Novak Djokovic continues to attract criticism, gets slammed by World No. 195 Krueger

Controversies do not seem likely to leave Novak Djokovic's side any time soon.

The past three months have seen the World No. 1's popularity soar and drop with every step he has taken. From the groundswell of appreciation for his efforts to help his peers as well as general population during the pandemic, to the merciless backlash over his anti-vaccination comments, the Serb has seen it all lately.

The most recent criticism of Novak Djokovic has come from the lower-ranked players, the staunchest of them being Noah Rubin and now World No. 195 Mitchell Krueger.

Novak Djokovic has been going back and forth on his opinion over the issue of conducting the US Open this year. The World No. 1 had initially expressed concerns over the extreme precautions taken by the organization, including limiting the player entourage to one person per player. But Djokovic now seems to have gone back on his statement, expressing satisfaction at the US Open going ahead.

Novak Djokovic's U-turn on his erstwhile US Open concerns has been slammed by Mitchell Krueger, who took to Twitter to rip into the Player Council President for ignoring his responsibilities.

The president of our so-called players council ladies and gentlemen!!! https://t.co/r20H5dcKKw

— Mitchell Krueger (@mitch_krueger) June 18, 2020

Krueger shared the Eurosport story where Djokovic mentions that he is 'very glad' about the US Open going ahead, and made a sarcastic remark that left no one in doubt what he feels about the World No. 1's actions.

Are Novak Djokovic's Adria Tour obligations coming in the way of his Council responsibilities?

Novak Djokovic was playing football with his Adria Tour mates during the Player Council meeting

It was reported earlier that the ATP Players Council would have a meeting over the internet to decide on the feasibility of playing the US Open. Novak Djokovic, who is the President of the Players Council and by far its most influential voice, had skipped the initial meeting that was attended by over 300 other players.

It was later revealed that the Serb was busy with his Adria Tour obligations, playing football with the other participants of his exhibition event when the meeting took place.

Djokovic's absence unsurprisingly drew widespread criticism from the players, and the Council President was slammed by American Noah Rubin for prioritizing fun and games over the meeting. And now Krueger has hinted that Djokovic is only looking out for his own interests while ignoring those of the others.

Krueger suggested there was a drastic change in Novak Djokovic's opinion on the US Open going ahead after the USTA decided to cater to his demands and allow three people to accompany every player. There might be some truth in Krueger's accusations, given that Djokovic's primary concern about the US Open was indeed its restriction on the size of the player entourages.

3 guests per player allowed at us open this year. We were told on last week’s zoom call that extra guests would come at the expense of draw sizes. And you honestly thought catering to the top didn’t exist? 🤔

— Mitchell Krueger (@mitch_krueger) June 17, 2020

Michael Krueger rebuffs John Isner's claims too

Krueger has slammed Djokovic and Isner for not representing the lower ranked players enough

The World No. 195 also called out fellow American and World No. 25 John Isner - who has been very vocal about ending the 'madness' of the lockdown - for misappropriating his own opinion as that of the majority of the tour. Isner said he was "thrilled" at the USTA's decision of going ahead with the Slam and had suggested that most players were happy with this development, but Krueger tweeted out a reality check.

I can find you about 140+ players that are most certainly not “thrilled” with this development https://t.co/YfQqnEEHlX

— Mitchell Krueger (@mitch_krueger) June 16, 2020

Krueger was referring to the 140+ players who would be aggrieved by the USTA's decision of not holding the qualifier rounds for this year's tournament. The decision robs the lower-ranked players - including Krueger himself - of the opportunity to compete, which is in direct contravention of the tournament's stated aim to "provide employment to most players".