John McEnroe raised viewers' eyebrows when he sensationally predicted that Novak Djokovic could retire on the spot after his woeful start to the fourth-round tie against Alex de Minaur.
The Serb endured a torrid time during his first set, losing the opener 6-1 to the Australian after just half an hour.
The set saw the seven-time Wimbledon champion produce four double faults, to de Minaur’s none, and a whopping 16 unforced errors, more than triple that of his counterpart.
After the set swiftly concluded, McEnroe had stern words for the 38-year-old, believing he would be “disgusted” with himself.
Novak Djokovic endured a torrid start to his fourth round match
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Speaking on the BBC, McEnroe boldly claimed: “I can’t remember when I’ve seen him play a worse set than this, it has literally been years.
“He’s absolutely disgusted with himself.”
“He [de Minaur] didn’t have to do anything he didn’t want to; he served at 40 per cent. He made more errors than winners.
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Alex de Minaur took a shock 6-1 lead to take the first set
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“I don’t think that this is going to happen, that he continues to play this badly, but if he did for two more sets, he would quit on the spot!
“This is incredible to see him playing like this, but this is why they’re best of five [sets].”
McEnroe also pointed to the crowd being “stunned” at what they had seen so far, and that the Serb was looking “human”, which is unlike him.
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Djokovic did respond to his first set horror by breaking de Minaur immediately, however was broken back straight away by the Australian after a breathtaking nine deuces.
This did, of course, little to overshadow the Serb’s slow start in which he won just one game in the opening set.
Fans had suggested that, while Djokovic’s start was uncharacteristically poor, his body language and effort were also lacking, providing even more of a shock.
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Novak Djokovic now has a mountain to climb against Alex de Minaur
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However, supporters also noted that the Serb may have given up for the opening set, being already four games behind the Australian.
Djokovic is searching for his record-breaking 25th Grand Slam and looking to equal Roger Federer’s eight Wimbledon titles.
Additionally, the world No6 is looking to become the oldest player to win a Grand Slam title, with Ken Rosewall currently topping the list at 37.
Up until Monday afternoon’s game, Djokovic has oozed class at the All England Club, breezing past Miomir Kecmanovic, Dan Evans and Alexandre Muller.
26-year-old de Minaur is proving a much sterner test for the 24-time Grand Slam winner, who will need to seriously up his game for the remainder of the match if he is to progress.
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