Senior McEnroe seeks job

NEW YORK - John McEnroe Sr. has raised two of the most successful, influential men in tennis. Now he wants to raise the roof on the men's professional game.

The 73-year-old retired partner at a prestigious Manhattan law firm wants to be the next chairman of the board of the ATP Tour, the governing body of the men's pro game. Etienne de Villiers, the current chairman who has taken heat from the top players for his sweeping changes - including an overhaul of doubles competition, round-robin play at lesser tournaments (an experiment that failed miserably), and calendar alterations that eliminated a popular longtime event in Hamburg, Germany, from the top tier - has announced his resignation, effective Dec. 31.

McEnroe Sr.'s eldest son, John, is a tempestuous yet revered senior player and broadcaster, not to mention a four-time US Open and three-time Wimbledon champion. His youngest son, Patrick, is general manager of Elite Player Development for the US Tennis Association, the US Davis Cup captain, and a television broadcaster, while his middle son, Mark, is a Stanford-educated lawyer.

McEnroe Sr. feels his years negotiating contracts for his sons, as well as for the Quintessential Quintet in the early 1980s - McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Vitas Gerulaitis, Jimmy Connors, and Guillermo Vilas - makes him eminently capable of managing a $100 million enterprise with 63 tournaments in 31 countries around the world. As outspoken as his first-born, McEnroe feels certain changes are paramount.

"No player should be made to play any tournament he doesn't want to play," said McEnroe, who sent a letter to ATP administrators, agents, and players delineating his desires and qualifications. "Players should call the shots."

McEnroe is not in favor of a merger with the WTA Tour, the women's governing body, an idea that has been floated, especially since the men and women will have 10 joint or back-to-back events in 2009 that will include equal prize money. In fact, Senior, as he is often called, was particularly vocal about equal prize money.

"I don't see any benefits [of a merger] to the men's tour but I see lots of benefits for the women," he said, his voice rising. "I think it's absurd that the women get equal prize money, especially at the [majors]. The men are playing five sets over 4-5 hours in tremendous heat, and the women, for the most part, are waltzing through the early rounds. I think the women should put aside 10 percent of their earnings and give it to Billie Jean King because she sold them a bill of goods. I do not believe the women have the same marquee value as the men and the men would be providing much more for the women than the other way around."

Patrick McEnroe does not share his father's sentiments regarding prize money.

"To me, it's market," said Patrick after announcing Andy Roddick, James Blake, and Bob and Mike Bryan will represent the US for the Davis Cup semifinal against Spain in Madrid Sept. 19-21. "Obviously, when you come to a Slam or a combined event, people are coming to see both [men and women]. So, therefore, it seems logical to me that they should split it."