John McEnroe: I would've been boring if electronic line calling was used in my days

• Tennis News
• ATP Tennis

John McEnroe, 64, says he "would have been more boring" if electronic line calling was used back in his days. McEnroe, a former seven-time Grand Slam champion, was one of the most fiery players of his generation. Apart from being a great tennis player, McEnroe was also well-known for his meltdowns and outbursts.

But if McEnroe was playing in today's age - when there is video technology that every time correctly shows if the ball is in or out - the American would have probably been better toward umpires. “I think that tennis is one of the few sports where you don’t need umpires or linesmen.

If you have this equipment, and it’s accurate, isn’t it nice to know that the correct call’s being made? Had I had it from the very beginning, I would have been more boring, but I would have won more," McEnroe told the Radio Times, via The Telegraph.

McEnroe on his famous 'you cannot be serious' outburst

At 1981 Wimbledon, McEnroe delivered one of his most epic outbursts when he yelled at an umpire "you cannot be serious." Reflecting on that, McEnroe believes to this day that the umpire made the wrong call.

“That ball was on the line. Chalk flew up," McEnroe said. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the McEnroe and Bjorn Borg rivalry was one of the best in the game. While McEnroe was fiery, Borg was always cold and not showing lots of emotions.

That was one of the reasons that made the rivalry so interest and entertaining as McEnroe and Borg were two completely different personalities. Once, McEnroe decided he wanted to be a Borg. “I actually decided, after watching him and playing him a bit, ‘OK, you have to practise and behave the way Bjorn does.’ This was practice. At matches, that would go out the door in ten minutes," McEnroe said.