Tennis icon John McEnroe hit back at Rafael Nadal after the 22-time Grand Slam champion rejected the American’s claims that he receives special treatment from umpires at the 2022 US Open. McEnroe, a seven-time major champion is one of the most colorful personalities in tennis history and rarely holds back from giving his fiery views.
In 2022, McEnroe made claims that Nadal received special treatment over how long he takes in between each shot. Naturally, the Spaniard was furious and insisted the periods are down to the fact he simply sweats more than most of his ATP Tour rivals.
Nadal then suggested he would sit down with McEnroe, commenting on the issue after his first round win over Rinky Hijikata at the 2022 US Open. Speaking to reporters, Nadal said: “I think it’s a joke. I went through a lot of warnings through my tennis career and never for breaking a racket or for doing a mess on court. But yes I have for the time clock.
“The problem for players like me who are sweating a lot, you know when you go to pick up the towel you will be in trouble with the time, so I’m not going very often. I am following the rules. If I am having more than 25 seconds I receive a warning every single time.”
He added: “If not, check the clock. I don’t think I’m receiving different treatment at all. I don’t understand why John can say that on the TV but I am going to have a chat with him later.”
When told of Nadal’s post-match comments, McEnroe was stunned. He was incredibly frustrated with the notion of being misquoted to Nadal, insisting the full scope of his comments did not reflect his sentiment.
“Why did they throw me under the bus?” McEnroe said. “We haven’t had that talk. But let me just add that he didn’t let me finish, whoever that dumb journalist was.
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“Rafael Nadal is entitled to do whatever the hell he wants. That’s part of why you get as good as you are. You’ve got to deal with that – and it’s not up to him. We all know that he’s been doing this for the past 10 or 15 years. There’s nothing new to that.
“It’s not his call – it’s the umpire’s. By the way I think it’s BS anyway, that thing. No one pays attention to that. It should be automatic if you’re actually going to do it, right.
“When do they turn it on? When do they do it? Is it at the end of the point, is it when they get to the towel, is it when the crowd comes down? Now Nadal thinks I said that his legacy has been stained because he takes too much time. Jiminy Cricket.”
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