The Best Moment Between Arthur Ashe and John McEnroe That Happened At A Perilous Moment

by Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

Sometimes some of the worst moments in life can bring about some the best moments. Take for example the following moment that happened between John McEnroe and Arthur Ashe in the middle of McEnroe’s worst ever Davis Cup loss in front of a hostile crowd in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as documented in my book “On This Day In Tennis History” (which is for sale as a paperback book, electronic book and as an audio book here: https://a.co/d/15ySssN

March 6, 1983 – John McEnroe is handed his worst Davis Cup defeat of his career, winning only five games in his 6-4, 6-0, 6-1 loss to Guillermo Vilas, which clinches Argentina’s 3-2 victory over the United States in the Davis Cup first round in Buenos Aires. Ten years later, in his book Days of Grace, U.S. Davis Cup Captain Arthur Ashe tells of the waning stages of McEnroe’s one-sided defeat in Argentina writing, “As he was about to trudge back to the baseline, down 1-4 in the third set, facing his and our team’s worst defeat in the Cup competition in many years, John turned to me. A smile that mocked us both flirted with a jaunty smirk. ‘Well captain,’ he said, plucking at his racquet strings, ‘do you have any pearly words of wisdom for me?’ I smiled, and he went out on the court to be beaten. I thought it was our finest moment together. Sometimes, a defeat can be more beautiful and satisfying than certain victories.”