Tennis
Gael Monfils responds to John McEnroe criticism that he was 'unprofessional' at U.S. Open
Tennis

Gael Monfils responds to John McEnroe criticism that he was 'unprofessional' at U.S. Open

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:00 p.m. ET

Gael Monfils said he was "very sad" to learn that former tennis champ-turned commentator John McEnroe called him "unprofessional" during his four-set semifinal loss against Novak Djokovic at the U.S. Open on Friday.

After Monfils was slow to start against Djokovic on a sweltering day at Flushing Meadows, McEnroe criticized the Frenchman for not giving his all during the semifinal match — at one point calling him "unprofessional" and his play "one of the greatest lack-of-effort matches in the semifinal of a major that I've ever seen."

The Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd appeared to pick up on Monfils' listlessness, even jeering at times. But the 30-year-old Parisian defended that he was just trying to change up his strategy against a fast-coming Djokovic.

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"When you change, you change with what you got," Monfils said. "What I got is my speed. I got a little bit of my instinct and flair."

But any question as to whether or not Monfils came to play was met with a colorful retort.  "Yes, I'm [expletive] competing," he said.

McEnroe's comments, however, made Monfils "very sad to learn that such a legend [would] criticize me."

"At the end what I can say to John is, `You know, John, I want to be the best. It's tough, you know,'" Monfils said. "'And I try my best.'"

 

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