By Scoop Malinowski
You decide if John McEnroe said anything offensive or disrespectful of John Millman’s game vs Novak Djokovic in their US Open quarterfinal, which was derided by Bjorn Fratangelo and Mitchell Krueger on Twitter …
“It’s always great to see a story about someone who battled in the minor leagues of tennis and came out on the other side to beat an all time great on one of the biggest stages of the sport.”
“You’d think reality is going to set in pretty quickly for John Millman tonight.”
“Is he praying there (Millman was sitting on his chair before the match began saying something to himself with his eyes closed), Please, can I just keep i close again.”
“It’s hard to see him winning a set.”
“A lot of people, myself included, were looking forward to see Federer vs Djokovic.”
“Notice he’s doing a lot more running than Djokovic already.”
“His fitness can be intimidating.”
“You can see he’s running a lot more than Novak is.”
“That was the best serve he has to offer and Novak made the return look easy.”
“He can’t hurt him. Millman can’t hurt him in any way, shape or form. The only way to win is to go deep and beat him physically. That’s a very, very tall order.”
These were some of the comments McEnroe made during the match in the first three games of the first set. Djokovic took a commanding 3-love lead and though he faced some tight moments and seemed to suffer from the heat and humidity, Djokovic won in three sets.
John McEnroe · John Millman · US Open
Joe Blow · September 7, 2018 at 10:40 am
Nothing really there that comes off disrespectful, but like I mentioned in a previous thread, that I would bet JMac doesn’t know players outside the top 50 unless they pass through HIS academy.
Can’t imagine he goes through his phone daily looking at tennis scores during the year
Scoop Malinowski · September 7, 2018 at 11:20 am
Joe, McEnroe knows the players, he’s always around the locker rooms of the majors he covers, he knows almost all the players but it seems he’s not a hit with the lower ranked guys, who knows if he snubs them to hang around with the big names. McEnroe is still an iconic figure in tennis and very busy and he may not have time to spend with journeymen. Krueger and Fratangeglo revealed one thing for sure: There is some resentment for McEnroe in some quarters.
Winston Smith · September 7, 2018 at 12:47 pm
I remember a hilarious comment that McEnroe made while commentating on a Greg Rusedski match at on Center Court at Wimbledon…Rusedski said it was a childhood dream of his to play one day on Center Court at Wimbledon against McEnroe…McEnroe’s counter comment was (essentilly:) He never had a dream to one day be playing Greg Rusedski on Center Court…let’s be clear McEnroe remains the single most interesting and compelling character to ever step on a tennis court. In his day he was arguably the most famous athlete IN THE WORLD, on the level of Michael Jordan, Messi, Maradona, Muhammed Ali. His comments may seem to be derogatory but are spot on and accurately assess the situation: Millman is a journeyman whose only change versus Djokovic was to make it a battle of attrition.
Scoop Malinowski · September 7, 2018 at 1:13 pm
Agree Winston but I think Marcelo Rios was in the McEnroe range of intrigue and being a compelling figure. Rios was so arrogant (or aloof) that he snubbed Nastase, Roy Emerson and even McEnroe who tried to initiate conversations with him. Rios did not want to be approached by anyone and showed no warmth or deference to even the biggest stars of the sport. McEnroe is on a different level because his fame and success far exceeded that of Rios but Rios was one special cat.
Duke Carnoustie · September 7, 2018 at 4:46 pm
Scoop, the correct word is not oversensitive but snowflakes. That’s what Krueger and Fratangelo seem to be.
These comments are 100 percent innocuous and not only that, pretty accurate how the match went.
I really don’t understand the left except they seek to be offended by everyone.
I think Serena will win easily but I am rooting for Osaka obviously since Serena supports Nike. Think about this, Nike dropped Roger Federer for Colin Kapernick? Who is the better role model? A guy with 20 Slams and endless charisma or a guy who quit on his team and turned his back on the country? The whole world has gone mad.
George · September 7, 2018 at 7:51 pm
Ironic that Nike decides to take a stand on social justice after making billions on the backs of third world labor.
My family and I will never buy Nike again in my life. Too bad, since I play with the Federer shoe. Need to look for a new brand.
Scoop Malinowski · September 7, 2018 at 8:07 pm
George let me help you. I will no longer buy new Nike either. Those Nike Vapors were good shoes for sure. But the Babolat sfx is a fine new shoe, light and soft. Yonex makes a very solid comfortable shoe too.
Duke Carnoustie · September 8, 2018 at 1:11 am
Nike made a catastrophic mistake. I have burned my Nike apparel and their sales will fall apart. It is insane what they are doing.
Gaurang · September 8, 2018 at 7:27 am
I like McEnroe’s commentary a lot. And I like that he is honest sometimes instead of always being politically correct.
Matty · September 10, 2018 at 1:05 am
Did anybody notice how great the Goodall commentary was for two weeks!
Scoop Malinowski · September 10, 2018 at 9:47 am
Agree Matty, Goodall is as good as it gets in tennis TV commentating, he’s shot to the top so fast.