John McEnroe and Boris Becker disagree on Novak Djokovic as Serb branded ‘irritable’ | Tennis | Sport

John McEnroe and Boris Becker delivered opposing verdicts on Novak Djokovic following his victory over Italian qualifier Francesco Maestrell at the Australian Open. The veteran Serb cruised to victory in straight sets, making his superiority count to secure a comfortable 6-3 6-2 6-2 triumph. The gulf in class between the two players was clear to see as Djokovic continued his impressive start at Melbourne Park.

“I’ve watched him probably play about a thousand times, so that would be on the lower echelon of impressed, but I don’t think it mattered,” the American told TNT Sports.

“He did what he had to do and he’s done that a couple hundred times. He’s fine. He looked a little irritable for some reason. I’m not quite sure why, because it was never close.

“He looked amazing for 38, I’ll tell you that. Winning early is the most important factor. We say that now but remember the US Open, he did exactly that, and then he had two days off before he played the semis, and he looked spent.”

Becker, meanwhile, was more upbeat about Djokovic’s chances as he insisted things were going far more smoothly than McEnroe suggested.

“Everything is going perfectly for him,” said Becker. “His problem at previous Grand Slams was always that he was already physically exhausted before the semi-finals.

“That doesn’t seem to be the case at the moment. He is obviously very relaxed after his victory in the second round.”

In his post-match interview, Djokovic said: “I’m glad it’s coming along. In the first couple of matches, you’re always kind of testing yourself, your body, seeing how you feel.

“I haven’t played an official match for, well, over two months, actually. I was really looking forward to kickstarting the competitive play and I think I’ve done well.

“Obviously, it’s a completely different tournament, playing at night and during the day. I mean, it’s always windy in Melbourne, but this year is out of control, honestly.

“It’s just a different opponent, obviously. It took me a little bit of time to kind of get used to the pace, but overall, it was a solid performance.”