SNAP: The John McEnroe Default Saga

In at least two places, incorrect information was given. The first was this: “Whoa! The words echo through the stadium and then are swallowed by something unprecedented. 15,000 people going silent simultaneously. Not the polite silence of a crowd waiting for a serve. Not the concentrated silence of a tiebreak. Something more raw than that. The silence of collective disbelief.” Yeah, I watched and listened to the video, and there was no collective silence. There were whistles, groans, and ongoing discussions immediately afterward. Check it out for yourself. Seriously, there was no concentrated silence! The second was this: “First default in men's singles at a Grand Slam, John McEnroe, Melbourne, January 1990.” That’s not true either! Willie Alvarez had been ejected from the men’s singles tournament at the French Open 27 years earlier, in 1963.

Fantastic history, and very engaging. I played HS tennis in the mid 80’s so I vividly remember John McEnroe’s explosive temper on the court. But I never knew the crazy things going on behind the scenes that changed tennis forever.

Fascinating hearing about McEnroe, a complicated genius if ever there was one, and what led up to his default at the AO. The near ambient background soundtrack is distracting to my middle aged brain however. The parts without this weird music are excellent.

Valiant effort and what they have produced is well done, however, there is just not enough content to make this into a multi-episode show. Incredibly repetitive.