Which tennis player was more hated by the public, John McEnroe during the 1980s or Novak Djokovic today?

[TMF]

If McEnroe was a hated player/person then he wouldn't be able to get a job as a sport commentator/analyst for TV network like ESPN, CBS, NBC, USA

After Nole retires from tennis let's see if he can get any job in sport industry

 

[Deleted member 629564]

[content deleted by user]

 

[CoolCoolCool]

If McEnroe was a hated player/person then he wouldn't be able to get a job as a sport commentator/analyst for TV network like ESPN, CBS, NBC, USA

After Nole retires from tennis let's see if he can get any job in sport industry

I really doubt he'll have any trouble getting hired and it's not even about whether he's popular. They just wouldn't pass up the opportunity to have one of the legends of the game give his thoughts about the game if he's interested.

 

[Pheasant]

No way, Can‘t be worse than 40-15 Wimby!

It might not be as epic of a choke, for lack of a better word. But I was a teenager back then with a lot less going on in my life. So naturally, sporting events were a bigger part of my life(no wife, no career, no real accomplishments of my own, so to speak). So yeah, that 1984 FO loss hit like a ton of bricks. Gone was Mac's undefeated season. And he choked against a guy that was often labeled a choker.

As for Fed's biggest losses, I hated the 2008 Wimbledon loss even more than 2019. That match really felt like Fed's days of winning slams were done. I still expected Fed to win. I expected him to put that FO thrashing behind him and redeem himself with a solild win at Wimbledon. Nope. The younger guy that was just starting to hit his stride now beat the Maestro. I told my wife after that match that Fed was probably done winning now slams; despite being only 26 years old.

 

[Mainad]

If McEnroe was a hated player/person then he wouldn't be able to get a job as a sport commentator/analyst for TV network like ESPN, CBS, NBC, USA

After Nole retires from tennis let's see if he can get any job in sport industry

Lol....the big networks will be snapping his hands off!

 

[LETitBE]

 

[Kralingen]

I told my wife after that match that Fed was probably done winning now slams; despite being only 26 years old.

You were truly destined for TTW

 

[Midaso240]

If McEnroe was a hated player/person then he wouldn't be able to get a job as a sport commentator/analyst for TV network like ESPN, CBS, NBC, USA

After Nole retires from tennis let's see if he can get any job in sport industry

I could see him getting a job on Eurosport, but he doesn't seem to fit in with those other networks too well IMO

 

[THUNDERVOLLEY]

When your heroes continue to lose every record to the man, make professional tennis out to be about a popularity contest. Are we in junior high?

Of course. As seen in every thread that presents a negative about Djokovic with yet another unsubstantiated fantasy, it is all rooted in the obsessed fans of other players--with Federer at the top of the list (Nadal fans to a lesser degree). The worst of Federer's fans have infested this board and other social media platforms to rant, lie and mount one failed attempt after another to tear down Djokovic. Djokovic has surpassed Federer, and his records will only grow, while Federer is and forever will be fixed at the point of his retirement.

Regarding McEnroe...

Lendl was more hated, Mac was very popular.

True; McEnroe was "hated" by barely conscious country club types (including some former players) and insecure Borg fans who had to watch McEnroe's otherworldly talent grow and lay waste to many of his era's greatest players. He's one of the few tennis players who transcended the sport to become a pop culture figure, where he was recognized on sight, endlessly covered in the media, subject of innumerable parodies in print and on TV (and not in an overtly nasty manner), and became the standard bearer of the "Tennis Boom". He was the polar opposite of hated, and certainly not in the way Lendl was despised throughout most of the 1980s.

 

[Raiden]

McEnroe was huge in America and massively popular. He was huge in Asia too. There's absolutely no comparison to the unpopularity of Djokovic.

Substitute Lendl in your poll to make a valid comparison.

He was huge in Europe too, just that Borg was even more huge.

 

[SonnyT]

If McEnroe was a hated player/person then he wouldn't be able to get a job as a sport commentator/analyst for TV network like ESPN, CBS, NBC, USA

After Nole retires from tennis let's see if he can get any job in sport industry

When Djokovic retires, he'll be wealthy. The only wealthier is Federer, so he won't need any job in tennis.

But if he wants one, he'll get it,

 

[Rosstour]

Mac was way more hated

Djoko couldn't handle that kind of press. He thinks he's the big bad villain now but Mac was absolutely detested especially overseas as some have mentioned already.

 

[big ted]

mcenroe was more polarizing than hated..

Novak is just an arrogant champion who doesn't understand why EVERYONE doesn't like him. His need to be loved makes him hard to root for.

i think he has a low emotional intelligence since he doesn’t show much remorse or empathy after he does something wrong.. he likes to play the victim card like serena. same with his father…

 

[big ted]

When Djokovic retires, he'll be wealthy. The only wealthier is Federer, so he won't need any job in tennis.

But if he wants one, he'll get it,

i don’t know he seems like he’d be a boring commentator esp the way he talks and his tone.. borg tried commentating for NBC.. didn’t last long

 

[big ted]

imagine kyrgios if he tried hard and cared and somewhat fulfilled his potential.. that was mcenroe, he wasn’t hated but he was polarizing esp when he was dominating. he had a blowup in ‘84 stockholm and people wanted him suspended. but honestly when lendl took over, mac was always the crowd favorite.. and the more mcenroe started losing the more he became an underdog and the more crowd liked him until he was pretty much universally liked by the time he retired in ‘92.. of course previously tho he played the villain in the early days against borg and connors…

 

[ghostofMecir]

Nobody hates Djokovic — they’re just apathetic towards his flairless albeit technically great game and lower ostensible peak than that of others.

And people didn’t really hate John McEnroe, either — they saw him as a bit of a spoiled rich brat, but mostly liked the theater of his crazy antics and self sabotaging fight against himself and imaginary foes in every match, even those he was winning handily.

 

[big ted]

Nobody hates Djokovic — they’re just apathetic towards his flairless albeit technically great game and lower ostensible peak than that of others.

im sorry but this is unequivocally false. he’s booed loudly at the USO. plus my whole family hates him