- The 2023 Wimbledon men’s singles final between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz had its fair share of controversy
- Alcaraz thwarted Djokovic’s run for an eighth Wimbledon championship
- He stunned the tennis world with his epic backhand
The 2023 Wimbledon men’s singles final between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz had its fair share of controversy.
Alcaraz thwarted Djokovic’s run for an eighth Wimbledon championship and his 24th Grand Slam. The 20-year-old Spaniard to 1-6 7-6(6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 victory in Sunday’s finals.
He stunned the tennis world with his epic backhand that evidently overwhelmed the Serbian. This pushed Alcaraz to new heights as the second youngest tennis player to win the Wimbledon at 20. Nevertheless, the final match was one of a kind and not one without controversy from Djokovic.
WHAT DID NOVAK DJOKOVIC DO AT WIMBLEDON?
Like many other tennis players in the past, anger and frustration got the better of Djokovic and he smashed his racket on the net post. He was a few metres from the chair umpire and this caused a stir.
In the Wimbledon final loss to Alcaraz, Djokovic had a temper tantrum on Centre Court during which he shattered his racket into pieces and he refused to apologize for the incident. The frustration stemmed from frustration stemming from expectations that he could beat the Spaniard after a stunning first set.
Novak Djokovic smashes his racket at Wimbledon. Photo/Sporting Life
Djokovic quickly won the first set against an evidently uneasy Alcaraz and this gave an impression of another victory. However, it was too early to call it a win as the 20-year-old quickly found his rhythm in the second set as the game quickly became a classic. The Centre Court crowd was enthralled by the action on the court and this worked in Alcara’s favour.
Alcaraz was the undisputed crowd favourite, and Djokovic occasionally had to maintain composure as his fans turned against him. He received a warning for a time violation earlier from Umpire Fergus Murphy for exceeding the service clock. Djokovic took his sweet time to serve and it got onto the nerves of the crowd at the Centre Court but Alcaraz remained composed.
His most dramatic reaction came after Alcaraz broke him in the fifth set and his controversy was well on course Djokovic responded by smashing his racket against the net post out of pure wrath and he failed to turn things around.
WHY DIDN’T NOVAK DJOKOVIC APOLOGISE OVER WIMBLEDON CONTROVERSY?
Despite sparking controversy with his outburst, Djokovic saw no need to apologise over the incident but said that it was a frustrating moment. He admitted that Alcaraz played well and managed to break his serves which handed him victory.
“He played amazing to break my serve, which was enough to win the fifth. The first one was the time violation, so yeah. Not a great moment again, but you just kind of have to accept it,” said Djokovic post-Wimbledon final.
WHICH TENNIS PLAYER SMASHED THEIR RACKETS?
Djokovic isn’t the first tennis player to smash his racket after a defeat which is the most common controversy in this sport. Australian star Nick Kyrgios is well known for his theatrics on the court, and he has broken his rackets multiple times. His fiercest fit of anger was at the US Open quarterfinals in 2022 where he broke two rackets after a gallant loss.
Nick Kyrgios. Photo/Eurosport
Further, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev also have a record of shattering their rackets out of rage. Tsitsipas has a reputation for having a ferocious temper and has broken his racket severally when things failed to go his way. The Greek player crashed his racquet against the chair right next to his dad after losing a match to Kyrgios at the ATP Cup in 2020.
He also broke his racket during a 2021 Toronto ATP Tour match against Reilly Opelka in yet another fit of rage. Medvedev also has a reputation for having a bad temper and has shattered his racket a few times including the 2021 Australian Open final where he lost to Djokovic.
Fernando Gonzalez, a retired tennis player also had his moment with rage. He broke his racket into pieces in 2009 after losing to Roger Federer at the Indian Wells Masters. Further, former world No. 8 Baghdatis also had an explosive temper and his worst outburst was after a match with Stan Wawrinka at the Australian Open in 2010. Baghdatis lost and he took it all out on Wawrinka.
Conclusion
Novak Djokovic has a reputation for being emotionally intelligent but tennis has its way of breaking the most mentally astute players.
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