At a leadership conference in India, Boris Becker recounts the first time he ever faced John McEnroe.
“My teacher in gamesmanship was a man from New York called John McEnroe,” Becker said. “My English at 17, 18 was pretty limited. When I played [McEnroe] the first time in America, he won the first serve. At the changeover, he came to my chair. He said some words and I didn’t understand all the words, but I knew it wasn’t nice. After our tough battle, in the locker room, I asked him what was the meaning of what he said. [He said] ‘I’m going to beat the s— out of you.’”