Djokovic's 'Greatest Quality' To Face Rowdy Crowds According To McEnroe
ATP
There haven't been too many finals where Novak Djokovic wasn't actively cheered against, and overcoming that is his greatest quality, according to former ATP player John McEnroe.
The crowd factor is one thing that doesn't get talked about often unless it's one of those spectacular runs by a native player. Tennis players are humans, after all, and like all humans, interactions with other humans impact them.
How you are affected by that largely depends on the person, and in the case of Novak Djokovic, it motivates him. He's played very few finals where the crowd wasn't openly against him, and overcoming that might be the most impressive thing about his career. John McEnroe certainly believes so, explaining in an ESPN press conference.
Novak has been able to find that perfect sort of sweet spot where he’s able to use that as fuel, and in his 30s gotten better. I wish I knew. I wish I had known when I played. Novak is the best by far of having the crowd against him and turning it around.
Rewind the Australian Open final between Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal and how the Russian shrunk over time as the crowd started to believe that the Spaniard could actually win it.
John McEnroe also knows something about crowds, and by self-admission, he didn't handle it the best way. There are countless examples of how crowd support contributed to a tennis result.
Djokovic's Roland Garros win against Robin Soderling is another example of that. No one in that stadium backed the Swede, and he stood no chance.
He lost the opening set 6-1 and solidified after the initial shock but still lost in three sets. Dealing with crowds signals mental strength, a hugely important part of tennis. The moment you stop believing in yourself on a court, you're done, and Djokovic is one of the best at never losing belief in himself.
