Seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe believes former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is still not in the right place mentally after his shock loss in Roland Garros quarters.
The 12-time Grand Slam champion was upset by Italian qualifier Marco Cecchinato, who had never won a Major singles contest before the French Open.
World No. 72 Cecchinato became the first man from his country to progress to a Grand Slam semifinal since 1978. The most impressive thing about his stunning 6-3, 7-6, 1-6, 7-6 triumph was the manner in which he achieved the feat. Cecchinato was trailing the Serbian with a huge margin in the fourth set, but turned it around to book his date with Dominic Thiem of Austria for a place in Sunday’s showpiece final.
Djokovic had made smooth progress in the tournament, losing just one set in the previous four rounds before he went out in the last 8. And no one saw this defeat coming as he was seen gaining momentum throughout the event.
After his shocking defeat, Djokovic had himself cast doubts over his participation in the third Grand Slam of the year, i.e., Wimbledon. And former World No. 1 McEnroe suggests the Serbian is still struggling psychologically.
“I think it’s more mental than physical but I don’t know that for sure,” McEnroe said.
“As it is with most things or almost everything, it’s a combination.
“To what degree does one feed into the other? It’s difficult to say.”
McEnroe suggested that the 12-time Grand Slam champion should have taken control of the proceedings on the court especially after winning the third set and leading 4-1 and 5-2 in set No. 4 before losing a highly entertaining 22-minute tiebreaker.
“He had, for him, a very favorable draw,” McEnroe added.
“In some of these longer rallies, he didn’t seem to have quite the same endurance. It seemed to affect him late in the fourth.
“I thought he was going to beat the guy 6-1 in the fourth. Somehow, the guy got back in it and then he played the match of his life.
“I think [Djokovic] should have reached the semis. There is no question in my mind that he should have beaten this guy – but he did pull a rabbit out of the hat.”