McEnroe ushers in 2011 Delray Beach ITC by winning ‘On the Ave’

By Joshua Rey

John McEnroe doesn’t play at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships until Saturday evening, but the seven-time Grand Slam singles champ stayed busy in downtown Delray on Friday night.

After receiving a custom-made sculpture by local artist Jeff Wyman, McEnroe and old rival Mats Wilander ushered in the second-annual Delray Beach ATP Champions Tour event with ‘Tennis on the Ave’.

Playing on a makeshift court in the middle of Atlantic Avenue, McEnroe and Wilander battled the quick surface, surrounding trees and an official who may have miscounted the score a time or two. Delray Beach Mayor Woodie McDuffie served as the chair umpire.

McEnroe, who deemed McDuffie’s scorekeeping “fuzzy math,” saved a match point before winning the Champions Tiebreak 13-11.

“I was down 2-1, and now I’m up 3-1; I like that” McEnroe said into his headset microphone. “Is that how they count in Florida?”

It was just one of many quips from the players, who entertained hundreds of fans huddled along Atlantic Avenue with their shot-making and shot-taking.

“You’re younger than me so go over to that side,” McEnroe told Wilander before the start of the match.

After Wilander jumped over the net without touching it, the Swede responded: “Is that intimidation, or what?”

After splitting the first 14 points, McEnroe missed a drop shot badly and reacted by throwing his Dunlop racquet to the cement, drawing cheers from fans who saw him do that a time or two in his prime.

Two points later, the American hit a sharply spun serve out wide that reached the crowd before Wilander could return it. The ball crashed into the face of Ohio-native Pat Riedelsberger, prompting McEnroe to hop the net and kiss the sore sport.

“Thank you for having a tough chin,” McEnroe said.

When McEnroe hit a backhand volley to secure a match point, he announced, “That’s what you’re going to see in the finals on Tuesday.”

“I’ll be there,” Wilander replied.

Indeed a McEnroe/Wilander rematch on a traditional hard court is possible in Tuesday night’s final.

At 9-9, McEnroe and Wilander engaged in an extended rally during which McEnroe remarked: “That ball is as dead as our shots and as old as I feel.” Wilander won the point to take a 10-9 lead when McEnroe failed in his attempt at back-to-back combinations of a drop shot and a lob.

McEnroe’s drop shot landed for a winner to even the tiebreak at 10-10. Two days after turning 52, McEnroe clinched bragging rights by winning the exhibition with a behind-the-back forehand winner.

Before taking to the street, McEnroe was honored with the work of Wyman and students from the Milagro Arts Center in a presentation at the brand-new Delray Beach Arts Garage. Besides playing and covering tennis, McEnroe owns an art gallery in New York City that features up-and-coming artists.

The sculpture that Wyman donated is abstract, but it certainly appears as if the work of art includes a tennis racquet protruding out of a left arm. McEnroe can appreciate that, having put his crafty, left-handed serves and strokes to good use in a Hall-of-Fame career.

The work of six other Delray Beach artists was on display during the presentation:  Carolyn Barth,Tom Melillo, Karen O’Neill, David Sabin, Susan Sabin and Joshua von Nonn.

Students from the Milagro Arts Center, a youth facility that promotes artistic and academic success, created a display of 56 tennis balls decorated with colors, faces, symbols and other designs.

“This is definitely unique,” McEnroe told the crowd. “Anybody that knows about me knows that I’m a big fan of the arts. I’ve been a collector for 30 years since I first made money playing the sport I love… The greatest compliment I’ve received as a player was that I was an artist on the court.”