Before reading this book, if I had been asked to write a wikipedia-style biography of John Lloyd, it would start out something like this: “John Lloyd is a former professional tennis player who is best known for once being married to Chris Evert.” When Lloyd recently released this autobiography, my first thought was concern that it might be filled with sordid and salacious assertions about Chrissie in an attempt to cash in and sell more copies. As it turns out, those worries were completely unfounded.
Dear John: The John Lloyd Autobiography is a thoughtful, sensitive, and at times laugh out loud funny account of his childhood, professional tennis career, and life as a sports broadcaster. The “Dear John” in the title has nothing to do with how any of his relationships ended. Rather, each chapter starts with a letter written by his current self to his past self at that juncture in his life. I initially wasn’t sure the mechanism was working until the chapter on Chrissie. That letter was touching, full of warmth, and completely won me over.
As an American tennis fan, my interest in the life of Lloyd stems from his marriage to Chrissie. Consequently, with little interest in his personal life or history, I found the first two chapters of the book to be less than inspiring. However, from the “Wimpleton” chapter on, the writing picked up momentum. The portrait of Wimbledon makes the book a great selection to read in the run up to this year’s fortnight.
Lloyd shares his unique perspectives on John McEnroe’s “You Can Not be Serious” tirade, which occurred on the hallowed grounds of the All England Club. McEnroe’s outrage came because the linesman initially called a serve “out”, corrected his error to “in”, only to be overruled by the chair umpire. This occurred before modern Code Violation penalties were in effect and McEnroe was only penalized with two point penalties. Lloyd asserts that he should have been defaulted and wonders what impact that might have had on McEnroe’s on-court demeanor throughout the rest of his career.
Lloyd is currently a full member of the All England Club, but that doesn’t stop him from sharing his opinions on some of the stringent rules imposed on the Grand Slam tournament held in that venue. He calls some of the stringent dress code rules “silly.” Lloyd also proposes a great idea for keeping the Royal box from appearing empty as it frequently does at times during the tournament. His solution is to use “seat fillers” as is done at the Oscars.
The stories that Lloyd shares about some of his closest friends on the professional tour are told with warmth and affection. The only time he made a Grand Slam Singles Final was the 1977 Australian Open where he lost to Vitas Gerulaitis in five sets. During that tournament, the two players had dined together and practiced together every day. Early on in the tournament they practiced on a rain out day by scaling a fence and hitting on a wet court. The day of the tournament, Lloyd describes how they warmed up together an hour and a half before the final. It was a different era of tennis.
Lloyd knows Donald Trump personally and Dear John contains a chapter about the former President from that first hand perspective. That chapter alone makes the book work reading as it provides a telling vignette of what life is like for those under Trump’s immediate sphere of influence and control. It may be one of the most neutral characterizations of Trump that has emerged this year. However, lots of people at either political extreme will probably find a way to be offended by what was written.
Dear John: The John Lloyd Autobiography is filled with great stories and touching moments about the legends and celebrities that Lloyd interacted with throughout his life. In the telling of his own history, Lloyd also provides a wonderful account of the professional tour during his playing and broadcasting days. I emerged from the book with a sincere appreciation for John Lloyd where previously he had made little impression. It was a surprisingly good autobiography and one worth reading by serious tennis fans.
 | Dear John: The John Lloyd Autobiography |
https://floridatennis.com/…/once-a-posterboy-always-a…John Lloyd It was a real honor to do this Dear John FLORIDA TENNIS article on JOHN LLOYD
In the second sentence of the Trump paragraph in the phrase, “it provides an telling vignette”, “an” should be “a”. I hope this is the least controversial comment mentioning Trump that will be written this year.
I love the story about Lloyd and Gerulaitis. I read it in an article about the all too short life of Vitas. Now every player seems to have a five person support team. In those days, it was two friends supporting each other right up through the final against each other.