Patrick McEnroe and the I-Man Enjoy a Nice Chat About Tennis. Really.

Patrick McEnroe, the former professional tennis player, former Imus sports guy, and current captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team, was in England this morning to cover the Wimbledon tennis tournament for ESPN.

Yesterday was the first day of play, and six-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer escaped elimination in the fifth set. “He was in serious danger,” Patrick told Imus, who vehemently disagreed, leading McEnroe to conclude, “That’s why you’re the I-Man, and I’m not.”

Despite the happy coincidence of Wimbledon’s arrival yesterday, the purpose of Patrick’s appearance today was to talk about his new book Hardcourt Confidential, in which he claims to have done something not previously accomplished in a tennis book.

“I wanted to do a combination of stories, and also an overview of the game that’s never really been done,” he said. “Most tennis books, most sports books, are sort of just pure autobiographies. And I thought I needed to write about a little bit more.”

To be sure, the book is rife with anecdotes too, including about his dad, John McEnroe, Sr., with whom Imus has struck up a friendship over the years. As with his sons, McEnroe, Sr. frequently offers the I-Man advice.

“He’s still very much involved,” Patrick said of his dad. “He’s never missed a Davis Cup match that either my brother or myself have been involved in as a captain or a player.”

Patrick’s dad grew up poor in New York City, but became a successful attorney later in life. “I have tremendous respect for what my dad did for us, and he gave us the opportunity to play tennis,” said Patrick.

“Us” would be him and his brother John, the notoriously hot-headed, former number one tennis player in the world, who won seven grand slam singles titles in his career, including a 1984 Wimbledon victory over Jimmy Connors.

“He’s a tough guy, but he was a great competitor,” said Patrick, who once led Connors in the opening round of the U.S. Open two sets to love. “I thought, ‘I’ve got this guy beat. I’ve got Jimmy Connors beat.’ And guess what happened? I lost.”

Connors, who won eight Grand Slam singles titles, once worked with current tennis atar Andy Roddick, with whom Patrick has spent a lot of time on the Davis Cup Team.

“I think Roddick’s got a chance to win Wimbledon,” Patrick said. “I’d love to see him do it.”

So would Imus, who disagreed with his guest’s description of Andre Agassi as “very truthful,” since Imus thinks he lied about his drug use during an appearance on this show.

“But, you haven’t been truthful about your drug use,” Imus kidded Patrick, who included a chapter about Imus in Hardcourt Confidential.

“It’s a fun chapter,” said Imus. “McEnroe says mean things about me.”

-Julie Kanfer