In 1989, McEnroe won the French Open men's doubles title and the Masters doubles title, partnering with
Jim Grabb. His first career singles final came in 1991 at Chicago, where he faced his brother John, who won the match 3–6, 6–2, 6–4. (This was the second time in tour history where two brothers faced each other in a tournament final, after
Emilio Sánchez and
Javier Sánchez met in the Madrid final in 1987.) His best
Grand Slam singles performance came at the
1991 Australian Open, where he reached the semifinals before being knocked-out by eventual-champion
Boris Becker. (Commenting on his fellow semifinalists, he told the press: "It's just like you all expected –
Edberg,
Lendl, McEnroe and Becker".) He was also runner-up in the men's doubles at the Australian Open that year, partnering with his former Stanford teammate
David Wheaton. McEnroe won the men's singles at the
Sydney Outdoor Championships in 1995, to claim his only career singles title. He also had some notable Grand Slam singles results that year – beating Boris Becker in the first round of the Australian Open (before eventually losing in the fourth round), and then reaching the quarterfinals of the
US Open where he lost to Becker in an epic four-hour and seven-minute four-set marathon. McEnroe acted as a catalyst for fellow tennis champion (and older brother John's own rival)
Jimmy Connors's run during the
1991 US Open. In the first round of the 1991 US Open, McEnroe led Connors two sets and 3–0 in the third set but Connors came back to win in five sets, walking off the court at 1:35 in the morning, after 4 hours and 18 minutes of play. McEnroe retired from the professional tour in 1998.
Davis Cup In the Davis Cup, McEnroe represented his country as a doubles player in 1993, 1994 and 1996, compiling a 3–1 record. In 2000, after older-brother John resigned following an unhappy 14-month spell as captain, he was named the 38th captain of the United States Davis Cup team. With McEnroe as captain, the Davis Cup team won the Cup for the U.S. in December 2007. He resigned the position of team captain on September 6, 2010. His time as captain is the longest of any US Davis Cup captain.
General manager of USTA player development In 2008, McEnroe became general manager of
USTA player development. A series of mandates aimed at promoting junior tennis, including a requirement that all players age ten and under (U10) compete on miniature courts using new lightweight "green dot" tennis balls, have been controversial. The smaller format is designed to make tennis more accessible to children but critics argue that it will inhibit development. In 2012, tennis coach
Wayne Bryan, father of the
Bryan brothers, wrote a letter expressing concern about the effects USTA mandates were having on players and coaches around the country. McEnroe responded, calling Bryan's criticisms "scattershot" and "filled with holes, hearsay and half truths". At the December 2012 "Riv It Up" USPTA Education Event held at the
Riviera Country Club in
Pacific Palisades, California, professional coaches united to support Bryan in a "packed" meeting with USTA director Craig Jones that drew attendees from as far away as Arizona.
Fox News commentator
Sean Hannity, the father of two junior players, posted his own analysis online "urging the immediate reversal of the USTA's new rules for juniors competition". Former world No. 1
John McEnroe, owner of Sportime Tennis Center on
Randalls Island, New York, agrees that the tennis federation his younger brother Patrick advocates is unlikely to produce a champion. Jon Wertheim of
Sports Illustrated reports McEnroe was "forced out of his job" after a six-year tenure. The announcement was made during the
US Open Tennis Championship in
Flushing Meadows, New York, where for the second consecutive year, and only the second time in its 134-year history, no American men advanced past the third round. It is the latest indicator that the United States has lost its place in the upper echelon of professional tennis. ==Broadcast career==