Chris Evert disagrees with John McEnroe’s idea of players like Elena Rybakina learning on-court behavior from Nick Kyrgios
John McEnroe and Chris Evert involved in war of words after Big Mac expressed desire of players to pick attitude like Nick Kyrgios.
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John McEnroe and Chris Evert
Chris Evert has come to the defense of Elena Rybakina and similar players after John McEnroe‘s recent comments. Evert, an 18-time Grand Slam singles champion questioned the relevance of McEnroe’s comments about the attitude of the players on the Tour.
McEnroe was one of the players with the hottest temper on the court with regular altercations with colleagues and officials. He was dubbed the ‘Bad Boy of Tennis’ and the moniker has since then been associated with Nick Kyrgios. Kyrgios has built a reputation for his on-court outbursts which have seen him pay hefty fines.
McEnroe had compared Kyrgios to Rybakina in his comments citing the Kazakh’s example. Rybakina had defeated Ons Jabeur in the finals of the 2022 Wimbledon coming from a set down but showed no over-the-top celebration after winning the championship point. Greats like Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Serena Williams have often broken down after clinching a Major but Rybakina only broke down in the champion’s press conference.
“I’d like to see a little bit more explosive temper, see the emotions. Last year Elena Rybakina won in Wimbledon but she didn’t show any emotion,” McEnroe had said. Replying to it, Evert said, “Personalities are great… but changing one’s nature or temperament for the sake of entertaining? Always had a problem with that!”
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Chris Evert gets the support of fans in opposing John McEnroe’s comments
Tennis for long has been expected to be played in a gentlemanly way. Characters like Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Steffi Graf, and lately Iga Swiatek have been praised for their on-court demeanor. But John McEnroe hopes that emotions are shown on the court better by the current crop.
Chris Evert’s comments were however well received by fans. Many criticized McEnroe for using it as a means to justify his own actions back in the day. Others debated that players should be allowed to play and act in the manner that suits them.
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