
Just like old times for John McEnroe. Volatile as ever, McEnroe got tossed from his opening match at the over-30s Hall of Fame Champions Cup for a new kind of triple fault: Cursing, arguing with the chair umpire and making an obscene gesture at fans.
Historically there have been more issues with John8217;s matches than the other guys, but this was over the top,8221; supervisor Jon Venison said.
Some things never change
The 49-year-old McEnroe did not meet reporters after defaulting against MaliVai Washington. 8220;I guess 1992 in New Haven was the last time I played John. Has anything changed? I guess he has one of those explosive personalities, you could say,8221; Washington said.
8220;There are a lot of things I can deal with 8212; disputed line calls, stoppage in play. I have an issue when my opponent starts berating people, fans and umpires. I said something to the official. As players, we are in control of the match. Officials are in charge of the integrity of the game,8221; Washington said.
While arguing a line call, McEnroe was given a code-violation warning for uttering an obscenity. When he kept up his tirade against chair umpire Ray Brodeur, he drew two abuse of official penalties. As the argument progressed, fans at the International Hall of Fame court started yelling at McEnroe, telling him to resume play. McEnroe responded with his obscene gesture and was thrown out.
It marked the first time McEnroe was defaulted from a match on the Outback Champions Series, an international circuit for stars over 30. McEnroe is scheduled to continue in the round-robin format.