The US Open has ended, but the controversy surrounding Novak Djokovic is showing no signs of stopping just yet. The discussion around the Serbian ‘copying’ Ben Shelton’s celebration has drawn the attention of players like Nick Kyrgios. The Australian is well-known for his on-court antics and tantrums during games. And recently, Kyrgios found himself being compared to Shelton.
Former Australian tennis star Darren Cahill feels that both Kyrgios and Shelton bring a certain chutzpah to their matchups. Cahill lauded both for providing a bit of entertainment, even if that meant ruffling some feathers in the process. “He’s not scared, he doesn’t care who he is playing,” said Cahill about Ben.
Simultaneously, Cahill stated that he loved that Djokovic copied Shelton’s celebration after the win. He echoed Kyrgios’ sentiments, that you cannot have robots on the tour.
Darren Cahill enjoyed Novak Djokovic doing the Ben Shelton phone celebration:
“He’s like Kyrgios. You like Kyrgios, you hate him, I don’t care. On the tour, he brings something different & people will go out & buy a ticket, & watch these guys play. Ben brings a real joy in what… pic.twitter.com/Wum5Y2giSw
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 18, 2023
The Djokovic-Shelton controversy arose after their semifinal clash at the US Open. Djokovic defeated Shelton in straight sets and drove the point home by copying Shelton’s ‘dialed in’ move.
Kyrgios, who has also spoken about this controversy, agreed with Cahill’s take. Nick responded to the tweet that had shared an excerpt of Darren’s statement, with the caption, “Finally.”
Finally https://t.co/hQtW3RGOOG
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) September 18, 2023
A lot has been said about Novak Djokovic, following this incident. Some fans felt it was unbecoming of him to mock a teenager. Others felt that Djokovic was right to put Ben in his place.
Romanian star speaks up on the Novak Djokovic-Ben Shelton controversy
Rising Romanian tennis player Andreea Prisacariu weighed in on the Djokovic-Shelton controversy. With her statement, Prisacariu made it very apparent that Novak was in the right.
Prisacariu appeared in the latest episode of the ‘Novak Weekly Podcast’ where she spoke about the celebration at length. Andreea felt that what Novak did was right and that Shelton needed to be taught this lesson.
“I think Novak took this opportunity to express himself in his own unique way. You know because everybody says that he was copying him, I don’t think that’s copying. It was a lesson,” she said.
Shelton, who was on the receiving end of Novak’s imitation, had given a very mature answer. It has been a couple of couple of weeks, but this controversy is still the talking point many many. Since this incident, Novak Djokovic went on the lift the US Open trophy and was last seen in the Davis Cup.
