It seems that customs confiscated Novak Djokovic’s chill. During the Australian Open, the tennis star flipped out after a nasty shot and fully demolished his racket in a match of rage!
Novak Djokovic was sorting a inexperienced shirt throughout his Australian Open quarterfinal match with Alexander Zverev on Tuesday (Feb. 16), and very like The Incredible Hulk, Novak, 33, unleashed a damaging fury after a shot didn’t go his method. After failing to take a break level within the fifth game of the third set, Novak shouted in frustration earlier than bashing his racket into the court docket’s flooring. After his tantrum, which required a clean-up afterward, Novak walked off the court docket, tossed the busted racket down, and picked up a substitute. He finally went on to defeat Zverev – 6(6)-7(8), 6-2, 6-4, 7(8)-6(8) – and safe a spot within the semifinal, dealing with Aslan Karatsev.
Every angle of Novak Djokovic fully destroying his racquet which left the court docket broken. 🔥🔥🔥
WATCH: @Channel9
STREAM: https://t.co/7uAf53PWTv #9WWOS #AusOpen #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/hn5irHYwS0— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) February 16, 2021
“It was a relief for me, but I wouldn’t recommend this kind of relief channeling if you want to call it,” Novak mentioned after the victory, per Yahoo! Sports. “Of course, I’m not proud of these kind of moments. You go through a lot of different emotions. You go through a lot of inner battles, and everyone is different. I have my own demons that I have to fight with.”
The commentators chalked up Novak’s frustration to a litany of components, together with the belly damage he sustained throughout his third-round win towards Taylor Fritz. Novak – who, For The Win factors out, has a historical past of taking his frustration out on the court docket — struggled in his four-set victory in Milos Raonic within the fourth spherical and actually needed to pull it collectively to place away Zverev within the quarterfinal. “Down to the very last shot, it was anybody’s match,” mentioned Djokovic, after the win. “A lot of nerves out there, a lot of pressure. Emotionally I feel a little bit drained. It was a great battle. We pushed each other to the limit.”
“The positive thing is that I actually felt the best today from the beginning of the second set until the end of the match that I have since the third round against Fritz when the injury happened,” he mentioned, per Yahoo! Sports. “It means that this is going in the right direction, and fingers crossed that in two days, it will stay the same.” Novak is chasing a report ninth Australian Open win, having gained the match in 2019 and 2020.
Novak’s tantrum invoked reminiscences of Serena Williams’ frustrations in the course of the 2018 U.S. Open. The girl that many claims is the Greatest Athlete of All Time smashed her rachet following a loss within the fifth game of the second set. This show got here after she sparred with an umpire after the official claimed he witnessed teaching from her coach – a code violation, per ABC News – in the course of the second game of the second set. Serena finally misplaced the match – and the U.S. Open – to Naomi Osaka. Serena confronted a public backlash to her racket smashing, a backlash that has but to return for Novak.
The 2018 U.S. Open loss continued Serena’s dry spell in terms of Grand Slam titles, her final being the 2017 Australian Open. She’s presently chasing Grand Slam #24, which might tie her with record-holder Margaret Court. Her subsequent probability will come on Wednesday (Feb. 17.) After defeating the worldwide No. 2 Simona Halep in back-to-back units, Serena will head to the Semifinals to face…Naomi Osaka.
