“He’s a credit to our game” John McEnroe annoyed by fans over the constant disrespect of Novak Djokovic and bias towards Federer and Nadal
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John McEnroe, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal
Former World No. 1 John McEnroe has been around the sport for a long time and to celebrate his life and career, a new documentary ‘McEnroe’ is about to release soon which has kept the 7-time Grand Slam champion busy with promotions. McEnroe is no stranger to altercations with players, chair umpires and the crowd and the American recently discussed the same issue that the current crop of players is facing on the court.
Probably the most jeered players are World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev and World no. 7 Novak Djokovic. Medvedev had a tough time in Australia this year during the 2022 Australian Open where he was booed from the moment his name was announced before entering the court and it continued till he was presented with the runners-up trophy. Djokovic had a similar fate at the 2022 French Open irrespective of the opponent and Novak had to put his fingers on the ears one too many times to mock the crowd after getting the wins.
“I had the ability to have a crowd”: John McEnroe on the booing he faced like Novak Djokovic
McEnroe also faced a lot of booing for his antics on the court. He however expressed his annoyance at the fans targeting Novak and Daniil specifically while showering all of the love on Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. John emphasised that the presence of Djokovic is equally important to the sport to that of Federer and Nadal he should be respected equally if not more.
“He [Medvedev] didn’t deserve that [being booed], nor did Djokovic deserve it at the French [Open]. When they played, they were booing him when he came out. Djokovic, you may not like him as much as Nadal or Federer, but he’s a credit to our game for god’s sakes. Medvedev, to me, hasn’t recovered from that [Australian Open final] loss emotionally. Not just because he lost, but because of the crowd.
“I was different. I had the ability to have a crowd. I had the greatest round of applause in the match I lost at the French against [Ivan] Lendl. 90 per cent of the people were clapping for me, then somehow by the end, I had got them all clapping against me. That takes talent, to have a crowd that loves you, hate you by the end!” said McEnroe speaking with GQ during his documentary promotion.
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Sarthak Shitole
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