Tennis fans have taken to social media to express their doubts about Novak Djokovic’s fortunes after the seven-time Wimbledon champion was exempted from the men’s singles semi-finals.
On Wednesday afternoon, a distraught Alex de Minaur announced that he would withdraw from his quarter-final match against the Serb, which was scheduled to take place later in the day, due to a hip injury.
His withdrawal was even more painful as it was the first time in his career that the 25-year-old player had reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.
While it was an unfortunate turn of events for De Minaur, it means seven-time champion Djokovic now advances to the quarter-finals against the winner of Lorenzo Musetti and Taylor Fritz on Court One later today.
But some fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their displeasure at how lucky the 37-year-old is to have reached the semi-finals without having to play the world No. 9, who defeated former world No. 1 Djokovic at the United Cup in Australia earlier this year.
Novak Djokovic (pictured) has reached the semi-finals of the men’s singles at Wimbledon
It came after Alex de Minaur withdrew from their quarter-final match due to a hip injury
Fans have criticised Djokovic’s ‘luck’ online, claiming he will now reach the final
“Djokovic is lucky again with Alex’s withdrawal,” wrote one fan on X. “And he is definitely in the final, considering the potential semi-final.”
Fritz, seeded No. 13 at Wimbledon and ranked No. 12 in the world, has never defeated Djokovic on the ATP Tour, having lost all nine previous meetings.
Musetti is now ranked No. 25 and No. 25 on the ATP Tour. In his six encounters with Djokovic, he defeated the Serbian superstar once, but lost the other five matches.
Other fans pointed out that several players who were on the same team as Djokovic have withdrawn due to injury.
‘Hubert Hurkacz got injured. Alexander Zverev got injured. De Minaur got injured. In the same tournament. They were seeded to play against a certain player,’ wrote one fan on X.
Hurkacz withdrew from the competition after diving for a volley but injuring his knee during his second round match against Arthur Fils. After his defeat to Fritz, Zverev stated that he had suffered a knee injury during the match.
En route to the semi-finals, Djokovic defeated qualifier Vít Kopriva, British wildcard player Jacob Fearnley, Alexei Popyrin and Holger Rune.
Djokovic lashed out at the crowd on Centre Court as they booed him after his match against Holger Rune
Some fans called it ‘insane how many easy runs Djokovic gets’ and noted that he will now no longer field a top 10 player until he reaches the final
De Minaur stretched awkwardly in the final point of his last 16 match against Arthur Fils and appeared to suffer the injury
‘It’s unbelievable how many easy runs Djokovic makes. This is a grand slam and he won’t let any top 10 player play in the final… Ridiculous,’ added another tennis fan.
Djokovic also lashed out at the Wimbledon crowd after his win over Rune. The world No. 1 was booed by some sections of the crowd before turning his on-court interview into a tirade about sportsmanship.
While his interviewer had suggested that the crowd was merely chanting ‘Ruuuuuune’ for his opponent, Djokovic saw it differently.
He said: ‘To all the fans who showed respect and stayed here tonight, I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I appreciate it,’ he began. ‘And to all those people who chose to disrespect the player – in this case me – have a goooooooood night.
‘That’s what they were. That’s what they were. [disrespecting me]’ he insisted. ‘I don’t accept it. No, no, no. I know they were cheering for Rune, but that’s an excuse to boo too.
‘Listen, I’ve been on tour for over 20 years. I know all the tricks. I know how it works. It’s fine, it’s fine.
Djokovic hit back at fans who booed him, saying: ‘Trust me, you can’t touch me’
‘I focus on the respectful people who pay the ticket, love tennis and appreciate the players and the effort they put in here.
“I’ve played in much more hostile environments, believe me – you can’t touch me.”