Tennis legend’s big claim on Djokovic’s popularity compared to Federer, Nadal: ‘He’s credit to our game for god’s sakes’

There is or will be an end to the debate over the best among the Big Three in tennis. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic has dominated tennis over more than two decades now, winning 43 Grand Slam titles between themselves. Yet with each passing Slam event, the debate goes stronger with tennis legend John McEnroe being the latest entrant to the bandwagon. The veteran tennis player made a huge claim on Djokovic as he compared his popularity with that of Federer and Nadal post the Serb’s Wimbledon haul.

With a win in four sets against Nick Kyrgios last Sunday, Djokovic claimed his seventh Wimbledon title and steered past Federer to stand second in the all-time Grand Slam list and just one behind Nadal’s tally of 22 trophies.

Speaking to GQ in an interview post the final, McEnroe said that while Djokovic may not be as popular as Federer or Nadal, recalling how the 35-year-old was booed at the French Open earlier this year, he remains an important figure in tennis history.

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“He [Medvedev] didn’t deserve that [being booed], nor did Djokovic deserve it at the French [Open]. When they played, they were booing him when he came out,” McEnroe said.

“Djokovic, you may not like him as much as Nadal or Federer, but he’s a credit to our game for god’s sakes.

“Medvedev, to me, hasn’t recovered from that [Australian Open final] loss emotionally. Not just because he lost, but because of the crowd.

“I was different. I had the ability to have a crowd. I had the greatest round of applause in the match I lost at the French against [Ivan] Lendl. 90 per cent of the people were clapping for me, then somehow by the end, I had got them all clapping against me. That takes talent, to have a crowd that loves you, hate you by the end!”