John McEnroe pulls no punches in his recent analysis of Novak Djokovic's struggles.
McEnroe raised eyebrows comparing the 12-time Grand Slam champion to golfer Tiger Woods during Djokovic's opening-round Wimbledon win.
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During the BBC broadcast, McEnroe said Djokovic's struggles were primarily personal ones rather than physical issues.
The Hall of Famer said Djokovic "had some off-court issues with the family."
“That’s going to throw you. If you’re distracted you’re not the same player,” McEnroe said on the BBC before comparing Djokovic to 14-time Grand Slam golf champion Tiger Woods.
“The person that comes to mind immediately with Novak is not a tennis player, it’s actually a golfer: Tiger Woods,” McEnroe said, adding, “When Tiger had issues with his wife and then he seemed to go completely off the rails and has never been even close to being the same player. So we’re starting to say: ‘Wait a minute, is this possible with Djokovic?”
Once the world’s dominant golfer, Woods divorced after a string of extra marital affairs were exposed and has never fully regained his lofty level of play.
The Tiger Woods comparison came weeks after McEnroe called out Djokovic's lack of effort in the final set of his Roland Garros loss to Dominic Thiem as "tank city."
Asked his reaction to McEnroe's comments, Djokovic took the high road saying McEnroe has a right to speak his mind.
"John has a complete right to say, anybody, really, in the world has a right to say what they want, and I respect that right," Djokovic said. "Especially coming from John, because he's someone that has earned that right because of who he is and what he has meant to the sport and what he still, you know, is representing as a former player and still being very active on the tour.
"And he's very well known for his, you know, kind of bold comments and not really caring too much about being politically correct but saying whatever is on his mind. That's all I can say. I really don't take anything personal. I always got along very well with John. You know, I guess whether that's his opinion or criticism or something else, I'm not really sure. But in the end of the day, I respect everything he says."
Djokovic, who has hit with McEnroe in the past, said he's not sure why the former No. 1 made that comparison.
"I always got along very, very well with John," Djokovic said. "We even practiced a few years ago before one of my matches in US Open, and was always talking nicely about me. As I said, I really don't take it in a negative way anyhow. It's fine. He has his right to say the things he wants to say. I don't necessarily need to agree with that. But it's his right.
"So I don't know where was the basis, and he was just maybe making a comparison. I'm not really sure."
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