Newport breaks down

NEWPORT BEACH — Newport Beach missed the heated John McEnroe.

The Hall of Famer last week ripped into an opponent, stepping on his side of the tennis court after a ball intentionally hit a teammate. It was vintage McEnroe, never backing down.

McEnroe did not have to put up a fight Tuesday night. That is because he saw the Newport Beach Breakers lay down.

By the time the 50-year-old stepped on the court at Breakers Stadium, his New York Sportimes team took ownership of the World Team Tennis match.

No one barked at anyone. No one was suspended.

McEnroe and his coach remained on their side, the winning one, as the Eastern Conference champions prevailed, 24-14, in front of a crowd of 1,911.

Fans cheered and sometimes jeered the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion. McEnroe continued on, relentless as ever. Tennis is his life.

He plays it. He talks it. He yells at it.

New York (10-3) has benefited as it rolls into the playoffs. The Breakers (8-5) return to the postseason for the first time since 2006. Newport Beach closes out the regular season tonight at 7:05 at home and will have Maria Sharapova against the Kansas City Explorers.

If New York and Newport Beach meet again, it will be for the WTT championship. Until then, the spotlight was on McEnroe Tuesday.

Someone asked McEnroe for advice for older tennis players.

“It keeps me young,” McEnroe stated his case for staying active at his age while trying to figure out why many Americans do not exercise.

McEnroe made Newport Beach’s 33-year-old Ramon Delgado work. The reigning WTT Male MVP can’t underestimate an old Super Brat.

Delgado might be the greatest player in WTT history to Newport Beach Coach Trevor Kronemann, but Delgado is no McEnroe.

No. 1 in WTT action is not like holding down the world’s No. 1 ranking.

Delgado tried to force overtime in men’s singles against McEnroe. With the Breakers down, 19-10, heading into the final set, McEnroe stayed strong.

McEnroe delivered an overhead smash, displayed a strong volley game, served superbly, and toyed with Delgado, slapping shots one side, then to the other before finishing off the Paraguayan for a 5-4 (5-2 tiebreaker) victory.

“I picked it up,” McEnroe said. “I know he wanted it bad in front of his home crowd. I had gotten him a week ago.”

Delgado and Kaes Van’t Hof managed to edge McEnroe and Robert Kendrick in men’s doubles, 5-4.

McEnroe admitted beforehand that his game might be better suited for the old-school racquets.

“I would love to play with a wooden racquet,” McEnroe said. “It was beautiful.”

Playing in Southern California again satisfied McEnroe. New York’s start was just as impressive.

A poor mixed doubles set hurt the Breakers. Van’t Hof and Julie Ditty struggled against Kendrick and Abigail Spears.

Kendrick and Abigail quickly got rid of Newport Beach’s left-handed duo, 5-1. Van’t Hoff and Ditty have dropped five of their last six mixed doubles sets, two of those to New York’s tandem.

The local Van’t Hof hasn’t played well with Ditty, or Marie-Eve Pelletier, his partner earlier in the year. With Pelletier, Van’t Hof started out 1-4.

Kronemann switched the mixed doubles lineup on July 10. The move appeared to work, Van’t Hof and Ditty winning back-to-back mixed doubles sets, but they came against the lowly Sacramento Capitals.

Ditty replaced Pelletier again, unexpectedly after the midway point in women’s singles Tuesday.

Spears pounced on Pelletier, the starter. With ease, Spears claimed the first three games, forcing Kronemann’s hand.

With Ditty having played minutes earlier, Kronemann asked her to grab the racquet again.

Ditty put up a challenge before losing her first game in women’s singles.

Abigail put Ditty away with an overhead smash, sweeping every game and giving New York a commanding 10-1 lead.

Next was McEnroe’s first set of the night.

Things began to cool down, and McEnroe’s temper stayed under control.

The Newport Beach crowd helped.

“They usually have nice crowds,” McEnroe said. “They were a little loud over there [in the high-priced seats], but they got quiet for the singles which was nice.”

McEnroe silenced the fans and the Breakers.