John McEnroe was once defaulted from the Australian Open, and he talked a bit about that leading up to this year's event.
The most famous default from a Grand Slam in tennis is likely Novak Djokovic's US Open disqualification, but before that, it was John McEnroe's Australian Open default. It happened a very long time ago at the 1990 Australian Open, and it was quite controversial at the time.
It's not any less controversial right now, with some people still wondering whether it was justified. First, he got a regular warning, then he got a point penalty for smashing his racquet, and finally, he was defaulted for arguing and 'abusing' the umpire.
It was a fourth-round match, and in a press conference for ESPN ahead of the upcoming Australian Open, McEnroe was asked about the incident, as it will be the 34th anniversary since it happened.
I did like my draw, though I had to play Edberg in the semis. That obviously wouldn’t have been a gimme. I should have known the rules had changed. I will admit that. I screwed up.
The problem was, that McEnroe thought he could afford one more warning, but that wasn't the case, and he was disqualified already after the third warning, which he did not expect.
The rules changed right before the tournament. That did cost me because I did have a good-looking draw there. I don’t want to say thank you for bringing that up.
McEnroe has come to terms with the default since then, admitting that he was in the wrong. It's a good way to think about it because Djokovic was even more unlucky with his disqualification. He didn't mean to do what he did, but ultimately, it happened.
Despite possibly costing the fiery American another Grand Slam title in his collection, it serves as a good lesson to be learned for all aspiring tennis players. Keep it cool.
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