During his fourth-round match with Diego Schwartzman, Djokovic was met with boos and jeers. McEnroe insists that it will only spur the Serb on and not deter him in any way.
Schwartzman did not bother the current World No.1 in any way, Novak defeated him 6-1 6-3 6-3. He would later match up and lose to Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals, losing another shot at his 21st Grand Slam title.
What concerned McEnroe though was the boos and jeers, which were labeled as disgraceful by many viewers.
McEnroe himself is no stranger to the negative reception of fans. But he says that unlike him, Novak seems to be feeding off the negative energy.
“He does it better than anyone Ive ever seen”, said McEnroe.
“I didn’t do it as well. I felt like it affected me more than it helped me. I think there were times where it fuelled me, but he has done it consistently. Hes a remarkable player and person.
McEnroe went on to say that considering what Djokovic has achieved, he doesn’t understand why he isn’t as loved as his peers, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Hes been wanting to be respected at that same level, and that sort of fuels him but I think its unfair, personally, added McEnroe.
Its just something that I cant explain. I don’t know what it is, honestly.
He deserves to be and he is respected. Its just that I’m sure its frustrating. I think at the end of the day they will like him more after he stopped playing which sort of ended up being the case with myself, I guess.
But at the time, its frustrating. Some of it can be at times your own fault, but I think quite a bit of it isn’t. Its just that these other guys are so amazing.
The way Rafa and Roger handle themselves, its hard to get to that level. Plus they were succeeding before him, so hes been catching up the whole time.
But he actually shows a lot of emotion, hes fired up. People should love that and the French, they love that. I cant explain it.