Piers Morgan has come out in support of John McEnroe, claiming that British youngster Emma Raducanu 'couldn’t handle the pressure' as she withdrew from Wimbledon on Monday night.
The hopes of the nation were resting on the shoulders of the 18-year-old, ranked 336th in the world, as she took on Australian opponent Ajla Tomljanović in the fourth round at SW19.
Wimbledon debutant Emma showed exactly why she'd earned her place on the court with some impressive play in the first set, which she narrowly lost 6-4 after Tomljanović broke her serve.
READ MORE: BBC viewers slam John McEnroe over Emma Raducanu comments
But then, with the score at 3-0 to the Aussie in the second set and after she looked to be struggling and required medical assistance, it was announced that Raducanu had withdrawn due to medical reasons, which has since been confirmed as 'breathing difficulties.'
Giving his take in the BBC commentary box, McEnroe said: "I feel bad for Emma.
"It appears it got a bit too much which is understandable, particularly what we’ve been talking about this last six weeks with (Naomi) Osaka.
"How much can players handle? It makes you look at the guys who have been around, and the girls, how well they can handle it."
His remarks immediately received a huge backlash online, with Twitter users saying they were "a disgrace," but Piers Morgan has now publicaly backed the US tennis legend.
Taking to Twitter himself on Tuesday morning, the former Good Morning Britain host posted: "McEnroe told the truth. Ms Raducunu's (sic) a talented player but couldn’t handle the pressure & quit when she was losing badly.
"Not ‘brave’, just a shame. If I were her, I’d tell my fans to stop abusing McEnroe, & seek his advice on how to toughen up & become a champion like he was."
Immediately jumping on the fact he'd spelt her name wrong, one follower replied: "Her name’s Raducanu, she’s 18 years old and she’s playing in Wimbledon. She didn’t quit because she was losing and McEnroe is no one to talk about playing under pressure. Stop gaslighting women."
In firm agreement, another told Piers: "Raducanu wasn’t ‘losing badly’. It was clear for all to see (those who watched the match) that the pain & breathing problems started in the first set when the score was 4-4. She asked for the medic & had to wait 3 games before being seen."
And, posting a clip of Piers' infamous walk off from GMB during a row with colleague Alex Beresford, a third wrote: "Someone who couldn’t handle pressure and couldn’t “ toughen up “
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