John McEnroe has offered an insight into what players on the ATP Tour really think of Novak Djokovic, speaking during his ongoing Australian Open campaign.
It has been an impressive week thus far for the ten-time former champion, sweeping aside three solid opponents with minimal fuss.
However, he faces a far tougher task tomorrow, set to meet Jakub Menšík on Rod Laver Arena for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Many have tipped this Australian Open as Novak Djokovic’s best chance at securing a 25th Grand Slam title, and thus far he is making good on this notion, doing so with a smile.
Who would win this legendary showdown?
McEnroe, speaking about the Serbian, actually sought to explain how his fellow competitors feel about him, as an ever-present force who, until maybe two years ago, was winning nearly everything.
John McEnroe says Novak Djokovic deserves more love
Speaking on TNT Sports this week, the American actually was explaining how he felt Djokovic used to act in relation to playing alongside the wildly popular Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Using a reference from Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky films, McEnroe admitted: “He was like Ivan Drago with Nadal and Federer, who were so popular, and then along comes [Carlos] Alcaraz and everyone loves him,” said the seven-time major singles champion.
“He (Djokovic) is like, ‘Where is my love? I deserve it.’ And he does deserve it. He has been an unbelievable positive for our game and his record speaks for itself.
“He has always been extremely intelligent and the other players love him. So strut yourself, Novak, and enjoy every minute of it.”
Djokovic has equalled Federer’s all-time record at the Australian Open this week, as he continues to surpass his generational rivals.
Novak Djokovic’s tough Australian Open test vs Jakub Mensik
Admittedly, none of Djokovic’s opponents thus far have laid a glove on him.
That will surely all change when he faces Mensik in the next round.
These two have only ever played against each other twice before, with their most notable meeting in the final of a Masters 1000 event in Miami.
There, Mensik was in inspired form, winning two tiebreaks to claim the biggest prize of his career thus far.
Afterwards, Djokovic stated: “Congratulations to Mensik and his team. Never really happy to lose, but he’s one of the very few players that I would be happier to lose to, to be honest.
Who has impressed you most so far at the Australian Open?
“I’m super glad that he’s using the potential that he has because he’s got the complete game. Obviously serve is incredible, powerful, precise and wins a lot of free points with the first serve.”
Their only other match came in 2024, where Djokovic beat the 20-year-old in Shanghai.
