When the tennis is this fine, so should be the commentary, shouldn’t it? It’s center court. There’s Roger Federer in the stands in the classiest blue suit. In front of him on the court are Novak Djokovic and Alex de Minaur, who gave us an amazing spectacle of a match. But not everything was perfect. It’s the fans in front of the television who are having a John McEnroe problem.
As good as the American was on the grass, his commentary at times has been a letdown. And the Day 8 commentary has got some fans talking, one of them particularly about his pronunciation of Novak Djokovic’s name. “Why does John McEnroe keep calling him “Joke a Vitch?” Irritating as hell!!” was the tweet from one fan.
Why does John McEnroe keep calling him “Joke a Vitch?”
Irritating as hell!!
— Tim Madigan (@TimMadigan9) July 7, 2025
Another fan chimed in with his similar McEnroe issue: “There’s nothing worse than having John McEnroe commentating on a Djokovic match.” Is it only because of the weird pronunciation, or does the harsh criticism have something to do with it? We can’t speculate. The articulation problem isn’t new. Remember how awkwardly he has pronounced “Alexander Zverev”?
What we know from Wimbledon Day 8 is that the fans aren’t having it anymore. One of them went, “When is tennis media going to move on from John McEnroe… he’s one of the worst commentators out there, never has anything interesting to add, just talks a bunch of shit in his unbearable accent.” One of them compromised and suggested, “I see John McEnroe is at it again. If ESPN won’t retire him, can we at least compromise and keep him off broadcasts until the semifinals where he’ll actually know the players?”
Maybe they were talking about McEnroe commentating on the Marin Cilic vs. Fabio Cobolli match. The winner was the lesser-known Italian, but what the viewers also noticed was how the 66-year-old commentator kept pronouncing Cobolli’s name wrong. And it made one fan just lose it. “Giving John McEnroe a microphone was the worst thing Wimbledon have ever done,” tweeted one frustrated fan.
With the 2025 Wimbledon entering the main stages, we know the display on the court will be top-notch. Hopefully, the commentary will also keep up.
The story is developing…
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