Desert Island Discs: Archive: 2016-201816 Jul 2017

John McEnroe

Kirsty Young's castaway is the tennis player and commentator, John McEnroe. He won three singles and five doubles Wimbledon titles, four singles and four doubles at the US Open and was ranked number one in the world for four consecutive years in the 1980s.

John McEnroe grew up in New York and didn't pick up a tennis racquet until the age of eight, but his talent was quickly spotted and he began to compete in junior tournaments. In 1977, aged 18 and between high school and university, he qualified for the main draw at Wimbledon and reached the semi-finals where he lost to Jimmy Connors. By the end of the tournament his on-court behaviour - shouting, haranguing umpires and abusing his racquet - earned him the nickname 'Superbrat'.

He made his first Wimbledon final against Bjorn Borg in 1980. In one of the finest matches in history, despite winning a tiebreak 18-16 to win the fourth set, he lost the match. He beat Borg the following year to win his first Wimbledon singles title. 1984 was the best year in John's career: he won 82 out of 85 matches he played, but it was also the year when he was beaten at the French Open by Ivan Lendl, who replaced him as number one.

John married the actress Tatum O'Neal in 1986. They divorced in the mid-1990s and he has been married to the singer Patty Smyth since 1997. Since retiring in 1992, in addition to his role as tennis commentator, he has been a coach and runs his own tennis academy. He still plays in tennis tournaments.

Producer: Cathy Drysdale.

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Episoder(126)

John Timpson

Kirsty Young's castaway is the businessman, John Timpson.He is chairman of his eponymous high street retailers and the business is in his blood: started by his great-grandfather in 1865 it is now run ...

27 Mar 201635min

Gloria Steinem

Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer, feminist & activist, Gloria Steinem.At the forefront of the second wave of feminism, she came to prominence after publishing an article entitled "After Black Pow...

20 Mar 201636min

Yinka Shonibare

Kirsty Young's castaway is the artist Yinka Shonibare MBE.His work has populated museums around the globe, with a vivid, subversive and often tragi-comic presence; exploring themes of cultural identit...

13 Mar 201633min

Dr Dame Sue Ion

Kirsty Young's castaway is the engineer and nuclear scientist Dr Dame Sue Ion.The first woman to be awarded the highly prestigious President's Medal by the Royal Academy of Engineering, she has worked...

6 Mar 201634min

Hugh Bonneville

Kirsty Young's castaway is Hugh Bonneville.Known around the world for his portrayal of Lord Grantham in ITV's hugely popular Downton Abbey, he made British audiences laugh with his portrayal of the ha...

28 Feb 201636min

Dame Zaha Hadid

Kirsty Young's castaway is the architect, Dame Zaha Hadid.The first woman to be awarded architecture's highest honour, the Pritzker Prize, she designed the Aquatic Centre for London 2012, Glasgow's Ri...

21 Feb 201634min

Ben Saunders

Kirsty Young's castaway is the polar adventurer Ben Saunders. In his own words he "specialises in dragging heavy things around cold places".He's one of only three people to have skied solo to The Nort...

14 Feb 201635min

Professor Dame Carol Black

Kirsty Young's castaway is Professor Dame Carol Black.She is Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge, and is a special adviser to the Department of Health and Public Health England. She is also Chair ...

7 Feb 201637min