‘Would Rather Have People Watching Me Scream Than Watching Me Cry’ – John McEnroe Says He Didn’t Get Emotional on the Court to Protect Himself

John McEnroe was a strong personality on the tennis court. He often dominated his opponents, putting on magnificent displays tournament after tournament. Over the course of his career, he managed to win seven Grand Slam singles titles. Additionally, he also lifted nine major doubles titles.

John McEnroe on hiding his weaknesses on the tennis court

During the WNYC Studios podcast, the American tennis legend talked about his achievements and hiding his weaknesses. He said, “It turned out that I wanted a lot more than I realized. I was able to do more than I thought I was capable of in terms of digging deeper and emotionally accepting the sort of challenges step by step.”

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Further, he added, “It took me a long time and part of the reason I acted the way I did was, to be honest, is that like fear of failure. I would rather have people watching me scream than watching me cry. I don’t know if you were, but me growing up, it was guys don’t cry type of thing. If you show that’s a sign of weakness, it was sought of to protect myself.”

McEnroe backs Novak Djokovic

After his successful Wimbledon campaign, Djokovic has found himself in the center of controversy, yet again. The Serb potentially faces the risk of missing out on the US Open, owing to his vaccination status. However, he has found the support of McEnroe amid such controversies. The latter asked the concerned authorities to ‘sort this out’, insisting that Djokovic was an incredible champion who needs to play every Grand Slam event.

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Additionally, fans started a petition asking for Djokovic’s participation in the US Open. A letter on this matter has even reached the United States President, Joe Biden.