John McEnroe does not daunt top NZ umpire

DAVID HALLETT/Fairfax NZ

CALLING THE SHOTS: International umpire Tony Glentworth checks out the courts at Cashmere tennis club in Christchurch.

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He has watched John McEnroe act the goat, been charmed by Steffi Graf and strolled the grassed courts of Wimbledon.

Tony Glentworth reckoned he wasn't much of a tennis player, yet he has still amassed a basket of unique experiences in the sport without having to raise a sweat or risk repetitive strain injury.

Twenty-one years ago Glentworth was asked to assist in some umpiring duties and it proved to be a request that would eventually lead him to officiating at Wimbledon this year, last year's Commonwealth Games, the Australian Open and numerous tournaments in Europe.

Not surprisingly, this is the time of the year when the tennis calendar really starts cranking out the duties for the 44-year-old and after a number of domestic tournaments and an exhibition match in Fiji he will pack his bags for Europe, and later – he hopes – another tournament at Wimbledon.

Ranked as one of New Zealand's leading tennis officials, Glentworth does chair umpiring, line umpiring, referee and chief umpiring and ranks his Wimbledon visit as one of his most memorable assignments.

Keeping an eye on the lines and enforcing the regulations is only part of the challenge; there is also the task of maintaining his composure while under pressure from the players and crowd.

"You have to have confidence in your own ability and it is the same with the players. They are confident that when they go out on the court that they are out there to win the game. I am confident that I am going to go out there to not make a mistake and am going to get it right."

Yet officials, he warns, would be foolish to believe they are infallible.

The large volume of cameras ensure any contentious calls are vigorously scrutinised by commentators and fans and with players allowed to challenge rulings there is the potential to force decisions to be reversed.

"You can't be afraid to admit you are wrong. You have to remember we are human."

As for personalities Glentworth admitted McEnroe could put on a show after watching the gobby New Yorker live up to his reputation. Glentworth was chair umpire for a McEnroe-Pat Cash exhibition match and although he said the American was stand-offish he acknowledged he gave the crowd their money's worth.

"But he behaved the way people had wanted to see him. And that is exactly the way I took it.

"He was there as a showman, he has got some fantastic skills. He played up to the crowd and played up to the umpires."

Like their fans, even the officials can have their favourites and Glentworth, 44, struggled to think of a more professional pairing than Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf. The former, he said, was well-organised and never required any warnings of any kind, while his wife bucked the flawed stereotype that athletes are little more than single-minded robots who are solely focused on themselves.

"She was an approachable, very down to earth person. Someone who took the time to talk to me and ask what I was doing, where I was going."

Married to Jane and with a six-year-old daughter, Glentworth, who runs an internet-based company and does contract work, also reckons the key to maintaining his edge during the peak season when he spends weeks living out of a suitcase is simple.

"Someone asked me what it takes to do it and I said `a very understanding wife'."

- © Fairfax NZ News

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