John McEnroe interrupts brother Patrick on Wimbledon broadcast to make major personal announcement live on ESPN
The brothers were on commentary for Tuesday's opening game on No. 1 Court.
2
John McEnroe (right) interrupted Patrick McEnroe (left) to wish him a happy birthday
Credit: ESPN
2
The pair were calling Jannik Sinner's game on No. 1 Court
Credit: AFP
John and Patrick were paired together to see No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner take on fellow Italian Luca Nardi.
The pair popped up on ESPN at 8 am ET when the players were walking onto court at 1 pm in London.
Patrick tried to get brother John's thoughts on the match coming up.
But he was told, "Sometimes there's more important things than first-round matches at Wimbledon."
Patrick laughed and seemingly knew where the conversation was headed.
"It happens to be my younger brother's birthday," John said.
He then turned to Patrick in the booth and wished him a happy birthday.
Patrick celebrated his 59th birthday on Tuesday, July 1.
Most read in Sport
"Appreciate that man, closing in on you," the younger McEnroe said.
"Nothing better than being here with you on my birthday."
Distraught Wimbledon star feared 'dangerous' fan had knife and demanded they were kicked out
John is seven years Patrick's senior and splits his time at Wimbledon between ESPN and working for BBC's UK coverage.
Patrick won 16 doubles titles with his brother John during his playing career.
But his only slam victory was with Jim Grabb at the 1989 French Open.
Patrick's only singles title was at the 1995 Sydney Outdoor Championships.
He achieved a career highest singles ranking of 28 and doubles of three.
ESPN holds the rights to Wimbledon in the United States.
The network signed a new deal worth a reported $400 million to take them through 2035.
This year's singles finals have been pushed back to a 4 pm local time start from 2 pm.
Read more on the Irish Sun
The move means a more favorable start time of 11 am ET for American viewers.
And it also pushed the finals towards prime time in the United Kingdom.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The 42
19 minutes ago
- The 42
Ranking the 8 teams most likely to win the Euros
8. Italy Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The Italian women's team don't have quite the same rich footballing tradition as their male counterparts. They have not gone further than the quarter-finals at the World Cup and have never won the Euros. The closest Italy came in the latter competition was a runners-up spot in 1993 and 1997. They have not fared so well recently, with group stage exits at the last two tournaments. The Azzurri would do well to surpass that achievement this time around, with a tricky-looking group that also features Spain, Portugal and Belgium. Their status as 13th in the Fifa rankings suggests they are one of the best sides in the competition, and they got on relatively well in qualifying, losing only once and topping a League A group that also featured Netherlands, Norway and Finland, all of whom have ultimately qualified for this tournament. 7. Denmark Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Another side who have never tested glory, with their best performance coming in 2017, when they reached the final. The Danes are not expected to repeat that performance in 2025, but their squad still boasts some quality players. Bayern Munich attacker Pernille Harder was a Ballon d'Or runner-up in 2018 and has 78 goals from 162 international appearances, while Roma's Sanne Troelsgaard is closing in on 200 caps for her country. 6. Netherlands Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The champions at the 2017 tournament, since then, the Netherlands have not been able to eclipse that achievement, though they came close in 2019, reaching the World Cup final. There is a sense that the team have been in slight decline thereafter, with disappointing quarter-final exits at the 2022 Euros and 2023 World Cup, although the latter defeat was a narrow extra-time loss to eventual champions Spain. That explains why they are not among the strong favourites to triumph, as well as a qualifying campaign that saw them finish second in their group behind Italy. Their squad has plenty of experience, with Lineth Beerensteyn, Vivianne Miedema, Jackie Groenen, Daniëlle van de Donk, Sherida Spitse, Jill Roord and Dominique Janssen all having won over 100 caps. But whether they have enough quality to overcome the main contenders looks doubtful. 5. Sweden Advertisement Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The champions back in 1984, Sweden, are among the best of the dark horses. Their qualifying passage was not exactly straightforward. They finished third, albeit in a very difficult group alongside France, England and Ireland. Their playoff pathway was considerably less taxing, picking up 12-0 and 8-0 aggregate wins over Luxembourg and Serbia. The Swedes also have several top players with vast international experience, including Linda Sembrant, Magdalena Eriksson, Jonna Andersson, Kosovare Asllani, Sofia Jakobsson, Fridolina Rolfö, Amanda Ilestedt, Stina Blackstenius and Lina Hurtig. The latter trio were all part of Arsenal's matchday squad for their recent Champions League final 1-0 triumph against Barcelona, with Blackstenius scoring the winning goal. 4. Germany Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo No team has a more impressive Euros history than Germany. They have won the competition eight times, and only two sides (Italy and Norway) have made more appearances in the competition. Norway are the only other team to have been champions on multiple occasions (twice, in 1987 and 1993). However, the Germans are not the dominant force of old. Although they made it to the final in 2022, before losing after extra-time against England, they flopped at the last World Cup, failing to emerge from a group that included Colombia, Morocco and South Korea. It won't be easy to surpass that feat this time, as they have been paired with Poland, Denmark and Sweden. Yet the two-time world champions came through qualifying with relative ease, winning five out of six games and topping their group ahead of Iceland, Austria and Poland. Managed by Christian Wück since last year, they also have a couple of players who are considered among the absolute elite of the game. Bayern Munich pair Giulia Gwinn and Lea Schüller, as well as Chelsea's Sjoeke Nüsken, all made the top 30 in the voting for the 2024 Ballon d'Or Féminin. 3. France Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Despite losing to Ireland at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, France marginally topped a very difficult qualifying group ahead of England, Sweden and the then-Eileen Gleeson-managed team. Getting out of their group at the Euros proper won't be easy either, as they have been drawn again with England, along with the Netherlands and Ireland's playoff conquerors, Wales. Any team that can escape that group has to be considered among the favourites, and France are well placed to lay claim to that status. In striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto and midfielder Grace Geyoro, both of whom represent PSG, they boast unquestionably two of the world's best players. Yet their record in the competition is less than spectacular. In eight appearances, their best performance was reaching the semi-finals in 2022, when they were knocked out by Germany. Managed by Laurent Bonadei (a former assistant coach of the Saudi Arabia national team under Hervé Renard), they have also exited at the quarter-finals in the last three successive World Cups, and their current Fifa ranking of 10th indicates they may again have to settle for a knockout stages exit, though a victory away to England in qualifying illustrates they are capable of competing with the very best on their day. 2. England Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The holders and fancied by many pundits to retain their trophy. The fact that English football has the reigning European champions in club football, Arsenal, bodes well for the national team's hopes, and the Gunners only finishing second in the Women's Super League, 12 points adrift of Chelsea, is a testament to the rude health of the country's domestic competition. Manager Sarina Wiegman is one of the most acclaimed coaches in the world. They also boast top-class talent such as Lauren James, Lucy Bronze, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo, who was recently nominated for the PFA Player of the Year and could be a Ballon d'Or contender, particularly if England emerge as winners, after already helping inspire Arsenal's Champions League success. The Three Lions weren't entirely convincing in qualifying, dropping points in three of their six games, but they should get out of a group featuring France, Netherlands and Wales, and they will at least hope to continue their impressive recent record — they have made the final of the last two major tournaments and are aiming for a sixth successive semi-final appearance. 1. Spain Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The reigning world champions are the team to beat, and on paper at least, most people would agree they have the most talented squad of all the sides at the tournament. Qualifying was a relative breeze as they topped their group and won five out of six matches. Five of their players occupied the top 11 spots of the 2024 Ballon d'Or voting, including Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatí, who claimed the top prize. Still, they are far from a sure thing. They have never won the Euros before or even made the final — their most impressive performance saw the team reach the semi-finals nearly 30 years ago, in 1997. La Roja have also been beset by off-field problems in recent times, most notably the unwanted kiss involving player Jenni Hermoso and former football chief, Luis Rubiales, in the aftermath of the World Cup final win. The controversial coach Jorge Vilda, who fell out with several Spanish players, has departed and is now in charge of Morocco. His former assistant, the ex-Barcelona player Montserrat Tomé, has taken over as national team manager. Regardless of the past issues, if this golden generation of Spanish players can perform to their full potential, it is difficult to conceive of anyone stopping them.
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Rebel Fred Perry became UK exile and served in US Air Force in WWII after he was ostracised by Wimbledon snobs
ANDY MURRAY will soon become only the second person to be honoured with a statue at the All England Club. And having ended a 77-year wait for a British men's singles champion at Wimbledon, few would argue against Advertisement 11 Fred Perry was the last British man before Andy Murray to win Wimbledon Credit: AFP 11 He secured three Wimbledon crowns but was exiled from the UK Credit: Getty - Contributor 11 He had a string of relationships, including a romance with Jean Harlow Credit: PA:Press Association Yet even Murray's inspiring life and career - including three Major titles, two Olympic golds and a Davis Cup - pale in comparison with the only previous player to be handed this accolade, Fred Perry. As the first man to complete a career Grand Slam, a Especially as he had been a world champion at table tennis, as well as the undisputed king of the lawns. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Advertisement READ MORE ON WIMBLEDON Not only was Perry a working-class man from Stockport and the son of a Labour MP, he was also a fashionista, a lothario, a heart-throb, a rebel and, ultimately, an exile. He dated Hollywood sirens, including Marlene Dietrich and Jean Harlow, he married four times and, after emigrating and taking American citizenship, Perry served in the US Air Force during World War Two. In an age of intense class-based snobbery and of strict amateurism in tennis, the elitist plum-suckers in the Wimbledon boardroom decided that Perry was a lad from the wrong side of the chalk lines. When he turned professional in 1937, Perry was stripped of his All England Club membership, went on lengthy world tours and settled in the States - where he felt far more accepted than in stuffy pre-war Britain. Advertisement Most read in Sport CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS The first of Murray's two Wimbledon triumphs in 2013 ended a wait for a British men's singles champion which had stretched back to Perry's hat-trick of successes between 1934 and 1936. And while the Scot was something of an outsider and an anti-establishment figure - especially in his early days - he competed in far more enlightened times than Perry, who was the victim of overt discrimination from the authorities. Sue Barker returns to Wimbledon in new role a year after legendary BBC presenter's emotional Andy Murray interview As well as his working-class northern roots, Perry was also frowned upon because he was simply too competitive, occasionally even showing dissent towards umpires - which was unheard of in the 30s. Advertisement He was extremely fast across the court and, unlike many of his competitors, was supremely fit - often training with the dominant Arsenal team of the 1930s to develop his sharpness. But after a comprehensive victory over Australian Jack Crawford to win his first Wimbledon title - celebrated with a Centre Court cartwheel and a leap over the net - Perry suffered one of his most memorable instances of All England Club snobbery. While soaking in a bath after coming off court, Perry claims he heard upper-crust committee member Brame Hillyard tell runner-up Crawford that "this was one day when the best man didn't win". Hillyard then draped Perry's Wimbledon tie - symbolising his membership of the All England Club - over a seat rather than presenting it to the champion in person. Advertisement Perry later wrote in his autobiography: 'I don't think I've ever been so angry in my life. Instead of Fred J Perry the champ, I felt like Fred J Muggs the chimp. 'Some elements in the All England Club and the Lawn Tennis Association looked down on me as a hot-headed, outspoken tearaway rebel, not quite the class of chap they really wanted to see winning Wimbledon, even if he was English.' 11 Perry was a fashion star as well as a sporting hero Credit: Alamy 11 He went out with Marlene Dietrich Credit: Rex Advertisement 11 Perry's first marriage, with American film star Helen Vinson, lasted five years Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd 11 Andy Murray will follow in Perry's footsteps with a statue at the All England Club Credit: Getty Images - Getty And Perry certainly wasn't the only British sporting great of his era to become ostracised by snobbish attitudes. Harold Larwood, the great England fast bowler and hero of the Bodyline triumph over Don Bradman's Aussies in 1932-33, became a scapegoat for the diplomatic crisis sparked by the ruthless tactics of his upper-class captain Douglas Jardine. Advertisement Larwood, a former Nottinghamshire coal miner, would never play for England again and ended up emigrating to, of all places, Australia. Perry, who inspired Great Britain to four consecutive Davis Cup triumphs, was far more popular with the public than his sport's top brass - and not least with women, who loved his fashion sense, including his on-court penchant for tailored white flannels and blazers. He would, of course, go on to make millions from his As for the ladies, Perry would marry four of them - including the Hollywood actress Helen Vinson and the model Sandra Breaux - before he settled down with Barbara Riese, the couple having two children and enjoying a 40-year marriage until Perry's death in 1995, aged 85. Advertisement He was finally accepted back into the fold at Wimbledon during the last 25 years of his life, broadcasting for the BBC before his statue was unveiled in 1982 - to Perry's intense pride. 'I never thought I'd live to see the day when a statue was put up to the son of a Labour MP inside the manicured grounds of Wimbledon,' he wrote in his memoirs. 'There will be a few former members of the All England Club and the LTA revolving in their graves at the thought of such a tribute paid to the man they regarded as a rebel from the wrong side of the tennis tramlines.' Murray, who often felt his Scottishness was held against him during his early days at Wimbledon, never really knew the half of it. Advertisement 11 His name lives on as the clothing brand Credit: Getty 11 He was briefly married to Sandra Breaux Credit: AP:Associated Press 11 The Stockport native was also a world champion at table tennis Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd 11 Perry died aged 85 in 1995 Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd Advertisement
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Zverev and Gauff crash out at Wimbledon
World No.3 Alexander Zverev was dumped on the Wimbledon seeds scrapheap after losing a two-day, five-set marathon to Arthur Rinderknech. The German, a three-time grand slam finalist, was beaten 7-6 (3) 6-7 (8) 6-3 6-7 (5) 6-4 by Frenchman Rinderknech in a match carried over from Monday evening. Zverev is the fourth men's top-10 player to crash out in the first round at this year's Championships — and the highest-ranked — joining Lorenzo Musetti, Holger Rune, and Daniil Medvedev through the exit door. Italian seventh seed Musetti was knocked out by Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia. A 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-1 defeat was not a major surprise, however, as Musetti has been recovering from a thigh injury since Roland Garros and was forced to withdraw from Queen's last month. On the women's side, French Open champion Coco Gauff came a cropper under the Court One roof as she crashed out following a shock straight-sets defeat to Ukrainian world No.42 Dayana Yastremska. Twenty-four days since lifting the title at Roland Garros, the stunned American second seed was beaten 7-6 (3) 6-1 in a major upset. The resounding loss was the 21-year-old's second round-one exit in three years in SW19 following defeat to compatriot Sofia Kenin at this stage in 2023. World No.3 Jessica Pegula struggled to explain her shock exit as she praised the 'insane' performance of opponent Elisabetta Cocciaretto. Last year's US Open runner-up was beaten 6-2 6-3 in just 58 minutes as Italian world No.116 Cocciaretto celebrated the greatest win of her career. Barbora Krejcikova avoided being added to the short list of reigning champions to suffer first-round eliminations by battling back to beat Eastbourne Open runner-up Alexandra Eala in three sets. Two-time champion Petra Kvitova bid farewell to Wimbledon following a 6-3 6-1 loss to 10th seed Emma Navarro. Men's world No.1 Jannik Sinner announced himself at this year's tournament with a statement win over fellow Italian Luca Nardi. The 23-year-old dropped only seven games in a comprehensive 6-4 6-3 6-0 victory in an hour and 48 minutes. Sinner slammed down nine aces among 28 winners and lost only 12 points behind his own serve. The three-time grand slam winner has only reached the semi-finals here once, in 2023, but all roads seem to be leading to a showdown with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz a week on Sunday.
