John McEnroe has taken somewhat of a backseat since retiring from playing tennis, but he remains a very vocal figure within the sport.
Andre Agassi is taking over from McEnroe as Team World captain at the Laver Cup, a role that the latter held since the event’s inception in 2017.
McEnroe has also been heavily involved in commentary since his playing days, during which he won seven Grand Slam titles.
The legendary American was most successful on home soil at the US Open, a tournament in which he won four titles.
McEnroe also won three Wimbledon titles, with his fantastic Grand Slam silverware era running from 1979 to 1984.
John McEnroe keeping tabs on Aleks Kovacevic after coaching him aged 13
He has, however, also been involved in coaching, with his fellow American Aleks Kovacevic now sharing their past with the ATP Challenger Tour on X.
“When I was around 13 or 14, I met up with John, and John personally coached me quite a few times on the court,” said Kovacevic.
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“He still keeps up with my career and stuff, which is super nice to see. During Australian Open he sent me a nice text.
“I put a lot of hard work in with good crew. Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe, couple of other guys. Got a lot of confidence in my body being able to last through a whole tournament.
“When I was winning those Challengers, I was taking one match at a time. Did it once, and then felt like I could do it again, and that’s kind of how it all went down.”
Who is ATP Tour number 94 Aleks Kovacevic?
With a career-high rank of 72, Kovacevic is certainly keeping good company, which is undoubtedly helping the New Yorker improve his game.
Currently ranked 94th in the world, Kovacevic reached the Montpellier final this time last month, where he lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime.
READ MORE: America has its own future star who is just five places behind Joao Fonseca in the ATP rankings
It was a stunning run from the qualifier, who had his dream run ended at the very last by the second seed.
The 26-year-old did, however, fail in his attempts to reach the Australian Open main draw, with the American falling during the qualifiers.
But success went his way immediately after, with Kovacevic winning the Oeiras Indoor 2 in Portugal on the ATP Challenger Tour.
Indian Wells is now up next for the American, who has been drawn to face Italian ace Matteo Arnaldi in round one, with Andrey Rublev awaiting the winner.
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