Wimbledon 2023 will undoubtedly go down in history naked by the victory of Carlos Alcaraz over Novak Djokovic in an electrifying final. The match which impressed spectators with an amazing display of talent and skills, saw Djokovic involved in moments where he lost control.
One such moment was Djokovic who in an outburst of frustration, smashed his racket against the net post, which prompted a warning from the umpire Fergus Murphy. Subsequently, a decision was reached to penalize Djokovic for ‘racket abuse’, imposing an $8000 fine, making a record for the year 2023.
Reflecting on the incident, Djokovic admitted that:
“There’s not much to talk about that. Second one was frustration….Not a great moment, but you just kind of have to accept it.”
Despite the setback, Djokovic earned praise from both the audience and his opponent, Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard who won his second Grand Slam title said:
“I have to congratulate Novak; it was amazing to play against him. You inspire me a lot. I started playing tennis and watching you. Since I was born, you were already winning tournaments. You said 36 is the new 26 and you make that happen. It is amazing.”
Carlos Alcaraz’s achievement made him the youngest Wimbledon Open champion. Djokovic whose fine was deducted from his runners-up prize money, still received a whopping amount of $2.26 million. The defeat denied Djokovic his 24th Grand Slam and his 8th Wimbledon.
Novak Djokovic’s unintended acts lead to dramatic exit at the 2020 US Open
Novak Djokovic made headlines after his disqualification from the 2020 US Open in an unusual manner during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta.
While trailing in the fifth set at 5-6, Djokovic, frustrated by his performance, unintentionally struck a ball that hit a line judge in the throat. This led to a default to the 24-time Grand Slam champion.
Tournament referee Soeren Friemel in consultation with the Grand Slam chief of Supervisors declared the default, emphasizing the importance of being certain about the incident.
Despite Djokovic’s clarification of his unintentional hit, the decision was based on the fact that the line judge was clearly injured. The United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced severe consequences for Djokovic, including the loss of all ranking points earned during the tournament and a fine of USD $250,000, which he would have received for reaching the pre-quarters.
