John McEnroe identifies Novak Djokovic’s ‘greatest quality’ as he makes Jimmy Connors reference
Tennis icon John McEnroe has proclaimed that the greatest quality Novak Djokovic possesses is his ability to perform when he has the crowd against him in matches.
The seven-time major singles champion believes Djokovic is “by far the best” player ever in this regard and named his former rival Jimmy Connors as another legend who was great at defying crowds.
Djokovic has dealt with hostile crowds throughout his career and took on spectators on several occasions last year when he felt disrespected during matches.
In his 2023 Wimbledon semi-final win against Jannik Sinner, Djokovic humourously mocked fans by imitating crying after he saved set points to hold serve in the third set. Some spectators had tried to distract the Serbian by shouting as he prepared to serve.
The 36-year-old is aiming to win a 25th Grand Slam singles title at the upcoming 2024 Australian Open, where he is the defending champion and a 10-time winner.
The Melbourne major, where world No 1 Djokovic will be the top seed, will run from Sunday January 14 to Sunday January 28.
Speaking to ESPN, McEnroe was asked why Djokovic was so good when playing against the crowd and named Connors as another tennis great who was similar in this way.
“That’s a great question. He’s the greatest that I’ve ever seen, by far, when the crowd is against him. I had some times where that took place certainly, many times. It felt like never to the extent of Novak. I didn’t handle it nearly as well,” said the former world No 1.
“For a while, you get inspired. Eventually it wears a little thin and old. You’re like, ‘How come I can’t get some love in a way?’ When I got some love, that was when my game went down. I wasn’t good enough to win, unfortunately.
“Novak has been able to find that perfect sort of sweet spot where he’s able to use that as fuel, and in his 30s gotten better. I wish I knew. I wish I had known when I played. I wish I know even in a way now because I would try to impart that to anyone that would listen.
“That is the greatest quality he’s got without a doubt. [Jimmy] Connors was great at it also. He’s probably the best I played. A lot of times the crowd loved him. He could do anything. When he had the crowd against him, he’d somehow turn it around in his favour. He was the best at manipulating a crowd. Novak is the best by far of having the crowd against him and turning it around.”
Three-time major finalist Mary Joe Fernandez suggested Djokovic sometimes creates conflict with the crowd to inspire himself.
“It’s pretty remarkable. He almost sometimes looks to get them riled up on purpose to get his mojo going. I don’t know. I saw that interview he did with Jon Wertheim on 60 Minutes,” the former world No 4 said.
“I think John asked him about being so mentally tough being a gift. He said it’s not a gift, he works very hard on it. When it matters, can he turn it on despite the crowd not being on his side. It’s definitely I think a gift that he can do that because that’s not easy.”
