THE McENROE VERDICT

John McEnroe, himself no stranger to controversy, is commentating on this year's Wimbledon for the American television network, NBC. This is what he said on air about the Tarango incident: "I never walked off court, I never wanted to be defaulted. He has hurt himself, shot himself in the foot inexplicably. I just can't believe that he did that - and at Wimbledon of all places.

"He should at least have requested another umpire and seen the committee beforehand, but I don't think he did that. At this stage I would just take away his prize-money, which at this point is pounds 15,000. I don't know about a suspension, I don't know if that is warranted.

"We know in the past he likes to clown around. He dropped his pants last year against Michael Chang in Tokyo, but he said he was doing that in fun. That's possible, but this certainly wasn't done in fun. He may be in for a long vacation. The one who is going to be hurt most by this is Jeff Tarango.

"I must admit I've said 'shut up' to the crowd before and not been given a warning [for an audible obscenity]. I didn't realise 'shut up' was profane. But Jeff Tarango could use a vacation now, get away from the game and take a different perspective. I did find it funny and humorous the way his wife stood up for him. I thought that was a remarkable scene, to put it mildly."