This week, NYP TV Sports’ Andrew Marchand spoke with NBC tennis analyst John McEnroe. McEnroe, 46, spoke from London, where he is analyzing Wimbledon.
Q: What is the biggest misperception of you?
A: I don’t think there is a lot of misperception of me. I think people have a pretty good idea of what I am about.
Q: If you could do one thing different in your career, what would it be?
A: Certainly, losing the French Open final. I think that would have shown people that I could play on all surfaces. I felt like I could, and I was so close to pulling it off. It would have put me at that truly elite level that would have been quite satisfying. It also humbled me and probably at the end of the day made me a better person.
Q: What’s next for you in your career?
A: It is a little bit up in the air. Sometimes I feel like I would like to settle down more in one place and perhaps have a tennis academy. There are times when I even delude myself and think I should perhaps get into some political thing – at what level, I don’t know. I have loved radio for 25, 30 years. I might want to do something on the radio. Having tasted some TV work besides just tennis, it has made me want to prove I can succeed on that level.
Q: Why didn’t the CNBC show work?
A: A combination of factors. I appreciated the opportunity, but at the same time it was something that was completely new to CNBC to try to get something going at night. I love [Johnny] Carson. I love Letterman. Obviously, I’m not a comedian, but I love the idea of trying to entertain and talk about some issues seriously. But I wasn’t prepared to take it too seriously, because I think the success I have had, particularly with the commentating, I feel like I have the knowledge, but I haven’t taken myself too seriously. I was in a bit of a pickle in exactly how to do that.
Q: A couple of years ago, there was an accusation that you used steroids as a player. What happened?
A: For me, it was just like sort of a miscommunication, because I had talked about being given some anti-inflammatory medication that technically was called a steroid. I was trying to explain the difference to people about unknowingly taking something and performance enhancing, which is a totally different issue.