Wimbledon star who John McEnroe 'disrespected' at centre of controversial comments again

Wimbledon ace Holger Rune has been dubbed a 'brat' by fans after comments made in the wake of his first-round loss to Nicolas Jarry. This comes two years after John McEnroe came under fire for admitting he didn't know who Jarry was.

Eight-seed Rune was one of the headline-grabbing exits on day one of play at the All England Club, as he left SW19 frustrated after a five-set thriller against 6ft7in Chilean star Jarry. Rune took the first two sets but collapsed, losing the next three in light of a knee issue. After the defeat, the short-shorted Rune claimed he would normally beat his 29-year-old opponent 'nine times out of 10' and was berated on social media for such a bold remark.

Jarry is no stranger to being disregarded either, having experienced it before - namely by American icon McEnroe - after he faced Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in 2023.

On Monday, Rune stormed into a two-set lead, winning the first couple 6-4, 6-4, and came close to a straight-set victory, before opponent Jarry won the third 7-5. Jarry would then rattle off the next pair of sets 6-3, 6-4, to knock out the Dane, who would complain after the fact about a lingering knee issue.

The 29-year-old Chilean is no slouch on the ATP Tour. He is a former Latin American No.1, has reached a ranking high of 16th, and has won three ATP titles.

Yet, this didn't stop Rune from claiming he would consistently get the better of Jarry should they play again, as he stated: "In normal conditions, I'd beat him nine times out of 10, with all due respect to Nicolas Jarry. Obviously, I didn't have it easy today with my knee, but yes, it wasn't a great match."

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Fans on social media were quick to judge Rune for his arrogance, with one writing on X: "Another case of a player losing and then acting like a brat. Holger needs to work on being a more gracious loser." A second added: "Bro, this was Wimbledon, not a practice court. Give Jarry his flowers, he showed up when it mattered."

Such disregard for Jarry harkens back to two years ago, when fans were quick to pounce on BBC stalwart and three-time Wimbledon champion McEnroe for admitting he didn't know who Jarry was.

"We don't know Jarry, but we'll get to know him," admitted McEnroe on BBC commentary ahead of the Chilean's meeting with Alcaraz. Jarry put up a valiant fight against the eventual champion in SW19, taking the second set in a tiebreaker before falling three sets to one. McEnroe was later blasted for not doing his homework.

"It's amazing, it's disrespectful, and it shows McEnroe does not do his job. Anyone can go on YouTube and watch vids, learn Jarry's game, and come prepared to commentate," a fan angrily wrote on X.