"It's a joke"- Kim Clijsters and Alex Corretja slam journalist for 'special treatment' question to Rafael Nadal

Kim Clijsters and Alex Corretja backed Rafael Nadal after a journalist asked him if he was given any sort of special treatment by umpires.

The Spaniard is known to take a little more time to serve compared to other players. John McEnroe opined earlier this year that Nadal got away with exceeding the time on the shot-clock because of his reputation and seemed to reiterate his stand during the 36-year-old's match against Rinky Hijikata.

In his post-match press conference, Rafael Nadal was asked about McEnroe's comments and the Spaniard responded by saying that he doesn't feel he gets any special treatment from umpires.

Speaking on Eurosport, Kim Clijsters and Alex Corretja both sided with the King of Clay with Clijsters repeating what Nadal said after getting posed with the question.

“It’s a joke," Clijsters said.

Corretja said that he would love to be Rafael Nadal for a minute of his life.

“The thing is, I'd love to be Rafa Nadal for a minute of my life - those passing shots at the end of the match. Secondly, it was a great set up for him, and about this [towel incident], even Rafa was listening to the journalist like, ‘Are you serious? You’re telling me this?’" Corretja said.

The former World No. 2 also slammed the journalist for citing John McEnroe's statements while addressing his question.

“What I hate is when [journalists] come to you and they say ‘someone said that they said…’ Be straight. This is poor. You’ve got to be straight if you make a statement - ‘I heard from John McEnroe..’ I don’t like that. For sure Rafa is playing with the rules, but umpires have the clock so that’s it," Corretja added.

Rafael Nadal will face Fabio Fognini in 2R of US Open

Rafael Nadal will be up against Fabio Fognini in the second round of the US Open

After defeating Rinky Hijikata in four sets, Nadal will face Fabio Fognini in the second round of the US Open. It will be his 18th match against the Italian and their second in Flushing Meadows.

The duo last locked horns at the 2015 US Open and Fognini won the encounter in five sets. This time around, however, Nadal will be the favorite entering the match. The Spaniard registered a crucial win in the opening round and will look to produce another solid performance against the Italian, who has dropped out of the top-50 and has seen a dip in form.

Whoever comes out on top will be up against either Miomir Kecmanovic or Richard Gasquet in the third round of the US Open.