Novak Djokovic handed hefty fine by Wimbledon for destroying racket against net post

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Novak Djokovic has been handed a $8,000 fine by Wimbledon after destroying his racket against the net post during the final at The Championships against Carlos Alcaraz. In the third game of the fifth set, Djokovic got broken by Alcaraz. Moments later, Djokovic absolutely destroyed his racket against the net post. Djokovic was immediately handed a code violation for racket abuse. Djokovic never recovered from that break as Alcaraz went on to win 1-6 7-6 (6) 6-1 3-6 6-4. 

Djokovic on smashing his racket

In the Wimbledon final, Djokovic was twice handed a code violation. The first code violation came after the shot clock ran down to zero before Djokovic hit his service. The second code violation came after Djokovic fell down by a break in the fifth set and violently destroyed his racket. After the match, Djokovic was asked about his two code violations.

"There's no much to talk about that. Second one (his second code violation) was frustration. I had break points in the second game. Yeah, just tough, tough couple of points. 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," Djokovic said.

In another answer, Djokovic very directly said his racket smash was nothing else but a moment of frustration.

"It was a frustration in the moment. I answered to your colleague two minutes ago about that. There's not much to say about that," Djokovic said.

Meanwhile, Djokovic's Wimbledon streak ended at 34 consecutive wins. On Sunday, Alcaraz became the first player since 2017 to beat Djokovic at The All England Club. Now, Djokovic will turn his focus on preparing for the North American hard court swing. Later this summer, Djokovic will return to the US Open for the first time since 2021.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/aQonNOz

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