Nadal stunned by McEnroe: 'Don't understand why John can say that'

The seemingly ever-angry John McEnroe and Spaniard Rafael Nadal have found themselves embroiled in a war of words after McEnroe seemed to imply Nadal was given preferential treatment.

McEnroe implied Nadal received lenient treatment from match officials regarding the time taken between shots, per The Daily Express, something usually closely monitored by tennis umpires.

Nadal responded to McEnroe’s comments, saying, “I think it's a joke,” a response that will surely only endear himself to the ever-fiery McEnroe.

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The 22-time Grand Slam winner continued, “I went through a lot of warnings through my tennis career and never for breaking a racket or for doing a mess on court. But yes I have for the time clock,” per The Daily Express US, in what seems to be a direct shot at McEnroe’s infamous on-court behavior.

Nadal also noted he, and other players who sweat a lot, struggle with the short break between points, often not using a towel to wipe themselves down as they are worried about receiving a warning.

Nadal’s comments ended, “I don't think I'm receiving different treatment at all. I don't understand why John can say that on the TV but I am going to have a chat with him later,” with the Spaniard seemingly feeling disrespected by McEnroe’s comments.

For his part, McEnroe feels like he has been entirely misrepresented in this ordeal, telling reporters, “Why did they throw me under the bus?” in reference to the journalist who told Nadal about his comments.

From his perspective, McEnroe believes the whole issue has been a big misunderstanding, saying, “let me just add that he didn't let me finish, whoever that dumb journalist was.” That miscommunication has now seemingly damaged his relationship with Nadal.

McEnroe continued by suggesting the timing rule is “BS” anyway as there is no firm understanding of when the timer starts between points but now, “Nadal thinks I [McEnroe] said that his legacy has been stained because he takes too much time. Jiminy Cricket.”

Hopefully, McEnroe and Nadal can meet and clear the air, as any animosity has seemingly been caused by a miscommunication rather than an accusation of deliberate malpractice by Nadal. It wouldn’t help the game of tennis to have two of the greatest men to ever play the game at each other’s throats over something so trivial!

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