"John McEnroe was a bully, he tried to bully umpires, opponents, everyone" - When John Newcombe criticized American over tense US Open doubles clash

John McEnroe once drew the ire of Australian player John Newcombe during their fiery doubles clash at the US Open. Newcombe did not take kindly to the American's on-court behavior during the match, resulting in him labeling McEnroe a "bully."

Top seeds John McEnroe and Peter Fleming faced the Australian duo of Newcombe and Fred Stolle in the semifinals of the 1981 US Open. After a tense three-hour and 18-minute battle, the American pair claimed a hard-fought 6-2, 6-2, 5-7, 6-7, 7-6 victory to advance to the final.

Apart from the thrilling on-court action, the match also drew attention for the contentious atmosphere between the opponents. In a 2005 interview with Australian journalist Andrew Denton for ABC, John Newcombe recalled how the encounter turned controversial in the opening game itself, when John McEnroe hit him on the body with a volley and made no move to apologize.

"Well, yeah, John was a, you know, a bully, no doubt about it. He tried to bully the umpires, the lines-people, his opponents... Uh, everyone. In the first game of the match, he hit me with... He had a really easy volley and he nailed me with it. And I turned around and looked at him and he didn't apologise or anything, he just walked back," Newcombe said.

Although Newcombe took the initial incident in stride, he was incensed after McEnroe hit Stolle in the throat with a powerful volley, which caused Stolle to collapse on the court. In response, Newcombe crossed the net and shoved his racket in the American's face, issuing a scathing threat. However, the Australian was quick to snap out of his fury and return to his side of the net.

"Anyway, we're two sets to love down, beginning of the third set and we have a volley exchange like that. And John swings full-blooded, a volley, and hits Fred in the throat and Fred went down. Uh, and that made me angrier than if he hit me," he said.

"I had the racquet handle and I shoved it right up his nose and I said "You da-da-da. I'm going to da-da-da kill you." And he's just looking at me, like his eyes are popping out of his head. And he's seen, my veins were throbbing like this. And then I sort of snapped out of it and I thought, "Hey, how did I get over here? John, go back over there,"" he added.

At the time of the clash, John Newcombe and Fred Stolle were 37 and 43 years old, respectively, compared to John McEnroe and Peter Fleming's combined age of 48. Following their loss, Newcombe expressed concern about McEnroe's generation of players.

"I feel sorry for them" - John Newcombe on John McEnroe's generation after US Open doubles clash

John McEnroe - Source: Getty

In his and Fred Stolle's post-match press conference at the 1981 US Open, John Newcombe asserted that he felt sorry for John McEnroe, Peter Fleming, and the younger generation of players. The Australian lamented how younger players felt their opponents were the enemy and took drastic measures to beat them.

"I feel sorry for them. I think they take it over the fringe, where the opponent is the enemy, you must hurt them, kill them. This is a sport; it's a living, yes, but it's still a sport," Newcombe said.

Following their win over Newcombe and Stolle, McEnroe and Fleming won the men's doubles title at the New York Major after Heinz Gunthardt and Peter McNamara pulled out of the final.

On the singles side, No. 1 seed John McEnroe made a stellar run to the final, where he faced second seed and arch-rival Bjorn Borg. The American secured a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Borg to clinch his third consecutive US Open title.