McEnroe causes controversy with 'awful' Millman treatment
John McEnroe came under fire for his early treatment of Australia’s John Millman in commentary at the US Open.
Millman took the court against Novak Djokovic on Thursday AEST for an unlikely spot in the semi-finals, battling hard before the Serbian sixth seed won the first set 6-3 in exactly one hour.
Djokovic went on to win in straight sets but Millman won over plenty of fans with his fighting attitude.
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While Patrick McEnroe called the Queenslander’s stunning win over Roger Federer ‘one of the greatest upsets in tennis history’, his older brother was not so kind.
John McEnroe was accused by American pro tennis player Mitchell Krueger of “ripping” Millman in the preview as the story continued that Federer lost the match because of the stifling New York heat and humidity rather than his opponent.
McEnroe already ripping Millman before they even played the first point. I’d say making the quarters of a slam and completely outlasting Fed along the way deserves some credit. Awful excuse for commentating
— Mitchell Krueger (@mitch_krueger) September 6, 2018
Other fans, and New York Times journalist Ben Rothenberg, claimed McEnroe’s dismissive commentary is common when he sits in the chair to call matches of lower-profile players.
If you're not in the Top 20, McEnroe thinks you're a journeyman. That is, he'd think that if he heard of anyone outside the Top 20. The guy does no research and seems to only pay attention to tennis during Slams.
— Wilfy (@whitelinefervor) September 6, 2018
Perennial (and fair) complaint by fellow players about John McEnroe whenever he's calling a match with a lower-ranked player he's unfamiliar with.
Not that other players are necessarily his primary audience, but his dismissiveness helps no one. #usopen https://t.co/DKRkm0anqD
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) September 6, 2018
McEnroe is one of the laziest commentators out there. He simply doesn’t bother with lesser-known players. Even with players he knows well, he’s got nothing new to say about them. He just talks without saying anything substantive. He’s the worst https://t.co/NGV979cANN
— Dawn Rhodes (@rhodes_dawn) September 6, 2018
Twitter user @fro286 wrote: “u better get McEnroe to shut his mouth and stop talking down Millman. It’s disgraceful the low level of respect he is showing to Millman. I just turned off the broadcast, not gonna support that elitist bulls***. Happened early on Monday night too (against Federer), but less severe.”
@kelli__green added: “millman’s gonna get hit with reality tonight… he caught federer on an off night when the weather was so hot.” b***, it was hot for millman too and he beat the #2 guy in the world. if he loses to djokovic tonight it won’t be because he’s a chump. mcenroe is a d***. #usopen”
@JimHawk78 wrote: “@cbfowler no one wants to hear again how you & John McEnroe wanted to see Djokovic vs Federer tonight. Millman won far & square & deserves his shot tonight. Commentate on the match please!”
Djokovic, the tournament favourite, started the match on fire, with Millman slowly working his way into the contest.
McEnroe did go on to praise Millman’s competitiveness as the Australian battled in a long sixth game of the match, which lasted 16 minutes and 21 seconds.
“They were loving his effort, rewarding him with a great round of applause,” he said of the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd after a 25-shot rally.
The American again, however, pointed to the one factor he believed could help Millman win: fitness.
“This is a good sign for Millman that he’s got him breathing heavy. It gives him some hope that he can make this a match,” he said.
Millman held serve in that game to stay one break behind Djokovic.
“He doesn’t have a choice, he has to play this good just to get some games,” McEnroe said of the Australian as his brother and fellow ESPN commentator Patrick tweeted about the match from his couch:
Millman came to play…..again.
Love it
— Patrick McEnroe (@PatrickMcEnroe) September 6, 2018
McEnroe and co-commentators Chris Fowler and Brad Gilbert continued to toe the line between respect and praise throughout the first set.
They applauded Millman’s drive to come back from major injuries and early-career struggles – and then likened the fans missing out on Federer-Djokovic to seeing an understudy take the stage on Broadway.