John McEnroe seething over shot-clock drama: ‘Rafael Nadal should be penalised. It’s a joke’

[Poisoned Slice]

He was ranting during the match vs Djokovic. Kept going on and on about no consistency. Giving out the hero warning for a time limit violation and then doing nothing for the next over limit situation.

 

[XiP]

McEnroe is pointing out at the double standards that exists in this sport. If it was someone else instead of Rafa, he would have quickly received a warning/penalty.

I saw Cilic get the same exact treatment as Nadal.

 

[zagor]

RP Nadal ofcourse stretches the rules. Many ATP and wta pros do.
Instead of blaming the players, one should blame the authorities and umpires.

Authorities sure, umpires? If an umpire fully enforced the rules in the spirit of the game, he'd never work another Nadal big slam match, period.

 

[Poisoned Slice]

 

[octobrina10]

It was shown on tv that rafa is talking with umpire about the condition and taking more time. The commentators quoted Rafa has negotiated with umpire about taking more time.
More time because he will sweat more..and hence will take more time between points to wipe off sweat, to recover etc.

Now strictly speaking Rafa is getting more leeway than other players. But he has reached this legend position and umpires are willing to give more time etc.

The other player zverev waa very patient and didnt let that affect him.

The OP is about the QF match between Rafa and Djoko played on Tuesday this week. You, for an unknown reason, are writing about the SF match between Rafa and Zverev played on Friday and dragged Shapo's AO match into the thread.

Below, you can see Rafa's post-SF press conference (video). He didn't say what you claimed he said. Nobody asked questions about "taking more time." So, you are wrong.

 

[ChaelAZ]

Nadal receives time violation | Nine.com.au

Rafael Nadal received a warning from the umpire for a time violation as the star's 59th battle with Novak Djokovic heated up.

wwos.nine.com.au

 

[Thetouch]

both masters of fooling the fools

Seeing this picture it reminds of an anecdote during the World Cup 1970. Rivelinho, one of Maradona's heros, and some other brazilian players were laying in the sun instead of training with the team. Then Pele showed up and called them out on being lazy. Rivelinho replied to him: "C'mon man, admit it, you wish you were left footed like I am". Pele then left wordless.

 

[octobrina10]

Nadal has always been better at gamesmanship than anyone else on the tour. This has been true for almost 20 years. He has developed it into a very fine art. Admirable in its way.

Rafa bashers have always been better than anyone else at creating fake stories about him. It has been true for almost 20 years. And fake stories keep coming.

 

[octobrina10]

Nadal receives time violation | Nine.com.au

Rafael Nadal received a warning from the umpire for a time violation as the star's 59th battle with Novak Djokovic heated up.

wwos.nine.com.au

So, Rafa bashers are lying that umpires don't give him time violation warnings.

 

[octobrina10]

He's 100% right on this.

There's no real defense or argument other than "you're salty/butthurt etc. Rafa hater".

Right on what? Could you post a quote.

 

[Mustard]

Does John McEnroe ever stop moaning? A lot of the annoying rules in tennis today probably exist because of what McEnroe did back in the day. McEnroe sometimes took minutes arguing with the umpire over a routine call, and occasionally even walked off court.

 

[octobrina10]

What utter nonsense. Noone is too big for the rules and the fact anyone can say something like this is extremely worrying. This sort of attitude is what is happening to the world, they think celebs or people in political power are too big to be punished and they just accept that's how it is and if everyone accepts that then things only get worse.

Umpires need to start enforcing this harshly, I don't care if the crowd starts booing because it's happening too much, the umpire is not to blame, the player is. Nadal/Iga might be a good place to start as they're the hot names this year and maybe if everyone sees that it's no longer acceptable for them, matches might actually end in a reasonable 2-3 hours instead of 5. I'm glad someone like John McEnroe is making a big fuss about this because we need a big name to get the ball rolling.

Could you quote McEnroe (i.e. what he was talking about).

 

[Rafa24]

I think it is more a force of habit atleast for Rafa. Remember he has played without a shot clock for most of his career. So the adjustment is hard.

I often see him try to rush because of the clock and then most times he misses the 1st serve.

With regards to Iga, I don't know. I haven't really watched to many of her matches.

Anyways it is upto the umpire to enforce it strictly. I think they give more leeway during humid conditions.

And now the ball kids aren't allowed to bring the towels out and the towels are very far away. shot clock should have been expanded due to this. takes much more time to go towel off than before. also djoker is almost always within a second or two of rafa on time between points.

 

[octobrina10]

"I think between games we not go so fast, we have to go for the towel, it's impossible"

Thanks for playing.

What does the video you posted have to do with the lie you repeated & spread?

 

[Mustard]

I get what John is saying, though surprised he's this harsh in phrasing it because I thought he liked Rafa quite a bit.

I sense the Australia business with Djokovic has changed McEnroe's mind, even though Djokovic was dumb enough to fly into Australia unvaccinated, which unleashed a catastrophic chain of events. I honestly don't think Wimbledon would have banned Russian and Belarussian players had Djokovic just stayed away from Australia or had gotten vaccinated beforehand. What happened in Australia sent the message to Wimbledon that a dominant 9-time champion could be banned and the event could continue on as normal afterwards.

 

[The Fedfather]

I sense the Australia business with Djokovic has changed McEnroe's mind, even though Djokovic was dumb enough to fly into Australia unvaccinated, which unleashed a catastrophic chain of events. I honestly don't think Wimbledon would have banned Russian and Belarussian players had Djokovic just stayed away from Australia or had gotten vaccinated beforehand.

I'm not sure I see the connection. Do you mean McEnroe didn't agree with Rafa's stance on the Djokovic debacle in Australia?

As for Wimbledon, they were acting according to the government's directions, and my guess is they believed they'd gain reputation points from proactiveness. Unlikely that their decision was made with much consideration of what happened in Australia.

 

[ronalditop]

I clearly remember the ao final this year that I stayed up late to watch. I was very sleepy but the match was so good. But in nadal serves, I swear I slept for a few seconds while he was doing all his routines, and woke up when the grunting started. It really makes matches longer and boring. But he's about to retire so it doesn't make sense to penalize him for it now when he has been doing it for his entire career.

 

[Mustard]

I'm not sure I see the connection. Do you mean McEnroe didn't agree with Rafa's stance on the Djokovic's debacle in Australia?

I think McEnroe was annoyed at how Djokovic was treated and deported, and didn't like Nadal's reaction to it.

As for Wimbledon, they were acting according to the government's directions, and my guess is they believed they'd gain reputation points from proactiveness. Unlikely that their decision was made with much consideration of what happened in Australia.

The government stuff hasn't been confirmed. It's a "he said, she said" scenario, so that neither Wimbledon or the government gets 100% of the backlash. The Australia stuff will have encouraged other tournaments that they could ban players and get away with it.

 

[Terenigma]

What does the video you posted have to do with the lie you repeated & spread?

The poster I quoted referenced Nadal asking the umpire about taking more time at the Australian open because he was getting sweaty. I implied only Nadal with his fame could get away with asking something like that and a ATP 100+ ranked player would not and suggested if Nadal had a problem he should speed up, not ask for the umpire to allow them longer. You called me a liar and claimed it was a fake story. I showed you a clip of this years Australian open with Nadal asking the umpire for more time.

Was that really that difficult for you to understand the relevance? Or are you just clutching at straws because I just significantly proved you wrong with actual video footage?

 

[Arak]

The poster I quoted referenced Nadal asking the umpire about taking more time at the Australian open because he was getting sweaty. I implied only Nadal with his fame could get away with asking something like that and a ATP 100+ ranked player would not and suggested if Nadal had a problem he should speed up, not ask for the umpire to allow them longer. You called me a liar and claimed it was a fake story. I showed you a clip of this years Australian open with Nadal asking the umpire for more time.

Was that really that difficult for you to understand the relevance? Or are you just clutching at straws because I just significantly proved you wrong with actual video footage?

Octobrina is a master of disinformation. He knows exactly what you’re saying but will redirect and distort it in order to refute it.

 

[Mustard]

McEnroe might be right on this one and he is probably my all time favourite player next to Becker but he is sitting in a glass house. Many of his outbursts hurt the game flow of his rivals and it was often distracting watching it on TV as well. He definitley used some of those outburts on purpose. Becker used to do the same thing before his rivals were about to serve, he simply disrupted them and therefore forced them to serve again and Becker admitted it. Many of you probably know this story: When Becker and Mac met in Paris Bercy in 1989 Becker was coughing a lot on purpose and Mac took offense to that and started coughing too to call him out. Becker said something like "What do you want from me, I have a cold". And Mac replied "You have been having a cold for 4 years". So top players know exactly what they are doing.

I don't think Andrei Medvedev ever forgave Boris Becker for what happened at 1994 Wimbledon.

 

[The Fedfather]

I think McEnroe was annoyed at how Djokovic was treated and deported, and didn't like Nadal's reaction to it.


The government stuff hasn't been confirmed. It's a "he said, she said" scenario, so that neither Wimbledon or the government gets 100% of the backlash. The Australia stuff will have encouraged other tournaments that they could ban players and get away with it.

Hm, perhaps.

It has. The ATP mentioned in their statement they wrote "... difficult decisions faced in responding to recent UK Government guidance.". Djokovic, I think, also mentioned reading the guidance. And the Australia situation was at the government level, the AO themselves couldn't do anything about Djokovic's ban.

 

[Mustard]

Hm, perhaps.

It has. The ATP mentioned in their statement they wrote "... difficult decisions faced in responding to recent UK Government guidance.". Djokovic, I think, also mentioned reading the guidance. And the Australia situation was at the government level, the AO themselves couldn't do anything about Djokovic's ban.

Guidance, not force. The question that needs to be answered is did the British government FORCE Wimbledon to ban Russian and Belarussian players?

 

[puppybutts]

I will be very honest, and I will be blunt.

Rafael is a legend. And Iga is greatness in the making.

But, You can't tell me that they are not using delays as a strategic step. Nadal basically takes extra time on every single important point. Iga was doing it too at every duece and 30-30 point. I am sorry, but they are definitely doing it deliberately. Anyone denying this is being blind.

Is Nadal really the only one though? Didn't they show after his match with Shapo at AO that he was only taking a couple seconds longer than Shapo, despite Shapo's huge protests of corruption?

Cilic also seemed to bounce his ball for an eternity before actually serving, and he seemed to have a fast windup as if to try and catch his opponents off-guard.

And isn't it somewhat natural to take more time to focus and concentrate, steady your nerves, as the score gets tighter?

I'm not defending or accusing Nadal, as I don't really pay attention that much to the shot clock. I'm just asking, if he does violate the time, is he really deserving of being the only one to be criticized on the ATP side?

 

[Sampras-Bruguera 1993]

Ehh so what.. Whats that gonna do? No one is going to beat Rafa anyways if Djokovic couldn't do it

 

[Hitman]

Ehh so what.. Whats that gonna do? No one is going to beat Rafa anyways if Djokovic couldn't do it

The harsh truth. The only real legit threat was Djokovic, as it has been the past decade or so.

 

[The Fedfather]

Guidance, not force. The question that needs to be answered is did the British government FORCE Wimbledon to ban Russian and Belarussian players?

Would the Wimbledon organizers face legal charges for not banning Rus/Bel players? Probably not. But then it's kind of unlikely that the government's guidance was there but de facto leaving it up to the tournament. Theguidance was presenting two choices though, and Wimbledon opted for the right out ban, without discussing their decision with the players.

 

[ghostofMecir]

I will be very honest, and I will be blunt.

Rafael is a legend. And Iga is greatness in the making.

But, You can't tell me that they are not using delays as a strategic step. Nadal basically takes extra time on every single important point. Iga was doing it too at every duece and 30-30 point. I am sorry, but they are definitely doing it deliberately. Anyone denying this is being blind.

The extra kick is the incredible amount of time wasted between 1st and 2nd serves. McEnroe hasn’t been as vocal about this in the past as he was a time water himself (not this extent, of course), but I guarantee you he’d lose it if an opponent did this with him.

Mac is right, unless a more pragmatic approach is implemented, the clock is useless and doesn't serve any purpose. My favourite is when Rafa hits a net or misses a first serve after half a minute (which already should be a warning), and then goes on to take another good 20 seconds between 2 serves just bouncing the ball. So, a whole minute passes over and over again, (especially at 30-30 and such important points) and no one says a word. It's so obvious..

This. And…he wasn’t like this when first on tour but you started seeing this in 2005. Pick any random point in any of his matches over the past 17 years and there’s a MINIMUM of like 11-12 seconds between first and second serves and that only goes up and up.

 

[octobrina10]

The poster I quoted referenced Nadal asking the umpire about taking more time at the Australian open because he was getting sweaty. I implied only Nadal with his fame could get away with asking something like that and a ATP 100+ ranked player would not and suggested if Nadal had a problem he should speed up, not ask for the umpire to allow them longer. You called me a liar and claimed it was a fake story. I showed you a clip of this years Australian open with Nadal asking the umpire for more time.

Was that really that difficult for you to understand the relevance? Or are you just clutching at straws because I just significantly proved you wrong with actual video footage?

That poster claimed that Rafa said during the SF match between him and Zverev at Roland Garros on Friday that "he will take more time." And you trash talked Rafa based on that lie.
Yep, its very difficult to understand why Rafa bashers are creating sooo many lies about him.

 

[Arak]

The extra kick is the incredible amount of time wasted between 1st and 2nd serves. McEnroe hasn’t been as vocal about this in the past as he was a time water himself (not this extent, of course), but I guarantee you he’d lose it if an opponent did this with him.

They didn’t give him sufficient time on the first serve, so he took it from the second serve. No one can game the system better than him.

 

[octobrina10]

Octobrina is a master of disinformation. He knows exactly what you’re saying but will redirect and distort it in order to refute it.

Your comrade repeated & spread the lie posted by another poster:
Post #97:
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...ised-it’s-a-joke’.727813/page-2#post-16467804

 

[Arak]

Did anyone see him pulling the threads from his towels on his opponent’s serve? They gave him defective towels, the poor man. One particularly stubborn thread, he had to pull it out with his teeth! Then they accuse him of time wasting, smh.

 

[Crisstti]

Oh, shut up McEnroe.

 

[WYK]

What about all the time Mac wasted by picking fights with umpires during his career and disrupting the flow of the match with his obnoxiousness?

The best part of the matches nowadays is when McEnroe takes his restroom breaks so we can watch tennis in peace.

 

[wangs78]

I think it is more a force of habit atleast for Rafa. Remember he has played without a shot clock for most of his career. So the adjustment is hard.

I disagree. In this year’s RG, he’s even taking his time on return to first towel off after every point (which I’m ok with) but then he spends an extra 5 seconds folding/spreading his towel out so that it lays perfectly flat before he walks to the service line. In the match with Zverev, you can see Zverev standing there twiddling his thumbs. Why doesn’t a server just serve the ball before Rafa is ready and make the umpire do something about this? I guess everyone just has too much *respect* for the 21 Slam winner but seriously, when the margins are so small, this kind of gamesmanship can make a very meaningful difference.

 

[octobrina10]

I clearly remember the ao final this year that I stayed up late to watch. I was very sleepy but the match was so good. But in nadal serves, I swear I slept for a few seconds while he was doing all his routines, and woke up when the grunting started. It really makes matches longer and boring. But he's about to retire so it doesn't make sense to penalize him for it now when he has been doing it for his entire career.

Hi, Rafa basher, don't try to cheat readers! The chair umpire triggers the serve clock and the server has to monitor the time on the serve clock. The player has to stay within the 25-second limit the serve clock allows, otherwise he will get punished by the chair umpire.
So, Rafa bashers who claim that he spends more time between points than allowed are intentionally cheating readers, or bashers aren't aware that ATP Tour started to use the serve clock in the summer of 2018.

 

[Rosstour]

I disagree. In this year’s RG, he’s even taking his time on return to first towel off after every point (which I’m ok with) but then he spends an extra 5 seconds folding/spreading his towel out so that it lays perfectly flat before he walks to the service line. In the match with Zverev, you can see Zverev standing there twiddling his thumbs. Why doesn’t a server just serve the ball before Rafa is ready and make the umpire do something about this? I guess everyone just has too much *respect* for the 21 Slam winner but seriously, when the margins are so small, this kind of gamesmanship can make a very meaningful difference.

Even on the point that ended Zverev's career, Rafa was jeered a bit by the crowd for going all the way up into his service motion and then starting it all over again. Zverev was split-stepping already

 

[octobrina10]

Did anyone see him pulling the threads from his towels on his opponent’s serve? They gave him defective towels, the poor man. One particularly stubborn thread, he had to pull it out with his teeth! Then they accuse him of time wasting, smh.

I didn't know that Rafa bashers are soooo captivated by him.

 

[Chairman3]

Iga is as blatant as Nadal. I particularly dislike the way she slows down the server, when the rules clearly state that receiver plays at the pace of the server.

I actually did notice this in the womens final this morning..
At one point Gauff was at the line to serve and Iga was holding her racquet up like "don't serve yet, I'm not ready" and I was surprised and thinking you don't really have a choice if the server is ready

 

[octobrina10]

Even on the point that ended Zverev's career, Rafa was jeered a bit by the crowd for going all the way up into his service motion and then starting it all over again. Zverev was split-stepping already

But what Rafa's serve has to do with the shot ending Zverev's career?

 

[initialize]

Some people in here are actually mad at McEnroe for saying the truth?

LOL

 

[ArcspacE]

I wonder what was the point of creating this thread that's based on the article (OP) author of which didn't understand what she was writing about.

Nadal is continuously cheating the shot clock and the corrupt umpires are failing to punish him time and time again

What’s so hard for your to comprehend here exactly?

 

[ArcspacE]

Some people in here are actually mad at McEnroe for saying the truth?

LOL

It’s the Nadal bots only tbf

 

[Mustard]

Some people in here are actually mad at McEnroe for saying the truth?

LOL

The truth is that there's no time limit in between first and second serves. McEnroe was moaning.

 

[ArcspacE]

I disagree. In this year’s RG, he’s even taking his time on return to first towel off after every point (which I’m ok with) but then he spends an extra 5 seconds folding/spreading his towel out so that it lays perfectly flat before he walks to the service line. In the match with Zverev, you can see Zverev standing there twiddling his thumbs. Why doesn’t a server just serve the ball before Rafa is ready and make the umpire do something about this? I guess everyone just has too much *respect* for the 21 Slam winner but seriously, when the margins are so small, this kind of gamesmanship can make a very meaningful difference.

He’s a disgusting horrible cheat who does it on purpose and abuses his power while the French are too scared to do anything about it case their disrupt the 14th win

Rules are simple - you play to the Server’s pace!

 

[octobrina10]

Nadal is continuously cheating the shot clock and the corrupt umpires are failing to punish him time and time again

What’s so hard for your to comprehend here exactly?

Hi, Rafa basher! You are constantly cheating readers by creating fake stories about Rafa. Your post is yet another proof.

 

[octobrina10]

Some people in here are actually mad at McEnroe for saying the truth?

LOL

What truth?

 

[ArcspacE]

Hi, Rafa basher! You are constantly cheating readers by creating fake stories about Rafa. Your post is yet another proof.

Everything in my post is factual - he’s constantly cheating the shot clock. Even John is calling him out now - it’s disgusting. Are you a bot?

 

[Mustard]

Everything in my post is factual - he’s constantly cheating the shot clock.

1-2 seconds on a few occasions. That's enough for some people to get so excited that they start making a song and dance about it. It's really ridiculous.

 

[ArcspacE]

1-2 seconds on a few occasions. That's enough for some people to get so excited that they start making a song and dance about it. It's really ridiculous.

Watch the Zed game again - it was 5-10 seconds and also on Zed’s serve