Novak Djokovic’s “disgusting” meltdown
Novak Djokovic has been unceremoniously called out by fans and Australian Open viewers after throwing an ugly tantrum that resulted in a destroyed racquet and a code violation.
The world no. 1 has battled his way into the semi-finals, but not without smashing his racquet into pieces – forcing a ball girl to sweep debris off the court.
Djokovic dealt with a gruelling slugfest for almost four hours, against German Alexander Zverev, but did go on to win their quarter-final 6-7 (8-6) 6-2 6-4 7-6 (8-6) on Tuesday night.
#WATCH: Novak Djokovic took his frustrations out on his racquet, leading to a code violation. The World No.1's outburst was so explosive that a ballgirl was forced to pick up the debris minutes afterwards with a dustpan. #9Today pic.twitter.com/ChRYdFWKwO
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) February 16, 2021
It was during his third that he was set off and obliterated his racquet. The spark of frustration seemed to kickstart him to comeback in the set however, after falling behind 4-1 in the third.
"It was a relief for me, but I wouldn't recommend this kind of relief channelling," Djokovic said.
"I'm not proud of these kind of moments....I have my own demons that I have to fight with, and I'm sure everybody else has them too."
Djokovic is currently recovering from an abdominal strain, saying he has “never experienced this kind of injury during a grand slam and (been able to) keep going.”
"The positive thing is that I actually felt the best from the beginning of the second set until the end of the match that I have since when the injury happened.”
Fans were less than impressed with Djokovic's outburst, and took to Twitter to share their frustrations.
“Djokovic cannot behave himself. After all his success he is still a jerk and if he's injured well all players deal with injuries,” one user wrote.
Another said: “Players smashing their racquet in frustration in tennis is rubbish. Tell them they have to keep using it.”
Some defended the abrasive move though, with one person writing: “Handling emotions is tough. Not saying that it is acceptable, but it is a normal human behavior when someone is ultra competitive.”
A second person went on to add: “These people are way too soft to be following any sports in general.
“Djokovic said after the match that he doesn't recommend smashing a racquet but it happens in the heat of the moment and so many players smash racquets yet he is the only one who gets crucified for it.”