Novak Djokovic fumed at fan for breaking unwritten rule during US Open match
Novak Djokovic is no stranger to having a complete meltdown on court.
Whether it is smashing rackets into a thousand pieces or arguing with members of the crowd – Djokovic has done it all.
It seems he has particular moments at the US Open too, famously once getting defaulted for hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball.
And back in 2023, he fumed at a fan who broke a cardinal rule at a tennis match. Someone shouted ‘out’ during a point in his showdown with American Taylor Fritz.
Fritz had served and someone shouted ‘out’, with Djokovic thinking that the automatic line calling system had deemed the ball long.
Only when his opponent kept playing did he have to scramble to get back in the point.
He made the return, but Fritz won with a superb backhand winner and Djokovic was, unsurprisingly, furious.
He started yelling in the direction of the person who had called out, and revealed after that it was in an area where his friends normally sit.
“Yeah, he did [cause a distraction],” he said. “He was actually in the box where some of my friends were.
“I don’t know who the guy was, but yeah, I was pretty annoyed by him at that point. I was communicating with my friends to have a little chat with him.”
It didn’t affect him too much, though, as he went through to the semi-final and then lifted the title a few days later.
It was a record-breaking 24th Grand Slam title for Djokovic, the most any male or female player has in the Open era.
A fan just yelled “Out!” while Novak Djokovic & Taylor Fritz were playing a point.
Fans that do this should be kicked out immediately & don’t deserve a 2nd chance.
Djokovic celebrated with a special tribute to his friend Kobe Bryant, who famously wore the 24 jersey in his career.
The 37-year-old is yet to add to that total in 2024, losing in the final of Wimbledon to Carlos Alcaraz.
He did, however, win the gold medal at the Paris Olympics adding the only big title missing from his collection.
Speaking of his gold medal winning display, 18-time singles Grand Slam champion Chris Evert said: “It was a fairytale.
“But you know what? I believe in karma. This guy has worked his butt off his whole life, put up with a lot from the press and from being kind of the bad guy with Federer and Nadal. He deserves it. He deserves it all.”
Djokovic is now well clear of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in terms of on cour achievements.
But he is still looking for more.
Former world number one John McEnroe said: “He’s looking to sort of separate himself from Federer and Nadal, that’s really is what it boils down to.
