John McEnroe NCAA Singles Final:
Best Competitive Effort Ever

Dick Gould

Monday, May 29, 1978-Memorial Day: a day to remember the incredible efforts, feats, and costs of our worldwide Battle for Freedom! Celebrations with parades, backyard picnics, and barbecues. And also a day historically marked by great sporting events such as the Indianapolis 500 motor car races held since 1911.

A newcomer to the crowded activities block was added in 1977 with the first combined NCAA Team and Individual Championships at Coach Dan Magill's great shrine to college tennis at the University of Georgia. The NCAA Men's Team Championship in 1978 was the second year of a true team championship.

I was the chauffeur for Peter Rennert and John McEnroe, who were in the back seat of our rental car in Athens, Georgia. Peter, John's teammate and best friend, was to give him a brief "loosen up" hit prior to the final match of his collegiate season. We wove through the crowd to find a parking place. As we stepped out of the air-conditioned car, we were met head-on by a midday blast of boiling air. Not only was the temperature in the stifling nineties, but the humidity was almost unbearable.

8 Days: 18 Matches

This was to be John's eighteenth match in eight days--four days of singles and doubles in the Team Championship Monday through Thursday, in which John led us to victory. The team event was followed immediately on Friday by the Individual Championships with two singles matches. On Saturday, play consisted of two singles and a doubles match, then on Sunday one singles and two doubles.

Finally on Monday, the final singles match. (John and his partner Bill Maze were defeated in the doubles semifinals the day before.) John didn't even have the chance to celebrate the team championship nor have any time between the two separate events to catch his breath and mentally regroup.

Understandably, John's back was starting to tighten, so in addition to the light hit around with Peter, he also had a date with the trainer to put some heat on his back and have it stretched out. This was a legitimate concern.

John Sadri

John's opponent in the finals was hard-serving John Sadri of North Carolina State. The Wolfpack did not qualify for the team event, so John Sadri was four days and eight matches fresher to start. In addition, he was playing at an extremely high level and had not lost a set on his march to the finals.

Mac had been forced to three sets in the quarterfinals against Erik Iskersky of Trinity and again to three in the semifinals against teammate Bill Maze. He was exhausted, and by tradition, the finals were the best of five sets!

The style of play of each player was very different. Although both lived and died at the net, Mac relied on touch, soft hands, and a serve he used especially well-in this match, a wide left-handed slice to Sadri's backhand.

The physically much stronger and bigger six-foot, two-inch, 180-pound Sadri bludgeoned the ball and had one of the hardest serves I had ever seen. He was to reach a world high of#14.

In addition, the crowd loves the underdog and Mac had not done a lot to endear himself to the 3,500 fans present during the week. It would be like playing a second opponent!

Both players walk onto the court to the roar of the crowd in anticipation of a special match. The coaches, J. W. Isenhour of NCS and myself, followed, and were probably as nervous as the players.

All four individuals--the two players and two coaches--were already sweating profusely from the oppressive heat and humidity. Hydration would be critical.

This was no-ad, sudden-death scoring-the first player to reach four points wins the game. If the score reaches 6-6, a best of nine-point tie break is played to determine the set.

At 2-2 in the first set, Sadri drew first blood and broke Mac's serve and had break points in a couple of other games to be on the verge of taking a commanding lead. But Mac fought them off and held on to get to 3-5 and serve.

Sadri had another break point, which was also set point. But Mac somehow battled back, finally breaking Sadri's serve to tie the score at 5-5. Both players held serve to send the first set into overtime, and Mac escaped by winning a close tie break.

Despite John McEnroe's fighting spirit, I knew if he had lost this first set, he would face an almost insurmountable challenge based on what he had done the last eight days--his tank was almost on empty!

Mac had won that all-important first set 7-6 in over an hour—the first set Sadri had lost in the tournament! All the time I was asking the ball kids for dry towels and soaking them in my ice bucket to have them ready, wet, and cold on the changeovers, along with continually reminding John to drink plenty of water.

There were no service breaks in the second set and Mac again won a 5-3 tie break for a 7-6, 7-6 lead. The third set goes to 5-5 on serve until Sadri finally earned the service break and serves out the set the next game. Both players leave the court at the ten-minute break for some shade and dry clothes. The score was 7-6, 7-6, 5-7. The heat had only gotten worse!

The fourth set starts almost four hours after the start of the match. Mac's back was starting to tighten up big time after the break. On every changeover, he had to lie prone on his back and get stretched to the limit by the trainer. He was surviving on sheer determination and will to win!

In my mind, however, there is no way he will be physically able to play a competitive fifth set-so it had better be now in the fourth! There had been only three service breaks in the first three sets, and there would be none in set four.

The score reached 6-6, and 3-3 in the tie break, Sadri's serve. He had the final three serves and had served twenty-four aces in the match so far (an average of one ace per serving game).

He only had to win two of the next three points to win the set and even the match at two sets all. McEnroe took the next point for a 4-3 lead. Then a forehand passing shot by Mac wins it all, 7-6, 7-6, 5-7, 7-6 in an epic final.

John jumped for joy and hurled his racket into the net while coming forward to congratulate John Sadri on a great match. John McEnroe had won 144 points; John Sadri 143.

That is exactly how close this match really was! John became the youngest NCAA singles champion to date. The crowd realized what they had witnessed and went crazy. I believe I was just as exhausted as John, and I had done nothing. Mac was able to stay standing to accept the championship trophy presented by former Secretary of State Dean Rusk.

As I sat on the bench for the presentations to both players, I thought back to what a great team player and competitor John McEnroe truly is. He has the heart of a lion--few could have matched what he did over those eight days.

Fortunately, the format was changed for the next year so that no one was asked to go through such a scenario again. I think of how blessed I am to have been associated with John. I have had the pleasure of working with many great competitors, but none who could come through under pressure better than him. I guess that is why he soon became the world's #1 player.

I also had a fleeting moment of disbelief. I realized that was my fourth different NCAA singles champion in six years--this for a guy who did not even want to play tennis in his youth.

In retrospect, I am so glad I was flexible with my treatment of John! I was less mad at him than I was sad he could not quite complete such a great year without maintaining proper behavior on the court. I am certain he was bothered by this as well. Subsequent players benefited from the lessons I learned—some of them from Mac about being flexible.

For instance, Rod Coull, class of 1986, noted, "Coach’s skill and success, in my opinion, was in identifying potential as well as mental toughness and then gently molding that potential without being rigid about it for a given individual. He nudged them rather than pushed them because he knew when to nudge and when not to.

"Coach allowed all of us to be individuals, he didn't tell us we all had to do something in a certain way," writes Jonathan Stark, class of1993.

"I don't think I ever hit a ball on the weekends at school. Some of the guys would hit over the weekends. I never felt the pressure to play from Coach or anyone else. This was what I needed to play my best tennis when it mattered. Because he allowed us this individuality and freedom, I didn't want to let him or the team down."