"You'll be sorry the day you hit me... I don't want to hear bleep from you" - When John McEnroe warned both opponent and umpire in heated outburst
John McEnroe, famous for his fiery temper and on-court outbursts, once heatedly confronted his opponent Tomas Smid during their clash at the 1983 WCT Tournament of Champions in Forest Hills, Queens, New York. Even the chair umpire wasn't spared from McEnroe's ire, receiving a stern warning from the American.
That year, McEnroe made a strong start to his claycourt season by triumphing at the World Championships Tennis Finals in Dallas, beating Tomas Smid, Vitas Gerulaitis and Ivan Lendl to clinch the title.
The American and Smid set up a rematch at the WCT Tournament of Champions in Queens just a week later. Ahead of their clash, the latter expressed frustration with John McEnroe's conduct in their Dallas encounter, asserting that he was forced to stand around while the American complained for 30 minutes.
"I stand around while he complains for half an hour," he said
In their clash in Forest Hills, the Czech addressed this issue by simply taking a seat at his bench every time McEnroe disputed a call. The match took a contentious turn when the duo got into a heated argument at the net, with Smid even spitting in the American's direction.
The conflict escalated further when McEnroe struck a backhand that narrowly missed the Czech's face, prompting Smid to retaliate by aiming a backhand into the American's ribs.
John McEnroe did not take kindly to the Czech's seemingly deliberate attack, warning him that he would live to regret it.
"You'll be sorry the day you hit me," he told Smid.
The American also cautioned chair umpire Frank Hammond, firmly instructing him to stay out of the matter.
"I don't want to hear bleep from you," he said.
McEnroe emerged victorious in the tense clash, beating Smid 6-3, 7-5. The American went on to triumph at the event in Forest Hills, claiming a 6-3, 7-5 win over Vitas Gerulaitis in the final.
John McEnroe on his hostile on-court behavior: "They should have defaulted me more... It was their job to show some integrity"
John McEnroe reflected on his hostile on-court behavior in an interview with the New Yorker in 2000, unexpectedly admitting that he felt the officials should have defaulted him more than they did.
Although the American acknowledged that he provoked the officials with his contentious conduct, he emphasized that it was their job to uphold "integrity" by penalizing him when he crossed the line.
"They should have defaulted me more. I’m not going to say I didn’t test these people. It was their job to come through and show some integrity, and they didn’t do it," he said.
Despite his volatile behavior on the court, McEnroe established himself as one of the best players in history, winning seven Grand Slam singles titles and holding the World No. 1 ranking for 170 weeks.