Four of the top names in tennis were on hand last weekend at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia for the second annual Greenbrier Tennis Classic.
Hall of Famers John McEnroe, Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl joined Tommy Haas, ranked 13th in current world rankings.
McEnroe, an American tennis legend, won seven Grand Slam singles titles to go with nine Grand Slam men’s doubles titles. Sampras won 14 Grand Slam titles and held the year-end No. 1 world ranking for a record six consecutive years from 1993 through 1998.
Lendl spent 17 years on the ATP Tour and has 8 Grand Slam titles. He now coaches World No. 3 player Andy Murray, who won the Wimbledon Men’s Singles Championship in July.
Haas, a German professional who has competed on the ATP Tour since 1996, won the Silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics and scored his signature win over the world’s #1 seeded player, Novak Djokovic in March at the ATP event in Miami.
Last Saturday’s Classic saw McEnroe and Lendl battle to a 1-1 tie in singles competition moved to the indoor courts due to rain, with McEnroe taking the first set 6-4 and Lendl winning the second 7-6 (7-4). The two mutually agreed to forego the tiebreaker.
“We both played well and I think the fans enjoyed it,” Lendl noted afterward.
McEnroe, in vintage McEnroe style, berated the line judges and the chair umpire throughout the match, and joked with golfing legend Nick Faldo seated court side.
In a closed media session, McEnroe was asked if his rants were serious or just part of his act. “It’s a little of both now,” McEnroe admitted. “It’s definitely expected, but there were some bum calls, no doubt about it.”
Haas followed with a 10-point third set tiebreaker win over Sampras that had the crowd thrilled with the hard-hitting serves and lengthy volleys.
Picture-perfect weather on Sunday moved the doubles competition to the outdoor clay courts in what was billed as the US vs Europe. McEnroe-Sampras ran away with the 6-1, 7-6 win over Lendl-Haas as McEnroe put on a clinic in shot making.
Notable for the 2013 Classic was chair umpire Jay Snyder. The former Roanoker has been a chair umpire for numerous Grand Slam events and was a former tournament director of the U.S. Open. “I put up with a little bit of their complaining,” Snyder told me at court side during the trophy presentation. “Finally, I tell them to play tennis.”
– Bill Turner
