McEnroe brings up an undressed Nadal, again

Even decades after his retirement, John McEnroe is still really good at stirring up headlines, and he's done it again—this time for his Australian Open on-court interviews for Channel 9. He chatted with Rafael Nadal for eight long minutes after the world No. 2 dismantled Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinal, 6-2, 6-4, 6-0.

The questions covered a lot of ground, focusing on Nadal's impeccable form—he hasn't lost a set all week—and his systematic dismissal of the youth generation (Frances Tiafoe, Alex de Minaur and Tsitsipas).

McEnroe wouldn't be McEnroe without asking something unique. He first tackled Nadal's sleeveless look. The 31-year-old had a practical reason (the sleeves get in his way) and a nostalgic one: It makes him feel young again.

Despite it being 2019 and everyone's radar for sensitivity going through the roof, asking players about their distinct fashion choices should still be OK, as long as no one is twirling.

McEnroe then launched into story about going into the locker room during a changeover—perhaps a story he should have saved for a more private conversation.

"I’m going to make some people jealous here. I’ve got to be honest, at the end of the second set I had to take a quick bathroom break," McEnroe said. "I was finishing taking this very quick bathroom break when all of a sudden I started to walk out and I saw a naked Rafael Nadal in the bathroom."

Nadal took the unexpected conversation turn in stride, asking, "What was your impression?"

"I thought to myself, that looks a lot like my body," McEnroe said. "No. Absolutely lying about that. I said to myself, I wish I had a body like that."

It isn't the first time this fortnight that McEnroe has brought up an undressed Nadal. After Nadal took out Tiafoe, McEnroe asked him if he ever gets tempted to tear his shirt off when he wins "with the body [he's] got"?

McEnroe is clearly going for laughs and wants to make standard post-match interviews more interesting, but not all of the fans inside Rod Laver Arena and around the world are playing along.

It goes almost without saying that questions like McEnroe's directed toward a female player would cause global outrage. In any case, Nadal doesn't seem too bothered about the whole thing.

"Why were you naked in front of John McEnroe? What were the circumstances there?" a reporter asked in press.

"Because I was on the toilet changing my clothes. Was very warm out there. That's all," the 17-time Grand Slam champion said. "I heard that somebody was there, but I don't have one hour to wait him to go out. I had to change. That's all."

Nadal is into his fifth career Australian Open final, having won the crown just once 10 years ago. He awaits the winner of Novak Djokovic and Lucas Pouille.

Kick off each day of the 2019 Australian Open with Tennis Channel Live, reviewing the day’s most important news and previewing the day’s biggest matches.

Follow the Australian Open all week long on Tennis Channel and TENNIS.com