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John McEnroe fires back at co-analyst for comments made during match
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Tennis great John McEnroe came to the defense of tennis star Jack Draper during the Brit's first-round match at Wimbledon, following comments made by Simon Reed, McEnroe's co-commentator during the BBC coverage of the match.

With the hopes of the entire nation on his shoulders, Draper kicked off his Wimbledon campaign with a first-round test against Sebastian Baez. The fourth-seeded Brit appeared ready for the challenge, taking the first two sets 6-2 6-2 before his Argentine opponent retired in the third set after being broken to give Draper a 2-1 lead.

McEnroe engages in friendly banter with co-commentator

The first set saw Draper dominate, using huge groundstrokes and impressive precision. The 23-year old raced to a 5-1 lead, and soon hit a thunderous forehand winner to move within inches of finishing the first set.

"It's 5-1, a double break and you get that type of opportunity," said Reed on commentary right after the point. "This is like practice. Proper practice."

However, McEnroe seemed to take offense to the statement.

"I don't think the All England Club will be too happy with you saying this first-round match on Court 1 is practice," responded the three time Wimbledon champion.

"You know what I mean," clarified Reed.

The two main courts, Centre Court and Court 1, are often the showcase courts which feature marquee matchups. Therefore, the Wimbledon organizers would not be too pleased if any match being played on either of those courts is diminished.

After reaching the semifinals at the Queen's Club Championships two weeks ago, Draper feels confident about his chances of going far on the grass courts of Wimbledon. Awaiting the Brit in the second round is former World No. 3 Marin Cilic, who finished runner-up at SW19 in 2017.

This article first appeared on TennisUpToDate.com and was syndicated with permission.

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