How Australian Open players treat Novak Djokovic as 'attitude and ego' comment made

John McEnroe insists Novak Djokovic remains a revered figure in the tennis locker room as he prolongs his incredible career. The 38-year-old's quest for another Australian Open title continued with a straightforward win over qualifier Francesco Maestrelli in the second round.

The 10-time Melbourne champion has not found the early rounds at grand slams as easy as he used to over the last couple of years, but a 6-3 6-2 6-2 victory means he had dropped only 14 games in his opening two matches. He has never lost a match at a major to a player ranked as low as world number 141 Maestrelli, who was making his slam debut. Toppling the men's game's current top two, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, will be a tall order for the veteran.

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Regardless of whether he adds to his grand slam tally of 24, fellow icon McEnroe says he deserves all the plaudits he gets from his peers and supporters. Speaking on TNT Sports, the American said of Djokovic: "He was like Ivan Drago [from the Rocky films] with [Rafael] Nadal and [Roger] Federer, who were so popular, and then along comes Alcaraz and everyone loves him.

"He [Djokovic] is like, 'Where is my love? I deserve it'. And he does deserve it. He has been an unbelievable positive for our game and his record speaks for itself.

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"He has always been extremely intelligent and the other players love him. So strut yourself, Novak, and enjoy every minute of it."

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McEnroe's comments come after 31st seed Stefanos Tsitsipas lifted the lid on the "egos" that some players take on after enjoying modest success. Following his first-round win over Shintaro Mochizuki, the Greek star was asked if he'd ever had any awkward encounters with rivals in the locker room.

He said: "We don't have a lot of situations like that. I feel like everyone is cool with everyone. Obviously, there are players that it’s harder to get a 'hi' from.

"I was having a conversation with my fitness coach today and one thing I don’t understand about certain tennis players is how they develop a bit of an attitude and a bit of an ego once they make one or two good results.

"Their whole personality kind of changes. I wouldn't say arrogant. Perhaps some of them."

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Tsitsipas's interest in the tournament ended in the second round on Thursday as he lost in four sets to Czech player Tomas Machac.

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