Former court troublemaker, John McEnroe severely attacks the Roland-Garros organization regarding the management of the Djokovic case.
Victim of an injury to the medial meniscus of his right knee, Novak Djokovic underwent surgery on Wednesday in Paris, the day after
his package at the quarter-final stage of the
French Open where he was to find Casper Ruud. After his grueling victory in the eighth over Francisco Cerundolo, the Serbian did not hide his pessimism about his chances of playing for a place in the last four.
In the eyes of John McEnroe, a former icon of the little yellow ball who today remains an attentive observer of tennis debates, the misadventure of the man who was world number one at the start of the tournament is largely the responsibility of Roland’s organization. -Garros. The American veteran explains it this Thursday in the columns of Le Figaro.
A fatal third round?
“ Putting Djokovic, 37, on the court at 10:30 p.m., without knowing how long his match would last, was a huge mistake on the part of the organizationsaid McEnroe, referring to the third round between “Nole” and the Italian Lorenzo Musetti – a five-set encounter which ended at 3 a.m. I understand they wanted to catch up, but there were other solutions to finish the other game (Bergs against Dimitrov, editor’s note). »
“ He had to go to sleep at 7 a.m. and come back to play a day and a half later, McEnroe continues. It’s a challenge for anyone. He had to fight five sets again, that’s too much to ask. Same for Novak. If we can’t say for sure, it’s one of the reasons why he injured his knee. In any case, you don’t treat a player, and even less the best in the world, that way… » And to conclude: “ Finishing a match at 3 a.m. gives tennis a bad image. Does a FIFA World Cup final start at 10:30 p.m.? »
