27 June 2024 , 05:45
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John McEnroe has dug out the Centre Court crowd at Wimbledon for their treatment of Novak Djokovic throughout last year's final.
The tennis legend felt that the audience's jeering of Djokovic, who competed against Carlos Alcaraz in a thrilling five-set match, crossed a line. Djokovic was subjected to boos during the final, with the crowd favouring the Spanish youngster Alcaraz.
Djokovic cupped his ears and blew kisses in response to the crowd and following the match he was fined for damaging the net post. However, McEnroe was shocked by the lack of appreciation shown by the Wimbledon crowd for seven-time champion Djokovic when compared to fellow greats Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
"Novak has not only equalled them (Federer and Nadal) but surpassed them in overall achievements, which seemed impossible," McEnroe said to the Metro. "Both of those guys, Rafa and Roger, they are total class acts.
"They are loved and respected around the world. Novak gets the unfair treatment. He's the villain, the bad guy. I guess you need a good guy and a bad guy in a way. It can help the sport when you have rivalries like that."
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Despite having won 24 major titles and achieving a non-calendar-year Grand Slam - something neither Federer nor Nadal managed - Djokovic's defeat to Alcaraz at Wimbledon stopped him from becoming only the second men's player in open era history to win a Grand Slam after Rod Laver in 1969.
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John McEnroe has called out the Wimbledon crowd's reaction to Novak Djokovic (Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images)The 37-year-old is being overlooked for the Wimbledon trophy this summer, though. Instead, rising stars Alcaraz, who won the French Open this month, and newly-minted world number one Jannik Sinner have been tipped as the favourites.
It feels unwise to underestimate Djokovic, however. The Serbian is hunting down a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title, which would tie him with Federer's total, and McEnroe has lauded Djokovic's resilience
"I think it's been unfair, honestly, because he is great for the game," McEnroe continued. "On and off the court. He's been able to do something that I wasn't able to do nearly as well which is turning lemons into lemonade.
"You know, when people want to see the underdog or someone else winning, he somehow uses that as fuel to help him. That's an incredible quality which you can't underestimate."
Djokovic finished runner-up at Wimbledon last year (PA)The prestigious grass-court tournament kicks off on July 1, with Djokovic eager to return to his winning ways after a semi-final loss to Australian Open champion Sinner, while a knee injury saw him bow out of the French Open at the quarter-finals. At 37, Djokovic would become the oldest-ever Wimbledon champion.
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