John McEnroe can’t catch a breath at the moment, can he? The American legend is commentating at the ongoing French Open, but he has received much flak for his mistakes and controversial remarks. Recently, he raised eyebrows by calling out Sinner’s defense at a time when the Italian star is in the best form of his life. As in that case, he also faced fans’ heat after making a controversial admission about Rafael Nadal.

Ahead of the French Open final, McEnroe made a shocking admission, saying that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner could beat Nadal at his best. Famously known as the ‘King of Clay’ for a reason, Nadal’s shocking comparison to the current stars like Sinner and Alcaraz didn’t go down well with the fans. Moreover, McEnroe also revealed at the end that Nadal would have more Grand Slams than Sinner and Alcaraz, contradicting his thoughts about the trio.

Talking about this in a TNT Sport segment, he said, “You would make a serious argument with both guys that they would be favored to beat Nadal at his best. Do I think they’re gonna reach 20, 24 [titles], either one of them? No, because that plateau is so hard. The tennis level right now is higher than I’ve ever seen.” 

During his time on the court, McEnroe was known for his controversial and aggressive style of play. Years later, he has transcended that style in his commentary, too, making shocking admissions quite frequently. On this occasion, fans made their displeasure felt as McEnroe faced the heat on social media.

Fans slam John McEnroe for his comments on Rafael Nadal

While the Spaniard’s legacy is unparalleled, such a shocking comparison left the fans disappointed. As a result, in a post made by the UK’s renowned Tennis Channel, Olly Tennis, one of the fans was brutal in his criticism of McEnroe, saying, “Old guy blabbering something.” The fan wanted McEnroe to leave the commentary and stop comparing a legend like Nadal to current stars like Sinner and Alcaraz.

Further, along with McEnroe, Chris Evert has also been called out for her poor commentary standards. “Get him off air; his takes and commentary has just gotten worse over the years… same with Chrissie Evert,” a fan urged, asking for the immediate resignation of the two American legends from the commentary box. Meanwhile, one of the Twitter users reasoned out why McEnroe felt that Alcaraz and Sinner could get the better of Rafael Nadal in his prime. The fan wrote, “Recency bias… I don’t believe it for a second.” With this, the fan immediately dismissed the thoughts of McEnroe, slamming him for disrespecting a legend like Nadal.

Amid this, one of the fans caught the double standards of McEnroe. While he admitted that Nadal would lose to the duo, McEnroe also stated that Nadal will have more Grand Slams at the end of the day. Countering McEnroe, one of the Twitter users wrote, “Rambling take here and by the time he got to the point …there really was no point. So Sinner or Alcaraz would be favored to beat Nadal on clay when each of the players were at their best. Ok. Cool. Then at the end he says but Nadal will still have more grand slams. Rambling.” Indeed, the fan was fed up with McEnroe and had enough of him. Lastly, a fan who has been following McEnroe’s commentary for a long time found a similar pattern of controversial remarks over the past few years. “Every year he is crazier and crazier,” said a fan who was tired of McEnroe’s commentary.

While the stage was perfectly set for a grand final between Sinner and Alcaraz, McEnroe’s shocking admission about Rafael Nadal threatened to take some shine off it. Nonetheless, the duo is battling hard on the court, with Sinner winning the first set and up a break in the second.