I consider John McEnroe the greatest tennis player of all time

       From the time I first played tennis at the age of eight until the early 1990s when my body betrayed me and I was physically unable to play I was an avid tennis player. I had reached the playing level in which I could be competitive with club pros, at least in doubles play. Throughout this period I intently watched Wimbledon. As the years of non-playing have gone by I have become a casual observer of Wimbledon on television rarely watching more than a few hours every year.
       As I watched this year it occurred to me that Wimbledon has become something of an anachronism. The championships began at the height of Victorian England ( Click here to read the history of Wimbledon) in the 19th century and were steeped in the traditions of gentility and propriety which marked that era. Personally I always liked the immaculate green grass, the all white dress code, and the finesse serve and volley game which was rewarded by the grass courts in the era of wood racquets. But the metal racquets which have made tennis a power game and the social changes which have made the dress and behavior codes of yesteryear obsolete have made Wimbledon appear antiquated and passé. I for one am sorry to see this happen but it is era which is gone and will clearly never return. So we should enjoy Wimbledon while it lasts because when it is gone we will never see the likes of it again.