"Can you believe what this b***h did to me?" - When Steffi Graf angered John McEnroe by pulling out of 1999 Wimbledon mixed doubles semifinals
Steffi Graf and John McEnroe teamed up for the mixed doubles tournament at Wimbledon in 1999. The pair reached the semifinals of the grasscourt Major before Graf made herself unavailable for the match.
In his book 'You Cannot Be Serious,' John McEnroe wrote about his experience with the German. He stated that people were excited to watch the duo play during the tournament as they reached the semifinals.
"I went to Wimbledon with a new purpose that year. Along with my TV responsibilities, I was actually going to play at the All England Club again, in the mixed doubles, for the first time since 1979. I was excited: My partner was to be one of the all-time legends, Steffi Graf," John McEnroe wrote.
"It seemed people were excited about watching us play. Our early-round matches were packed with enthusiastic crowds, and we did well. In the quarterfinals, we played Venus Williams and Justin Gimelstob, who had won two Grand Slam mixed-doubles titles in the previous year. Our relaxed state, along with the enthusiastic support of the packed Centre Court crowd, helped us advance to an easy straight-set win," he added.
The American added that the pair were scheduled to face Jonas Bjorkman and Anna Kournikova in the semifinals and Graf told him just before the match that she was defaulting as she had to keep herself fresh before her women's singles final against Lindsay Davenport.
"In the semifinals, we were scheduled to meet Jonas Bjorkman and Anna Kournikova. At five-fifteen that afternoon, I walked out of the NBC booth extremely frustrated at what I had thought was one of our more lackluster broadcast efforts that day, but I told myself, 'Hey, forget about it. Just think about winning two more matches in the mixed doubles at Wimbledon,'" the former World No. 1 wrote in his book.
"Just then, Bob Basche, a production assistant, handed me a note. 'Call Steffi,' it said. I phoned her from the locker room. She sounded subdued. 'John, I’m sorry,' she said. 'It’s too much, and it’s too late in the day—I’m defaulting.' She had to save herself for the final tomorrow, she told me,” he added.
John McEnroe said that he got angry after Steffi Graf said she wouldn't play. The former also called the German a b***h in front of two people who turned out to be Andre Agassi and Brad Gilbert. He also stated that he didn't know Graf and Agassi were dating at the time.
"For one of the few times in my life, I was speechless. I sat there for five minutes, silent. Then I started to get angry.It was the end of the day, and only two people were left in the locker room beside me. I turned to them and said, 'Can you believe what this b***h did to me?' The two people were Andre Agassi and his coach, Brad Gilbert. It turned out there was a lot I didn’t know at that moment," McEnroe wrote.
"I later discovered that others may have known about Steffi’s decision to pull out before she informed me" - John McEnroe
John McEnroe wrote that he discovered others knew about Steffi Graf's decision to withdraw before she informed him. He also found out that the German had planned to have dinner with Andre Agassi that night.
The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion stated that, in hindsight, he forgives the couple.
"I later discovered that others may have known about Steffi’s decision to pull out of the mixed before she informed me. What was more, Andre and Steffi had already begun seeing each other secretly and had planned to have dinner together that night. I’m not sure if her desire to see Andre outweighed her desire to play our match, but now that they’re married and parents themselves I forgive them," he wrote.