Novak Djokovic ‘not pleased’ with Wimbledon behaviour after huge meltdowns | Tennis | Sport
Novak Djokovic is through to the quarter-finals (Image: Getty)
Angry Novak Djokovic says he’s “not proud” of his Wimbledon meltdowns after securing a fiery 7-6(6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over qualifier Roman Safiullin.
The seven-time champion launched a sweary tirade after being broken for 2-0 in the third set, shouting “bull****” and a host of other Serbian expletives. German umpire Timo Janzen issued an immediate code violation.
Djokovic lost his head again moments later when Safiullin fired a thunderous forehand straight at him from close range to break for 4-2. Djokovic pulled out some Matrix manoeuvres to avoid it smashing him in the chest.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion reacted by tossing a loose ball into the air and lashing it away, drawing boos from the Centre Court crowd.
“Sometimes it helps to kind of just filter things that are building inside,” Djokovic said of the outbursts. “Not something I’m proud of when I get warning or something like that, I have a meltdown. Not something I’m looking for, for sure. But when it happens, it happens.
“Just try to eliminate it, not think about it too long, move on to the next point and the next task at hand.”
Russian star Safiullin, ranked No. 135 in the world, will rue his missed chances after only converting four of his 14 break points. Djokovic never really got going and needed 62 minutes to win a topsy-turvy first tiebreak that swung both ways.
The key difference was that Djokovic showed his class in the key moments. He delivered two aces when he needed them the most to save two set points in the opener. The second set was more routine as was the fourth – besides staring down a fan that shouted while he was preparing a smash at the net.
“To be honest, haven’t felt really great on the court, so I was just relieved to get out of it and get a win,” Djokovic explained. “Satisfaction and enjoyment was not part of today’s win, to be honest. Of course, I’m relieved and happy to win it but I haven’t enjoyed. Hopefully next match will be better in that sense.”
Novak Djokovic is through to his 66th Major quarter-final (Image: Getty)
He added: “No, not physical. Just, I think, the game. Physical was kind of okay. Just game-wise, I didn’t enjoy my tennis. It’s also due to him putting a lot of pressure on me, playing well.
“I kind of struggled to find the game, desired level in the game that I’m looking for that I had, I think, in the second round particularly. But a win is a win, even if you win ugly. Hopefully I can build from this.”
Djokovic set a new men’s record of 106 singles wins at Wimbledon, surpassing Roger Federer as he progressed to the 66th Major quarter-final of his career.
But he claims to not be fussed about claiming such honours.
“Not on my priority list, to be honest,” he said. “I haven’t thought about it. Didn’t even know about it until after the last match win, so… That’s really quite insignificant to me at the moment.”
Martina Navratilova holds the overall singles win record with 120.
