The are some qualitites you can't buy in a sportsman - and one of them is charisma. Either you have it or you don't. It's not something that comes with success...it comes with the man.

Now I never liked John McEnroe during his peak playing days. His hysterical outbursts and battles with authority went against the grain for someone who favoured the 'nice guy' rather than the rebel. OK, his hysterical behaviour gave me a few laughs as well as moments when I wanted to oput my foot through the TV screen. Who will ever forget those classic lines like ''You cannot be serious!'' and ''The ball was OUT!''

That's where charisma comes in because if any sportsman ever had that special quality, it was - and still is - McEnroe. He wasn't on his own, either. Guys like Ilie Nastase and Jimmy Connors were also larger-than-life figures in the days when brilliant but boring Ice Man Bjorn Borg was nigh on unbeatable.

Now I'm not a tennis fan. Indeed, I'm ashamed to admit that I had never heard of Marcello Rios until now - and I understand he's a former world No.1! But when I turned on the telly and saw the grizzly, grey-haired McEnroe lining up against Rios in the quarter final of the Blackrock Senior Masters at London's Royal Albert Hall, I just had to watch.

I've warmed immensely to Mac the Mouth since he became Mac the Commentator and showed up all the other Wimbledon TV pundits with his special insight into the game, cutting barbs and tongue-in-cheek humour. In fact, I think I can say he's now one of my favourite sports personalities - hystrionics and all.

McEnroe, who will be 48 in February, thought he played well against Rios, a handsome bronzed Chilean young enough to be his son. He also managed his fair share of haranguing the umpire, smashing his racket to the floor and bawling obscenities.

The old man predictably lost in straight sets - after making it clear he wasn't in favour of 30-year-olds being allowed into Seniors events.
''They need to change the rules,'' he quipped. ''I need to get three serves in future.''

Rios is only eligible to play after the original age limit of 35 was lowered to incorporate players such as former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic and Richard Krajicek on to the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions.

"It's totally wrong," McEnroe had fumed the previous day . "Over the years they've bastardised the whole thing. Thirty-five seemed a reasonable age."

Meanwhile, Rios insisted the reason he's opted out of the main tour is that his body just can't take all-year-round tennis any more. McEnroe's response? ''He says his body's not feeling good. I can't say I'm losing a lot of sleep over that.''

Still, his protests are justified - I mean, how on earth can a player still in his prime physically be allowed to compete on level terms with someone his dad's age? Either way, McEnroe has just about had enough. He has always hated losing - and it showed with his increased frustration as Rios powered his way towards victory.

''The door that is ushering its way to greener pastures is getting a little wider,'' he told BBC interviewer John Inverdale, hinting that he may be ready to pull the plug on his Seniors career.

And methinks that, in this era of bland, uncharismatic tennis stars, the loss of Supermac on the courts is just about the worst thing that could happen to the game...

John McEnroe - hero or villain? What's your opinion of Supermouth - as a player and/or as a commentator? We'd love to have your comments on this article.