McEnroe quits as US Davis Cup captain

Tennis legend John McEnroe on Monday quit after only one year as captain of the US Davis Cup tennis team.

The United States' most successful player in Davis Cup history, cited "difficulties of the scheduling and format" as the reasons for his decision.

McEnroe, who replaced Tom Gullikson as captain in September 1999, said: "I was privileged to have been selected and honoured to have served as captain of the United States Davis Cup team.

"Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, I was disappointed that I was unable to have a greater impact as captain of the team. Nonetheless, my thanks go to the USTA, and I thank the players who participated on this year's team."

His exit marks the shortest captaincy since Alphonso Smith's one-tie reign in 1963.

"Changes need to be made in the Davis Cup scheduling and format," McEnroe said.

"I have made it known for many years the current format is problematic for the world's top players. I am proud to have been associated with Davis Cup for more than two decades and it is my hope that Davis Cup will be restructured so that it can be everything I envision it has the potential to be," added the former world No. 1, who had difficulty in having Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras to play Davis Cup for most of the year.