How much of an opinion can you get away with until it goes too far? Perhaps ask John McEnroe, who has had quite some experience with ruffling feathers in recent times. In a conversation in early-June with ESPN, the seven-time Grand Slam winner-turned-analyst had opined, “I’m saying Sinner and Alcaraz against Nadal on clay — you would make a serious argument with both guys that they would be favored to beat Nadal, at his best,” despite the retired legend staggering 96.9% win rate (484-51) on clay, as opposed to Alcaraz’s 84.4% (103-19). And just when you had barely forgotten about that viewpoint, James Blake was here with more.

Though his opinion has more to do with Novak Djokovic’s battle against himself. While calling the Serbian star’s second-round match vs US’ Zachary Svajda (which Djokovic eventually won 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-3 6-1) at the Flushing Meadows, the ESPN commentator noted, “Novak of today beats Novak of 10 years ago.” Now, this is eyebrow-raising for a number of reasons.

For starters, 2015 Novak, many will agree, was a beast. That year, the veteran had won three of the four Grand Slam titles—he won the Australian Open over Andy Murray (7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-0), defeated Roger Federer to win his second-straight Wimbledon (7-6 (7-1), 6-7 (10-12), 6-4, 6-3), and the US Open (6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4). Djokovic’s only Grand Slam final loss came at the hands of Stan Wawrinka (6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 4-6) at the French Open. What’s more? The Serb held an incredible 15-4 record against the Big Four, including a 5-3 record against Federer, 4-0 vs Nadal, and 6-1 vs Murray, while finishing the season with a 16-4 record against the Top-5 players back then.

He also added eight Masters 1000 wins that year, finishing the season with an incredible 82-6 record. All of this while maintaining a game dominance ratio of 3.27, and winning over 84% of all sets. His 2025 season so far? Pales in comparison. The player is yet to find a Grand Slam win, having lost the Australian Open semifinal to Alexander Zverev, after retiring with an upper left leg muscle tear. At Roland Garros and Wimbledon, he lost to Jannik Sinner, both times during the semifinal. In fact, the only win the Olympic gold medalist clinched was at the 2025 Geneva Open. So, expectedly, fans collectively lost their minds at the comparison.

A Reddit user posted a screenshot from Olly Tennis‘ tweet from August 26 that read, “🤔 WILD take on ESPN right now 👇 🇺🇸🇷🇸 James Blake says that 2025 Novak Djokovic would beat 2015 Novak Djokovic The year where he won 3 Majors and EIGHT Masters 1000s…” And soon enough, the post was filled with opinions, not a single one of which supported Blake’s take…

Fans slam James Blake for Novak Djokovic comparisons

“Easily the worst take we’ve ever seen; it still would’ve been bad if he said it for 2023 Novak but I would’ve understood it atleast,” read a comment.

Further, another fan pointed out Djokovic’s massive dip in form since he won the gold medal at the Paris Olympic games. “Lol you can literally see how much Novak’s movement and speed have regressed since the Olympics even, he’d lose in straight sets,” the fan wrote, as he felt that the Serb was clearly past his peak. Meanwhile, another fan had a suggestion for Blake if he wanted to have such a comparison. Remembering the year when Djokovic first played a Grand Slam, a fan said, “Maybe 2005 Djokovic, but def not 2015…” Indeed, it could have been a like-for-like comparison going by the displays that Djokovic has had on the court.

On the other hand, one of the fans pointed out that Djokovic was in his prime during that period. Recalling the year 2011 when Djokovic won all the majors except the French Open, a fan wrote, “2011 was highest peak of tennis displayed ever from anyone in Novak. Around same time for football and maybe some other sports too.”  Lastly, one fan got angry and had enough of Blake’s shocking comparisons. “He says dumb stuff all the time,” they wrote.

And then there was one Redditor who calmly stated, “Blake has an impressive/awkward collection of recency and nostalgia bias takes recently”, as another comment read, “What an unhinged take. 😂”. 

One tennis fan even went onto explain what Blake might have meant, writing, “It’s hyperbole, but all Blake was really saying is that Djokovic’ game is broader now and that he is not reliant on pure athleticism.  This is a common take people make about older athletes. People have said similar things about late 90’s Jordan for example (and people like Rasheed Wallace even said it about Wizards Jordan). They just mean the player has mastered all the nuances of the game, and that could potentially make them better than when they had their youth to rely on. I don’t really agree with the take, but it’s intended to be viewed through that POV.”

Looks like James Blake might have to rethink his stance soon.