John McEnroe and Rafael Nadal haven’t spoken yet about the Spaniard’s lengthy breaks between serves, but the American analyst has tried to play down any controversy.
After McEnroe recently spoke about Nadal going over the 25 seconds permitted between points when preparing to serve, the 22-time Grand Slam champion was asked about this in a press conference.
Nadal’s anger with a journalist who accuses him of not complying with the rules
That exchange got a little tense and Nadal said he’d speak with McEnroe about this, but the American later revealed wasn’t happy about being named.
“Why did they throw me under the bus?” McEnroe said during his punditry role on Eurosport.
“[Nadal and I] haven’t had that talk, but let me just add that he didn’t let me finish, whoever the dumb journalist was.
“Nadal is entitled to do whatever the hell he wants, that’s part of why you get as good as he is and you’ve got to deal with that.
“It’s also not up to him. We all know that he’s been doing this for the past 10 to 15 years.
“There’s nothing new to that. It’s not his call. It’s the umpires.
“It’s a bulls**t rule anyway, as no one pays attention to that. It should be automatic if you’re actually going to do it, right?
“And when do they turn it on? Is it at the end of the point? Is it when they get to the towel? Is it when the crowd comes down?
“Now, cause of this guy, Nadal thinks I’m saying his legacy’s been stained because he takes too much time.”
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