John McEnroe reveals what Novak Djokovic's greatest strength is

Novak Djokovic is arguably the greatest tennis player ever. John McEnroe was a pretty decent player too. And if the saying that it takes one to know one is true, then we should probably listen when John McEnroe mentions why he thinks Novak Djokovic is so good.

Ahead of the Australian Open, which begins on Sunday, January 14, John McEnroe was part of a pre-tournament press conference for ESPN and, of course, there were several questions about Djokovic. To be noted, no one seems to know how bad Djokovic's recent wrist injury is, but he was practicing this week so hopefully he will be fine. The Serb has overcome injuries before to win titles.

But one answer McEnroe did know the answer to was exactly what makes Djokovic so good when the audience is not in his favor. Djokovic is a 10-time winner at the Australian Open, but he was also kept out of the 2022 Aussie Open due to his vaccination status. )Djokovic holds the record on the men's side for most Aussie Opens won.)

John McEnroe knows what makes Novak Djokovic tick

The question posed to McEnroe in the press conference about Djokovic was, in part, "Djokovic is so great at playing when the crowd is against him...why is he so good (at) that?" Of course, McEnroe should know a thing or five about playing with the crowd against him. He had a temper that could turn off most crowds, and many times McEnroe seemingly did that on purpose.

Djokovic, however, seems preternaturally disliked by some fans. No matter what the Serb does or how well he does it, many fans simply won't care for him. Maybe they prefer Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic, but it does seem like a shame some fans cannot like more than one or two players.

McEnroe believes that Djokovic uses the crowd's dislike in his favor many times, however. McEnroe said Djokovic is "able to use that as fuel...That is the greatest quality he’s got without a doubt...Novak is the best by far of having the crowd against him and turning it around."

Djokovic will be trying to break his own record number of Grand Slams won in Melbourne. He currently has 24, two more than Rafael Nadal and four more than Roger Federer. Novak Djokovic has not lost an Australian Open he has appeared in since 2018.

Read more from Lob and Smash