"What goes around really does come around" - When John McEnroe recalled being pleasantly surprised by his meeting with Nelson Mandela
Tennis legend John McEnroe once spoke about what it felt like to shake Nelson Mandela's hand.
The incident occurred in 1996, which was just a few years following McEnroe's retirement. The American wrote in his book "You Cannot be Serious" (2002) that while the South African had a big hand, he had a "magical warmth."
"Nelson Mandela was different: He had a big hand, and it felt soft, yet strong. It’s hard to explain, but an almost magical warmth seemed to emanate from it. It was the first time (at long last) that I’d gone to South Africa: I was there for a Champions Tour Seniors tennis event, and Patty was there with me," McEnroe wrote.
McEnroe added that the likes of his wife Patty Smyth, Bjorn Borg and Yannick Noah were present too. He also mentioned that he was surprised when Mandela said that it was an "honor" to meet him.
"Bjorn Borg was also in the event, and so was Yannick Noah, who— somehow appropriately, I thought—won the final. Patty, Bjorn and his girlfriend, Yannick and his then-wife, and a few other people were standing in Mandela’s living room. But he was shaking my hand, and saying that it was an honor to meet me," McEnroe wrote.
John McEnroe went on to describe how Mandela talked to him about his decision to not compete in an exhibition tournament in Canada in the mid-80s:
"I had to restrain the urge to look to either side when he said that, to say, 'Who are you talking to?'—I knew (even if I couldn’t quite believe) that he was talking to me. We sat down on his couch and chatted for a few minutes. He said that while he was in prison on Robben Island, he had heard about my 1980 refusal to play in Sun City.
"And then he said the most amazing thing: that he and the other inmates on Robben Island had listened to my 1980 Wimbledon final against Borg. That gave me chills. But I knew that the main reason I was sitting on Mr. Mandela’s couch was my visceral decision fifteen years earlier to follow my conscience instead of the money. Sometimes what goes around really does come around."
John McEnroe won 17 Grand Slams during his career
John McEnroe enjoyed an illustrious tennis career, during which he won a total of 17 Grand Slam titles.
McEnroe won seven of these on the singles circuit - three at Wimbledon and four at the US Open. His triumphs at the grass-court Major came in 1981, 1983 and 1984, while he won three successive editions of the New York Major from 1979 to 1981. McEnroe's fourth title at Flushing Meadows came in 1984.
The American was a little more successful on the doubles circuit, winning ten titles - nine in men's doubles and one in mixed doubles. McEnroe also attained the World No. 1 ranking in singles and held that position for a total of 170 weeks.