"Federer is the most beautiful player I've ever seeen, I’d never seen anyone that tried harder than Jimmy Connors but Nadal has succeeded in that and Djokovic is like the human dartboard" - John McEnroe
John McEnroe lavished praise on the 'Big-3' in a recent interview, hailing the variety in each player's game style. While the seven-time Grand Slam champion praised Roger Federer as the "most beautiful" player he has ever seen, he was of the opinion that Rafael Nadal's knack for fighting is unparalleled in the sport.
However, Novak Djokovic, the human embodiment of the dartboard, is the player the former World No. 1 relates to the most.
“Roger Federer is the most beautiful player I’ve ever seen. He’s like an updated version of Rod Laver. I’d never seen anyone that tried harder than Jimmy Connors but Nadal has succeeded in that. Djokovic is like the human dartboard, which I can relate to," McEnroe said in a conversation with The Week magazine.
"You may not like Djokovic as much as Nadal or Federer, but he's a credit to our game!" 💪
John McEnroe has defended the Serb after he was booed at Roland-Garros earlier this year
The 60-year-old went on to talk about his own life, remarking that he was proud of himself for handling the many successes and failures he encountered during the various stages of his career.
“I feel proud of the direction I’ve gone in, what I’ve learnt from my successes and failures as a player, as a husband and as a father,” McEnroe said. “Ultimately, you have to ask yourself: how comfortable do I feel as a human being? I feel pretty good.”
The American also made some choice remarks against the generations that came after him, saying that they are too obsessed with chasing likes on social media. McEnroe was glad his playing days did not coincide with the internet age, declaring that he would not have dealt well with the unavoidable criticism on social media by any means.
“Jesus Christ, [chasing likes] is all they do. It’s worse than being a heroin addict. If I’d been 20 years old and on social media and the press had gone after me, I’d be losing it," John McEnroe said. "I think I might have thrown some things out there that I’d regret.”
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"Pete Sampras is one of the all-time great players, but he’s not going to light it up" - John McEnroe on why tennis needs more colorful personalities
John McEnroe also touched on why tennis needs more players with colorful personalities during the interview, reminiscing about how that used to be the case during his time.
#BBCTennisHe's one of the most talked about players in his sport. 🎾
John McEnroe says #Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios has "got his demons" but tennis needs him "big time".
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The seven-time Grand Slam champion further revealed that the authorities tried to crack down on such players in the following years, a practice he did not agree with. In the former World No. 1's opinion, fans need more passionate players who can "light up" the stadium, instead of just all-time greats who are lacking in that particular department.
"In my heyday, it felt like the inmates were running the asylum—me and Connors and [the temperamental Romanian] Ilie Nastase. And I think in the late 1980s they tried to stifle some of the personality, like that was bad for the game. Which I completely disagree with, by the way," John McEnroe said.
"Pete Sampras is one of the all-time great players, but he’s not going to light it up necessarily, personality-wise. In a one-on-one game, you need personality," he added.