“Amazed That He Did Something as Bone-Heady as That”: John McEnroe Slams Novak Djokovic

World No.1 Novak Djokovic is in the eye of a raging storm at the US Open 2020. The tournament referee defaulted Djokovic after the Serbian hit a ball which ended up hitting the lines-judge’s throat.

Djokovic was trailing Pablo Carreño Busta 5-6 in the fourth round of the US Open. After losing his serve, Novak took out a ball from his pocket and smacked it in frustration. The ball ended up hitting the lines-woman standing at the back of the court, who was in visible distress as she fell down.

Despite that, the 17-time Grand Slam champion insisted that his action was unintentional. Regardless of that, the tournament referee defaulted Djokovic for hitting a ball with a negligent disregard of the consequences.

During an interview with ESPN, the former World No.1, John McEnroe, slammed Djokovic for his on-court actions. The American was disappointed and said that Djokovic won’t ever be able to erase this memory.

“It’s about how he deals with it moving forward, what type of reaction is he going to get from the younger players, what type of reaction will he get when fans start coming back to the arenas,” remarked McEnroe during the ESPN interview. The four-time US Open champion believes it was self-imposed adversity and Djokovic exacerbated the situation by giving in to the pressure.

McEnroe disappointed with Novak Djokovic

“I am amazed that he did something as bone-heady as that, in a situation where he was the overwhelming favorite. He obviously tapped out. So what if he lost his serve to Carreno Busta,” added McEnroe, visibly distraught at Djokovic’s actions.

McEnroe said that he didn’t understand why Djokovic didn’t attend the press conference after the controversy. Djokovic not going to the press made little sense to McE and he contended that the Serbian should have taken responsibility.

The US Open 2020 is going to first grand slam since Roland Garros 2004 without at least one of the three players- Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, or Djokovic in the semifinals.