"I was so broken... only now I value John McEnroe" - Marco Trungelliti on American being one of the few to support him after match-fixing scandal
John McEnroe received praise and gratitude from Argentinian tennis player Marco Trungelliti for his support to the latter back in 2019. Trungelliti was forced to relocate out of Argentina after he blew open a match-fixing and betting network in 2018.
In his section 'Commissioner of Tennis' with Eurosport at the time, the seven-time Grand Slam champion cited Trungelliti's example to advocate players' rights, particularly those outside the Top 100.
McEnroe said in 2019:
"The money awarded in Challengers is so little, that the temptation to win much more money by fixing matches is greater. This level of professional tennis is already rotten to the core. Marrow."
"High-level tennis is almost another world. Remember this: if you let the foundation of the pyramid crumble, everything will collapse.
After more than five years, Trungelitti is back in his home country and competing at the Buenos Aires Challenger. In an interview with La Nacion, he recalled the time when McEnroe came out in his support. He also spoke of former tennis players Leo Mayer, Federico Delbonis, and Juan Martin del Potro who stood by him.
"At that moment I was so broken that I didn't value it as much as I did at the time. I see him from time to time, I remember him when I see him on TV and I also had the chance to meet him at the US Open, but only now do I value him because my eyes are a little more open. Leo Mayer, Delbonis and Del Potro, at the time, also supported me.
In the same interview, Trunglitti also praised Novak Djokovic for his advocacy of players' rights.
Novak Djokovic and John McEnroe engage in friendly rallying session on tennis series
Novak Djokovic and John McEnroe engaged in a friendly rally as part of the tennis series 'McEnroe's Places' on ESPN+. The docu-series is inspired by 'Peyton's Places', a football docu-series hosted by legendary quarterback Peyton Manning.
Djokovic featured in two episodes on McEnroe's places titled 'Djoker's Wild'. In one of them, the 24-time Grand Slam champion shared the court with McEnroe in a friendly hitting session.
At one point, the American struck a powerful second-serve ace, stunning Djokovic. The Serb looked at McEnroe in disbelief, with the latter saying:
"Thank you for leaning that way."
Djokovic, who has 17 more Grand Slams as compared to the American tennis legend, replied:
"I was, I was covering that way,"
The back and forth continued till John McEnroe raised his arms to thank an applauding audience before closing the episode.