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John Patrick McEnroe was born on February 16, 1959, in Wiesbaden, Germany. His father was serving in the United States Air Force and his mother was a surgical nurse. In 1963, the family moved to Queens, New York, where John was raised. According to his dad, John McEnroe Sr., young John showed an early athletic ability, as well as extraordinary hand-eye coordination.

When McEnroe was young he played multiple sports, but after a while he showed a propensity for tennis. He competed and won several junior tournaments, but never held the number one ranking at that level.

McEnroe attended a prestigious Ivy League prep school where he was an average student, and where he played four years of both soccer and tennis. At the young age of sixteen, he was suspended from his tennis academy for a prank he pulled. Around the age of eighteen, McEnroe's tennis really took off. He qualified for Wimbledon and became the youngest player and the first qualifier to reach the semifinals where he was beaten by Jimmy Connors. Later that year, McEnroe turned pro after leading Stanford to the NCAA championship.

John McEnroe was a super talent, a left handed serve and volleyer who was nicknamed Superbrat. He worked hard and was capable of changing his on court strategies depending on who he was playing. He was known for his great footwork and his quickness. While he didn't have the fastest serve, he made up for it with angle shots and his ability to change the pace of the ball.

McEnroe should have been a more popular player since he had a competitive spirit and a fierce determination. However, his on court antics and tantrums did him in. He often insisted that he could see the ball better than the officials, because he could "feel" when the ball was out.

John won his first U.S. Open in 1979 when he beat Vitas Gerulaitis in straight sets. Upon doing this, he became the youngest winner of the U.S. Open in thirty-one years. The next year John entered into a notorious rivalry with Bjorn Borg. Borg beat McEnroe in a dramatic five set final at Wimbledon. They met again at the U.S. Open

Where McEnroe defended his title winning in another tight five set match. A year later, McEnroe finally broke Borg's Wimbledon streak by beating the Swede in four close sets.

McEnroe also helped the U.S. win the 1981 Davis Cup over Argentina. He became the #1 player in the world from 1981-1984, even though he failed to win any majors in 1982. He did however; help to lead his Davis Cup team to victory. McEnroe had a comeback in 1984 when he beat Jimmy Connors to win Wimbledon, and Ivan Lendl for his fourth U.S.Open title. These were the last Grand Slam wins of his career. That year he blew away the competition with an 82-3 tournament record.

While he spent time in the 1990's on tour, and as the Captain of the U.S. Davis cup team, he spends time these days on the over 35 circuit, playing World Team Tennis, and being a color commentator on television.

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