Novak Djokovic received a mixed reaction earlier this month, when he proposed a rule change for tennis that would change the way the game was played forever.
Largely, the response was a negative one, with many criticising him for trying to radically alter a fundamental aspect of the sport.
His fellow players, pundits and fans were all opinionated on such a hot topic.
However, perhaps the most passionate criticism has now arrived, with a former world number one not holding back in his assessment of such a divisive claim.
What radical change did Novak Djokovic propose for tennis?
The proposal in question was uttered by Novak Djokovic when speaking to Nick Knows Ball on social media.
Asked to give a tennis take or opinion that he would happily strongly defend, the Serbian stated: “We should change the format of the scoring.
If you were in charge of tennis, what is the first rule you would change?
“Not play up to six games a set, play it up to four, possibly no advantage, best-of-five sets. Keep the matches within a two-hour window.
“It’s best for everyone.”
To be fair to the 39-year-old, he knew what he was getting himself into, as the question explicitly referenced ‘no matter how much hate you’d get for it’.
Joao Fonseca disagreed with Djokovic’s proposal, and even suggested one reason why the Serbian would lobby for such a huge change.
However, even his jovial but provocative response was kinder than Yevgeny Kafelnikov’s.
Yevgeny Kafelnikov’s brutal assessment of Novak Djokovic’s proposed rule change
Speaking on the First&Red YouTube Channel, when asked for his view, the Russian, who held the world number one spot for six weeks in 1999, argued: “Everyone will be talking about it for the next two, three months. Novak Djokovic came up with this idea; maybe we should.
“It’s absurd! It’s nonsense that you can’t even imagine. If that happens, I will be completely disappointed with tennis.”
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This comes after Fonseca, who did play a version of this format in the ATP Next Gen Finals, theorised: “But I think he’s saying that because of his physique, you know. (Laughs). He’s getting older. Well, that’s what I can say.
“I mean, I don’t say bad things or good things, but I know it’s more about the classic tennis, the history of tennis and the tennis being 6 games during the sets; it’s important. I think it’s classic tennis. It’s the history of tennis. So, yeah. But I can’t complain because I had good results with it.”
