Sporting bygones: Blockbuster of a final between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe

McEnroe, 18 years old and sporting a stripey white headband around his long, frizzy hair, came through qualifying before marking his debut with a straight-sets win over Egyptian Ismail El Shafei.

He went on to reach the semi-finals, when he was finally beaten by Jimmy Connors, but 1977 was just the beginning for a player who became as much of a cult personality as any of the sporting greats and whose New York twang remains today one of the most respected voices in tennis.

McEnroe would only have to wait two more years to win his first of seven grand slam singles titles, at the US Open, where he overcame Vitas Gerulaitis to become the youngest male winner there in 31 years.

But the left-hander’s most iconic moments were still to come. In 1980, he reached the Wimbledon final for which his career will be forever remembered as Bjorn Borg edged a five-set thriller 8-6 in the decider.

McEnroe had saved five match points to clinch the fourth set tie-break 18-16 and many still regard their blockbuster showdown as the greatest Centre Court has seen.

Behind his bending serve, precision volleys and acutely angled baseline shots, however, McEnroe had demonstrated a contrastingly brash demeanour on court, which had caused the still-prim Wimbledon crowd to boo his entrance to that classic final against Borg.

When he returned a year later to the All England Club he was fined for branding umpire Ted James “the pits of the world” and swore at tournament referee Fred Hoyles.

He also uttered the words for which he would later always be associated, yelling “You cannot be serious” at umpire Edward James, who had the cheek to call a McEnroe serve out.

McEnroe’s bratishness was jeered by both press and pundits, but he was never anything but a compelling watch and the perfect antidote to the ice-man exterior of great rival Borg. He beat Borg in the 1981 Wimbledon final and his second and third triumphs there followed in 1983 and 1984, the latter a revenge 6-1 6-1 6-2 hammering of Connors in the final.

With Borg calling time early on his career, however, McEnroe admitted his motivation dwindled and while he made the semi-finals at Wimbledon on his last appearance at SW19 in 1992, he would never win another major.

In the years since, McEnroe by his own words became “mellower, not mellow”, but his forthright views were a perfect fit for television, where he has forged a successful career in commentary.