John McEnroe branded Mats Wilander a “jerk” as he recalled losing to the Swede in the 1983 Australian Open semi-final. With both men on punditry duties for the men’s final, McEnroe said he should have picked up a trophy in Melbourne were it not for Wilander, who apologised for denying the American a chance to win the title.
McEnroe took aim at Wilander as he recalled one of his disappointing Australian Open defeats. With Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev set to face off for the title on Sunday, the American was left feeling bitter that he was never able to win in Melbourne because of one of his fellow pundits.
Wilander won the Australian Open in 1983, 1984 and 1988, with the first two coming when the tournament was still played on grass. And it was en route to his first title that he beat McEnroe 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-3 in the final. After reliving his title win on Eurosport, headlined with a victory over Ivan Lendl in the final, McEnroe pointed out that he was also one of the Swede’s victims that week.
“Well first of all thankfully Mats didn’t remind the viewers who he beat in the semi-finals. A painful day for me,” the 64-year-old said. In the studio, Wilander admitted that he didn’t remember the scoreline of his final against Lendl.
But seven-time Major winner McEnroe knew it, claiming that the trophy should have been his. He added: “And secondly, I recall that he beat Ivan Lendl [6-1 6-4 6-4] because I was like I should’ve had this damn tournament.” Presenting from Melbourne, McEnroe then revealed that he was standing next to the Norman Brookes Cup – the men’s singles trophy.
“Besides that Mats, I just want to tell you that I’ve got a friend here. It’s not a friend I know but a friend that you’ve known for 40 years. Take a look at this sucker here,” he said of the trophy, before taking one more shot at the 59-year-old.
“I wish I had touched it but because of that jerk next to you Tim [Henman], I didn’t.” McEnroe’s outburst did earn him an apology from Wilander, though the fellow seven-time Grand Slam champion also rubbed another victory in the American’s face.
