"He should be penalized" - John McEnroe lashes out over Nadal shot-clock antics

John McEnroe has expressed his outrage after Rafael Nadal went unpunished for apparently exceeding the 25-second time limit between shots, describing it as “a joke”.

Nadal has always been slow in between points and at this year’s Australian Open he was criticized by Denis Shapovalov over his poor time-keeping with the Canadian also lashing out at the officials, saying the Spaniard receives preferential treatment.

“I’ve been ready to play for a minute and a half and he tells me he’s not going to give him a code violation because I’m not ready to play. To me, it’s a big joke,” Shapovalov fumed.

The 21-time Grand Slam winner’s time-keeping was again under the spotlight during his Roland Garros quarterfinal match against Novak Djokovic on Tuesday.

Seven-time Grand Slam winner-turned commentator McEnroe was unimpressed.

“He should be penalized,” he said during his Eurosport commentary stint. “If you are going to do it, do it, otherwise don’t bother. It is like humoring everyone.

“It’s a joke! He takes a look at the clock again… one. He’s edging it, isn’t he? Shouldn’t they have it at 15 seconds on the second serve? 10? Something? “Or don’t bother. It’s like, you can take as much time as you want on the second serve. How long is this game? 12 minutes? Jeez.”

Nadal will face Casper Ruud for the French Open title on Sunday, with the Spaniard hoping to capture a record 22nd Grand Slam singles title.