Malcolm Huntington, international tennis umpire

“For a guy who can’t add two plus two, you’re doing a wonderful job,” McEnroe told him, during one of the umpire’s six Wimbledon finals.

He had first picked up a racquet, on old wooden one, he had found at his aunt’s house as a teenager.

“I became an umpire quite by accident,” he said. “It was 1959 and Ilkley Tennis Club was hosting a competition and struggling to find officials. They decided that anyone who lost would be made to umpire one match.

“When it came to my turn I was aware that there was a gentleman standing nearby. At the end of the match, he told me Great Britain was short of umpires and would I be interested in joining up? I filled out a few forms and that was it. I was in.”

Within two years, he found himself at the All-England Club.

Juggling his umpiring commitments with his day job as chief sports writer for the York Press, Mr Huntington also presided over matches at two Olympic Games and countless Davis Cup contests.

When, in 1983, McEnroe beat Chris Lewis in straight sets, in just 82 minutes, it was he who was on the perch.

Recalling his run-in with the champion, he later recalled: “He was right actually. Maths was my worst subject at school.”

He remained active as a journalist until four years ago, but his family said his health had deteriorated in the last few months and he had been cared for latterly at St Leonard’s Hospice in York.

He leaves a widow, Gina, two children and four grandchildren.