McEnroe Advises Murray to Temper His Temper

Written by: Staff on 21st June 2012

McEnroe Advises Murray to Temper His Temper

epa02799605 British tennis pro Andy Murray (R) poses with former US tennis player John McEnroe (L) prior to a training session for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 28 June 2011. EPA/TOBY MELVILLE / POOL |

John McEnroe has some unsolicited advice on controlling temper tantrums to give to Andy Murray on the eve of Wimbledon: don’t let your temper spoil your tennis.

The words of wisdom from the player who cut the template tennis tantrums and outbursts back in the wild west days of the 1970s and 1980s believes he can offer No. 4 Murray a key to victory on the eve of the pressure-packed grass-court fortnight.

“Anger can be a positive force – but only when combined with control,” the 53-year-old McEnroe said in a British radio interview. “Athletes should be straightforward. If you use that anger in a positive way, where you get yourself to try harder or dig deeper, it can be a good thing.”

But the player who was once disqualified from the Australian Open more than 20 years ago after a rant at the chair umpire, added: “I would get mad at myself to increase my intensity level. If Andy can do that where it would not hurt his game, it would be a positive thing.”

McEnroe added that too many of his own iconic boil overs during his prime may have been counter-productive. “”I call them the ‘lob of diminishing returns.'”

Murray has a habit of getting down on himself during matches and has in the past bloodied his knuckles by striking them with the strings of his racquet. He is also not shy about cursing at his player box, but has toned it down with no-nonsense tough-guy Ivan Lendl now his coach.

Topics: Andy Murray, British tennis news, John Mcenroe, Sports, tennis advice, Tennis News, Wimbledon