Novak Djokovic was on the receiving end of a controversial moment during his quarterfinal clash against Alexander Zverev at the China Open. In a bizarre moment, the German served, the Serbian replied and Zverev missed the next shot.
The World No. 2 stopped the contest and complained he was distracted by the side fence. The chair umpire Adel Nour sided with Zverev and ordered the point to be replayed.
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Djokovic fumed at Nour’s decision and called it one of the stupidest things he has witnessed on a court. Fans sided with the 24-time Grand Slam champion, claiming Zverev was at fault and he will never be a champion in the eyes of the public.
“Zverev does this kind of thing very often. At the Laver Cup he did the same thing just a few days ago. What a bad sport!” a user wrote on X.
“I’m not a fan of Djokovic at all but he has a point here. Zverev serves, Djokovic hits the return, Zverev miss the next shot and then challenges that when he served the screens in the arena changed causing him to be distracted,” a user stated.
“Zverev does this often and gets away with it,” a user remarked.
“Zverev lost my respect man U are so tall in your Prime having so many Aces in a Game and u do this against 39 yrs old,” a user noted.
“That’s why Sasha will never be a champion. No matter what he wins!” another user added.
Novak Djokovic outlasts Alexander Zverev despite controversy
Novak Djokovic held his nerve despite going a set down and getting embroiled in the controversial moment to keep his unblemished record in Beijing intact.
The six-time China Open champion had to dig deep to earn a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory to secure his place in the semifinals. The veteran star had a couple of opportunities to shift the momentum in the first set. After the conclusion of the pulsating battle, Djokovic confessed he was rusty in the first set and struggled to break Zverev.
“I had a terrible start. Two double faults at the beginning. It was quite cold and honestly, I didn’t feel warmed up, but my fault,” Novak Djokovic said (via Sky Sports).
“I gave him an early break and then it was hard to come back in the first set. I had a couple of break points when he was serving for the set at 5-4, but didn’t use them, but I kind of felt already from midway through the first set that I was starting to get a good rhythm, at least on my serve and on serve plus one,” he added.
Novak Djokovic will continue his journey in Beijing where he will face in-form Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals on Monday.
Edited by Pritha Ghosh