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Hitting Showtime this weekend is Barney Douglas’ McEnroe, a masterful look at one of tennis’ greatest and most controversial players, John McEnroe.

McEnroe was able to attain 77 singles titles and 78 doubles titles – the highest combined men’s total for the time – and at one point, he held the #1 ranking in both singles and doubles categories.

Along with his great success, McEnroe also stirred up controversy due to his infamous verbal sparring matches with umpires, often being fined for doing so.

 

Douglas previously directed sports docs, The Edge and Warriors, and he was able to get unprecedented access to McEnroe himself, but also spoke to many members of his family, as well as McEnroe’s long-time wife Patty Smyth (from the ‘80s rock group Scandal). McEnroe also includes commentary on McEnroe and his career from other tennis greats, Bjorn Borg – who had an infamous rivalry with McEnroe in the ’80s – and Billy Jean King.

McEnroe offers many amazing insights into the title character, talking about his thought process while playing, how he dealt with the side effects of fame, and some of his lower moments, which included drug use and over-partying. 

CinemaDailyUS’ Edward Douglas had a chance to speak with Douglas (no relation) about his amazing film, an interview you can watch in the video above.

Film summary from Showtime: “Nobody embodied the rockstar era of tennis more than John McEnroe. The original bad boy of the sport, McEnroe was famous not only for his epic matches, but also for his confrontations on and off the court. Accompanied by interviews with icons like Patty Smyth, Keith Richards, Billie Jean King, and Bjorn Borg, the legendary tennis ace gives an unflinching account of his triumphs, struggles, friendships, and rivalries.”

McEnroe will be available to watch on Showtime streaming, starting Friday, September 2, and will air on the cable network on Sunday, September 4 at 7pm ET/PT.

Check out more of Edward Douglas’ articles.