It was once intended to be a historical evening for Novak Djokovic, who was once chasing a record-equalling 8th Wimbledon name on Sunday and an remarkable twenty fourth Grand Slam trophy, amid additionally including to his long-standing streak on Center Court. But as a substitute, the Serb, who was once supremely assured of finishing up because the winner for the 5th successive time, was once given a truth test by means of Carlos Alcaraz, who beat him in 5 units. Djokovic’s evening sooner or later grew to become irritating and the sentiments were given the simpler of him all over the blockbuster ultimate the place he broken a Wimbledon assets together with his racquet. The organizers have now slapped a hefty advantageous at the seven-time winner for his act.
The incident came about within the ultimate set proper after Djokovic was once damaged early to offer Alcaraz the much-needed self belief to near the event for a maiden Wimbledon trophy on the age of 20. As the Serb made his as far back as his bench, he smashed his racquet in frustration at the Center Court net-post, leaving a dent mark on it. He was once instantly given a code violation caution by means of the chair umpire, who had previous warned him for time violation as neatly.
An afternoon after the spell binding ultimate, Djokovic was once passed a advantageous of $8,000 (£6,117) for his racquet destroy act. This quantity will now be deducted from his runner-up test of £1.175m.
Djokovic then again refused to ask for forgiveness for his act when he was once requested about it within the post-match press convention.
He mentioned: “There’s not much to talk about that. Second one 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.”
‘I must’ve misplaced a few finals’: Djokovic sleek in defeat
Despite the loss and being denied the shot at historical past, Djokovic was once gracious in defeat as he congratulated Alcaraz on his 2nd Grand Slam win.
“I’ve won many close matches here down the years, maybe I should have lost a couple of finals that I won so it’s even Stevens,” mentioned Djokovic. “It’s a tough one to swallow when you are so close. I lost to the better player and I have to congratulate him and move on.
Djokovic will now shift his focus to the US Open, which he had missed last year owing to Covid restrictions. This will in fact be his first US Open appearance in two years, having missed the 2021 edition for the same reason.