"Booing fuels Novak Djokovic" - John McEnroe ahead of Nadal clash

John McEnroe has said that Novak Djokovic feeds off negativity 'better than anyone after the world number one received a hostile reception at the French Open.

Djokovic was booed against Diego Schwartzman at Roland Garros and he might expect a similar treatment against Paris' darling Rafael Nadal. But McEnroe is not worried about that explaining that nobody feeds off of that better than Djokovic:

“He does it better than anyone I’ve ever seen. I didn’t do it as well. I felt like it affected me more than it helped me. I think there were times when it fuelled me, but he has done it consistently. He’s a remarkable player and person.”

McEnroe sympathises with Djokovic who has never earned the same respect and admiration as rivals Roger Federer or Nadal, despite matching them for success. It's something McEnroe struggles to explain:

“He’s been wanting to be respected at that same level, and that sort of fuels him but I think it’s unfair, personally. It’s just something that I can’t explain. I don’t know what it is, honestly."

He continued:

“He deserves to be – and he is – respected. It’s just that I’m sure it’s frustrating. I think at the end of the day they will like him more after he stopped playing which sort of ended up being the case with myself, I guess. But at the time, it’s frustrating. Some of it can be at times your own fault, but I think quite a bit of it isn’t. It’s just that these other guys are so amazing."