John McEnroe branded ‘disrespectful’ and ‘rude’ for comment he made about Novak Djokovic’s opponent at the US Open

The Serb looked to be closing in on a comeback win after taking sets two and three, but began to struggle physically in the humid New York conditions.

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Navone clinched his first top-ten win with the triumph and became the first player to beat Djokovic in the opening round of a major since 2006.

At the end of the match, tennis legend John McEnroe made a comment about the Argentine that was criticised by fans.

McEnroe said of Navone: “You’ll be playing your second round on Court 21. We wish you the best.”

In response, one user on X, formerly known as Twitter, said: “McEnroe was disrespectful to Navone from the beginning. In the first set he says how great of an opponent Navone is for Djokovic because he won’t challenge him at all. Dude is a tired act, Eubanks or Isner would be significantly better on the call moving forward.”

Another fan said: “McEnroe’s entire attitude towards Navone was despicable from the jump.”

This user stated: “Think everyone knows how bad a commentator McEnroe is. Not surprising how disrespectful he is.’

Another said: “As a huge Nole fan, this is totally disrespectful and uncalled for. Navone won fairly and deserves praise for his victory regardless of who his opponent was. Being a legend doesn’t mean others aren’t allowed to beat you. I’m sure Novak would hate this comment from McEnroe too.”

“Such a terrible comment from McEnroe,” said one fan about the seven-time major champion.

Novak Djokovic set to fall out of the top 10 in the ATP rankings

Djokovic’s defeat meant he is now set to fall out of the ATP top ten for the first time in eight years.

The last time Djokovic was outside the top ten was in 2018 when he underwent elbow surgery.

He was defending 800 ATP points at the US Open, having made the semifinals of the event last season, but after a first-round exit in 2026 he is now 11th in the live rankings.

As it stands, Cincinnati Open champion Arthur Fils has leapfrogged him and is due to make his top ten debut.

Djokovic has 650 points to defend from now until the end of the season.