Wayne Ferreira in the quarterfinals. The same year, McEnroe lost in straight sets to Andre Agassi in the semifinals of Wimbledon.

Although he accepted in an interview in 2000 that during his second spell after the break he had started taking drugs like cocaine, he argued that it never affected his game. He divorced his wife Tatum O’Neal, daughter of actor Ryan O’Neal, in 1994 and married musician Patty Smyth in 1997.

John McEnroe retired from professional tennis in 1992, ranked 20th.