Rafael Nadal returned to competitive action for the first time since January and the Spaniard is instantly back amongst the controversies. A gesture to show his disapproval against the booing of his opponent at the Barcelona Open has led to tennis fans debating Nadal’s inconsistencies about taking a stand for his opponents.

The incident that the majority of tennis fans were referring to was the controversial French Open clash between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in 2022. Throughout the match, Djokovic faced loud boos and abuse from the crowd, which was a surprise to everyone. However, Nadal did not intervene as the crowd continued with their hostile reception against the Serbian throughout the match.

Novak Djokovic got booed at the French Open against Rafael Nadal

Back at the French Open in 2022, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were set to clash in the quarterfinals. While Nadal is a beloved player in Paris, Djokovic has never received a lot of support at Roland Garros. Loud boos greeted the Serbian as he made his way onto the court for his quarter-final clash.

Djokovic was facing the wrath of the crowd throughout the match and the hostile atmosphere reached a boiling point after Djokovic smashed his racquet into the net during the fourth set. Loud cheers followed as Nadal ended up winning the match 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(4) as Djokovic was knocked out of the tournament.

Tennis legend John McEnroe was disappointed by the crowd’s reaction towards Novak Djokovic and shared his views on Eurosport during his interview in 2022. The former American star backed the Serbian and praised his mental ability on-court. He further added that Djokovic is used to facing adversity and the boos from the crowd won’t bother him, however, he slammed the crowd for their disrespectful behavior towards one of the greatest players of all time.

“No other player has had to deal with more adversity. It is unfair, I’ve got to say that. This guy has turned lemons into lemonade more often than any player in the history of tennis, and if you don’t think it bothers him, you’re nuts. He is so mentally tough that he can deal with this and somehow channel that anger and frustration over what he feels is a lack of respect – and I feel it is too,” McEnroe said.

While John McEnroe showed his displeasure about the incident, the fans were disappointed to see Rafael Nadal staying quiet on the matter. The Spaniard did not try to intervene with the crowd, which resulted in a backlash from a part of the tennis community.

Rafael Nadal shows his displeasure after Flavio Cobolli gets disrespected by a fan at the Barcelona Open

While Rafael Nadal failed to take a stand for Novak Djokovic at the 2022 French Open, that was not the case during his comeback match in Barcelona. The Spaniard defeated Flavio Cobolli in straight sets to ease his way into the second round of the competition, however, an incident off-court stole the attention during the final moments of the match.

Rafael Nadal was getting ready to serve for the match in the second set when a fan in the stands shouted “Arrivederci Flavio”, which means “Goodbye Flavio” in Italian. Nadal was visibly disappointed at this disrespectful behavior towards his opponent and shook his head in disgust. The Spaniard even apologized to Cobolli by gesturing towards the Italian before getting onto his service routine.

This gesture by Rafael Nadal was praised by a lot of fans online, but many people felt that the Spaniard was inconsistent while taking a stand for his opponents. While Nadal was quick to shut down the disrespect towards Cobolli, he failed to take a stand when Novak Djokovic was being treated harshly by the French Open crowd. This contrary gesture by Rafael Nadal has led to fans talking about his French Open clash with Novak Djokovic again.