McEnroe strikes again, criticizes Monfils and Monfils responds.

Aussie Darcy

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
During the match, ESPN commentator and former World No. 1 John McEnroe sharply criticized Monfils, calling him "unprofessional" and saying he couldn't support the way Monfils handled himself during the match. Other ESPN analysts also criticized Monfils's style of play during the broadcast.

After the match, Monfils was asked about McEnroe's comments.

"I'm very sad to learn that such a legend criticize me, because at the end what I can say to John is, 'John, I want to be the best,'" Monfils said. "It's tough, you know. And I try my best.

"I'm sorry if you think I'm unprofessional, but I guess I'm working, I'm learning."

Monfils, who hadn't dropped a set entering Friday's semifinal, said he played unconventionally because he wasn't playing well and because of Djokovic's quality. He called it a "great strategy" that caught Djokovic off–guard.

"It's not academic, but I try to win. I'm sorry, every time, to hear that I get destroyed. For what? At the end, for what? To tell me I'm so talented I waste my time," Monfils said. "Sorry, I"m not wasting my time. I think I know how to try to play the best, and to play the best sometime is to improve. And when the guy is too good, you change. Not academic, but I try to be better."

Djokovic acknowledged that Monfils's unusual tactics flustered him.
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So first it was Kyrgios, then it was Dimitrov and now it's Monfils. Are people still going to try and defend McEnroe or can we finally say that he's becoming a **** commentator who just criticizes everyone?

Edit: the threads on McEnroe's comments about Kyrgios here
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/mcenroe-challenges-kyrgios-to-quit-tennis.572177/

And comments on Dimitrov here
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/inde...o-heart-not-trying-and-not-digging-in.572334/
 
Monfil's response was gentlemanly, diplomatic, calm and reserved. Deserves respect.

After all, Mac really isn't the one to criticise people for being unprofessional or not working hard enough.

http://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/10/sports/mcenroe-planning-to-shape-up-at-last.html

Indeed, the 26-year-old tennis star admitted here this week that if there were a John McEnroe workout tape, it would be blank.

''Everyone used to ask me if I was on the Haas diet,'' he said, referring to Dr. Robert Haas, who has been credited by Martina Navratilova and Ivan Lendl as a prime reason for their success. ''But I told them, 'No. I'm on the Haagen-Dazs diet.' I still am.''
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I think he is just frustrated that these guys have the talent and show so much promise but rarely deliver against the very top guys. No matter how much better Monfils has been playing, the outcome of his match against Djokovic, apart from rousing himself for 1 set, was so boringly predictable and Djokovic wasn't even playing particularly well.
 
I would like to see John (at any age, with any racquet) beat Djokovic on these courts. It's damn near impossible. It's so bloody physical these days. Not disagreeing that these "contenders" clown it up too often. But it's a different game now.

Homogenization means you need to run a 10'000 meters against Mo Farah, while beating Magnus Carlsen on the chess board. And if you don't get both right, you lose.
 
Monfils gets such a hard time from a lot of disrespectful commentators. "Untapped potential", "biggest waste of talent of all time", you think he doesn't hear those comments? The guy isn't Kyrgios or Tomic who doesn't give a crap- he's out there every day busting his ass to do the best he can, and all he gets in return are comments about how he could be so much better. Can we give him some praise for having a great tournament and a great year already?
 
Atleast John could acknowledge that he made his way back in top 10 after 5 long years. In my opinion it was quite professional.
 
No love lost for McEnroe but if we are being honest, he has very valid points when it comes to Dimitrov & Kyrgios.

I can see where Monfils is coming from, but from a spectator's perspective, he played extremely subpar tennis. I like Monfils and even I was like WTH! Either way, I think if Monfils was trying something new, fair play to him and Mac should back off on that.

That said, I think his comments on both Kyrgios and Dimitrov were spot on.

P.S: seems McEnroe hit a nerve with the OP when he criticized Kyrgios :p - multiple threads made by him now venting on McEnroe. Relax @Aussie Darcy mate - we all know McEnroe likes to get viewers talking. Take his comments with a grain of salt if you must.
 
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Monfils looked nervous from the first ball. It looked like he tried to play the 'sensible' game that had worked previously, but it wasn't working. Two sets down to Djokovic is too much for most players, so it looked like he tried to then mix it up.

The tactics just went wrong. I think it was a shame that he didn't just play his normal flamboyant game and win or lose, it would have been a great match.

The trouble with the commentators is that they cannot leave dead air between points and invariably what they spout out is 90% crap.
 
I agree with McEnroe. Monfils is so mentally weak. I think he was completely overwhelmed by the moment and couldn't deal with it. The first couple sets were bizarre. Monfils deserved to be criticized.


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Aussie Darcy said:
So first it was Kyrgios, then it was Dimitrov and now it's Monfils. Are people still going to try and defend McEnroe or can we finally say that he's becoming a **** commentator who just criticizes everyone?

Edit: the threads on McEnroe's comments about Kyrgios here
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/mcenroe-challenges-kyrgios-to-quit-tennis.572177/

And comments on Dimitrov here
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/inde...o-heart-not-trying-and-not-digging-in.572334/
Click to expand...

He's entertaining I'd say in that sense he's not a **** commentator, just shouldn't be taken too seriously.

Can see his point on this issue, it didn't look good, but if Gael really thought this was a tactic that would help (and it actually did for a bit) then who is McEnroe or anyone for that matter to tell them you can't use that tactic.
 
When an a**hole talks its called a fart, no different with johns commentary. He is such a blow hard who changes his opinion with each match
 
Aussie Darcy said:
So first it was Kyrgios, then it was Dimitrov and now it's Monfils. Are people still going to try and defend McEnroe or can we finally say that he's becoming a **** commentator who just criticizes everyone?

Edit: the threads on McEnroe's comments about Kyrgios here
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/mcenroe-challenges-kyrgios-to-quit-tennis.572177/

And comments on Dimitrov here
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/inde...o-heart-not-trying-and-not-digging-in.572334/
Click to expand...
Midol can help.
 
Aussie Darcy said:
So first it was Kyrgios, then it was Dimitrov and now it's Monfils. Are people still going to try and defend McEnroe or can we finally say that he's becoming a **** commentator who just criticizes everyone?

Edit: the threads on McEnroe's comments about Kyrgios here
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/mcenroe-challenges-kyrgios-to-quit-tennis.572177/

And comments on Dimitrov here
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/inde...o-heart-not-trying-and-not-digging-in.572334/
Click to expand...
He was also nasty towards Tsonga. Hope he's not becoming senile :cool:
 
"Aussie Darcy, post: 10641072, member: 736164"]So first it was Kyrgios, then it was Dimitrov and now it's Monfils. Are people still going to try and defend McEnroe or can we finally say that he's becoming a **** commentator who just criticizes everyone?
Click to expand...

I'm not a big John McEnroe fan but his negative comments about those players were spot on IMO. Throw useless Tsonga into the mix too. The ATP is filled with a bunch of clowns, sadly.
 
cc0509 said:
John McEnroe wasn't wrong about what he said about any of those clowns.
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Read that article I posted. A guy with an attitude like that will simply not make it on the tour today. I daresay that any of Nick, Dimitrov, Gael, Bernie, all work far far harder than he ever did and are far more professional than he ever was.
 
70後 said:
Read that article I posted. A guy with an attitude like that will simply not make it on the tour today. I daresay that any of Nick, Dimitrov, Gael, Bernie, all work far far harder than he ever did and are far more professional than he ever was.
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That's incorrect IMO. John McEnroe was unprofessional in many ways but he never tanked slam matches. Don't confuse the two things.
 
70後 said:
Read that article I posted. A guy with an attitude like that will simply not make it on the tour today. I daresay that any of Nick, Dimitrov, Gael, Bernie, all work far far harder than he ever did and are far more professional than he ever was.
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And they have how many majors between them? Mac got it done when it counted. With the guys you mentioned, their attitudes, lack of training, mental issues have gotten in the way of them winning anything of substance. Maybe Mac is guilty of everything he's putting on Kyrgios, Grigs and Monfils, but it doesn't matter because he won.

That's just my opinion, though, when taking his criticisms and his history into account together.
 
The match was so weird. Monfils for whatever reason started off the match in poor form and was down 0-5 in 20 minutes. Then decides to semi tank the set, with these chip 1st serve returns well inside the baseline and just incredibly poor shot selection. Non chalant forehand slices and the lot.

And it bloody ratttled Novak somewhat, but he manages to get the first set in the bag. 2nd set was even worse. It was a poor showing from Gael. Heat most probably played a part in it, but yeah....
 
Aussie Darcy said:
So first it was Kyrgios, then it was Dimitrov and now it's Monfils. Are people still going to try and defend McEnroe or can we finally say that he's becoming a **** commentator who just criticizes everyone?

Edit: the threads on McEnroe's comments about Kyrgios here
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/mcenroe-challenges-kyrgios-to-quit-tennis.572177/

And comments on Dimitrov here
http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/inde...o-heart-not-trying-and-not-digging-in.572334/
Click to expand...
Couldn't disagree with you more on this. Jmac was right in the money. Lessor players than Mondiks have been able to trouble Djokovic without playing like a complete clown. Returning serve from inside the baseline? Trying to blatantly SABR? Serve and volley? Djokovic was briefly flustered that this Buffoon thought this was a viable strategy bc it quickly was not, hence a generally uncompetitive 3-1 win and an angry crowd forced to watch a garbage tank job.
 
Unbelievable how many of you guys make excuses for Monfils. Yes, you can spin this around and call Mcenroe's tantrums unprofessional, but you are just being obtuse. The level of effort that monfils showed during the first 2 sets, which was as pitiful as I have ever seen from a SF. For all his faults, Mcenroe played big matches with fervor and competed hard even when he was getting his ass handed to him. In that sense, he is utterly incomparable to the likes of Kyrgios and Monfils who stand flat on their feet, casually spray UEs, and suck in a minute of air after every point.

Monfils..most entertaining player my ass..
 
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papertank said:
Monfils gets such a hard time from a lot of disrespectful commentators. "Untapped potential", "biggest waste of talent of all time", you think he doesn't hear those comments? The guy isn't Kyrgios or Tomic who doesn't give a crap- he's out there every day busting his ass to do the best he can, and all he gets in return are comments about how he could be so much better. Can we give him some praise for having a great tournament and a great year already?
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I think Monf likes the sport more than those guys do but I've seen him take it lightly plenty of times. His antics on court sap too much energy out of him. To be fair though, he's at least not a brat like those two.
 
mandy01 said:
I think Monf likes the sport more than those guys do but I've seen him take it lightly plenty of times. His antics on court sap too much energy out of him. To be fair though, he's at least not a brat like those two.
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He has often said that he regards it as more important to entertain than necessarily to win. It seems to be a typically French attitude whereby the quality of the shotmaking is regarded as more important than the result. Winning ugly is just not in their book. It has to be pretty and entertaining or nothing.
 
Mainad said:
He has often said that he regards it as more important to entertain than necessarily to win. It seems to be a typically French attitude whereby the quality of the shotmaking is regarded as more important than the result. Winning ugly is just not in their book. It has to be pretty and entertaining or nothing.
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Simon is the exception to that.
 
Monfils had a real breakdown. He is trying to rationalise this breakdown, off course. Very human.

It was when he started playing real tennis that he won a set. Not while pushing lamely.
 
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