John McEnroe and Andre Agassi carried forward the tennis legacy in the United States. Both these players had illustrious careers, won laurels, developed rivalries of their own, including with each other, and played the sport at the highest level with the highest regard. However, it is safe to say that they didn’t always see eye-to-eye on a lot of things.
Years after their retirement too, McEnroe managed to make a comment that riled up Agassi, and it involved his then star player, Novak Djokovic. In June 2017, right ahead of Wimbledon, John McEnroe suggested that Novak Djokovic’s form had gone off the rails and that it had something to do with his personal life.
Sportspersons are usually icky and reluctant to bring up either their or someone else’s personal life, and it’s all for the right reasons. But McEnroe isn’t everybody. As someone who minces no words, McEnroe compared Djokovic’s downfall to that of golf legend Tiger Woods, and therefore, the comment about his wife and personal life.
“That’s going to throw you. If you’re distracted, you’re not the same player. The person that comes to mind immediately with Novak is golfer Tiger Woods. He had the issues with his wife, he seemed to go completely off the rails and has never been even close to the same player,” said McEnroe, as reported by The Sun.
For the unversed, Tiger Woods was involved in a massive scandal involving multiple women, which resulted in his then-wife Ellen Nordegren divorcing him. He took many years to recover from that and it took a huge blow in his personal life. However, despite these comparisons, which had no concrete base, Andre Agassi was confident of Djokovic’s return.
Agassi, who was focusing on coaching Novak Djokovic around the time, was fuming over McEnroe’s provocative statements. He lambasted the fellow American player by saying these words.
Agassi said, “I spoke to John directly about that. We all have the potential to say regretful things that come with unnecessary hurt to people. My hope is that he’ll show more judgment moving forward.”
Agassi dismissed McEnroe’s statements completely in the most respectful manner. However, this did call for a mini-feud between the two players outside their on-court rivalry. When Djokovic learned about it, he was completely benign and respectful about it. But, of course, he didn’t agree to that.
2017 may not have been the best year for Djokovic, as he didn’t win a single Grand Slam that year. But McEnroe was wrong, since unlike Tiger Woods, Djokovic came back very strong and won 12 more Grand Slams and still counting.
After Andre Agassi, Novak Djokovic was coached by Goran Ivanisevic from 2018 and the World No.1 ended this partnership spanning nearly 6 years, in March 2024.
The John McEnroe vs Andre Agassi rivalry that got the least attention than others
John McEnroe was known for his rivalry with Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, and most importantly Bjorn Borg. Andre Agassi is renowned for his rivalry with Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Michael Chang, and most popularly Pete Sampras.
However, Agassi and McEnroe also had a rivalry, one where they never saw things in the same way. They haven’t played too many matches together; only 4. In that, the honors are shared 2-2 between them.
The first time they met, McEnroe beat Agassi in the Stratton Mountain ATP Event by 6-3, 6-3 in 1986. Agassi answered back strongly with a win two years later in 1988. He beat McEnroe 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 in the Los Angeles Open. The next two times were at the WCT Finals and Wimbledon, where John McEnroe and Andre Agassi won respectively.
