John McEnroe lets rip at the Australian Open crowd as he delivers strong verdict on them booing Novak Djokovic off court

John McEnroe strongly criticized the Australian Open crowd for booing Novak Djokovic after his retirement from the semifinal match against Alexander Zverev.

Many fans inside Rod Laver Arena were displeased when Djokovic decided to retire following just one set due to a muscle tear in his upper left leg. As Djokovic walked off the court, the crowd expressed their dissatisfaction, which sparked backlash from several commentators.

John McEnroe was vocal in his disapproval of the crowd’s reaction. Speaking on ESPN, he defended Djokovic, saying: “He has won this 10 times. I mean, come on. The guy – clearly something was up. The guy is a battler. Him and Rafa have dug deeper than any two players I have ever seen. You name it. So to do that because he decided he couldn’t go on after what he has done here I thought was absolutely ludicrous, honestly. That was almost as depressing as the end of the match.”

McEnroe’s comments came after earlier skepticism regarding Djokovic’s injury during his quarter-final match against Carlos Alcaraz. At that time, McEnroe questioned the seriousness of Djokovic’s leg issue, remarking during commentary, “This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this routine. Don’t be fooled.”

In response to McEnroe’s earlier doubts, Djokovic, during his press conference after the Zverev match, addressed the criticism by saying: “To be honest, I haven’t seen these comments, so I can’t say more. What I can say is that it’s always easier to judge and criticise than to understand. It’s a lesson I’ve learned in life.”

McEnroe has since adjusted his stance, acknowledging the legitimacy of Djokovic’s injury and condemning the crowd’s reaction.