11 July 2023 , 16:38
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Legendary tennis player and current commentator John McEnroe has been criticised by professional John Millman for his commentary during Wimbledon.
McEnroe was in the commentary box for Carlos Alcaraz' third round match against Nicolas Jarry, and the No. 1 seed needed four sets to get the better of the Chilean. Jarry had the match tied after two sets but the brilliance of Alcaraz proved too much, and the 20-year-old is favourite to reach the final where he could meet Novak Djokovic.
During the contest McEnroe attempted to make what seemed like a compliment in the direction of Jarry, but Millman took it as a sign of ignorance. "We don’t know Jarry but we’ll get to know him," McEnroe said. But Millman couldn't help but express his annoyance on social media, with Jarry already being a player inside the top 30 in the world rankings. "How a commentator can say 'we don’t know Jarry but we’ll get to know him' is beyond ridiculous," Millman tweeted. "Eighty seven million people play tennis worldwide and this guy is the 28th best at it currently."
Millman is absent from Wimbledon for the first time since 2014, but has been soaking up the action from home. It's not the first time that McEnroe has been criticised for his views, as he made comments about Emma Raducanu after the young British tennis star began to struggle following her debut US Open win. Raducanu stunned the sporting world as she won the US Open without dropping a set, in her first ever appearance.
It remains her only Grand Slam success, but she's still only 20 years of age. Raducanu struggled for consistency after being thrust into the spotlight, and even changed trainer - something McEnroe wasn't impressed with. McEnroe told Eurosport in 2022: "We have got to keep a little perspective here. At Wimbledon last year she was unable to finish a match because of stress and it got to be too much for her.
Nicolas Jarry crashed out of Wimbledon (Getty Images) "Then she came out and did something that no one has ever done – man or woman – in 150 years of tennis, coming from the qualifying and winning. All of a sudden, there is this pressure on her, this expectation, that has gotten a little bit overwhelming as well. "She has sort of put herself in a difficult position because a lot is expected of her and with the people around her, we are not sure if she is comfortable with them just yet. Hopefully in the next year or two she will find that.
"Honestly, if I won the US Open having gone through qualifying, I wouldn’t change my coach at least for the next year, so I don’t understand that move." Again McEnroe's comments did not go down well with fans complaining he was being too harsh on the youngster.
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