Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic is eyeing a record seventh title at the Nitto ATP Finals. He launched a successful defense of his campaign in the first round in Turin. However, Jannik Sinner threw a wrench in his plans in the second round. Tensions boiled over, and Novak got into an argument with the umpire.
It was an intense match, as both players went toe-to-toe. As action-packed as it was, there was no shortage of drama either. Djokovic confronted the umpire when he felt that she did not call a let on one of Sinner’s serves. He argued that the let machine beeped, but the umpire, Aurelie Tourte, let it go.
This incident happened during the final set. Djokovic was confident that the machine had beeped, but the umpire did not call it. When he raised the issue with the match official, she informed him that she had not heard it. Novak was not happy because some of his serves were called let.
“Okay, so we are playing tonight this way. Every time he makes a let wide, it’s not a let. Tiebreak set point, I make an ace, you call a let. Everyone heard,” he argued (via The Daily Express).
Novak Djokovic was severely jeered by the crowd as he went back to his position. It was an exciting match, and the crowd got very involved too.
The crowd booed Novak Djokovic
The Pala Alpitour was the place to be on Tuesday night when local boy Jannik took on Novak. It was Sinner‘s second matchup against Djokovic this year, and what a memorable match it turned out to be.
The crowd was loudly cheering for Sinner during the warm-ups. When Djokovic hit a double fault in the opening set, the crowd tried to throw him off by being raucous. Novak, who has been booed a lot in the recent past, responded by clapping. It backfired, as the crowd booed him again.
Novak Djokovic is orchestrating the boos he’s receiving in the stadium in his match against Jannik Sinner 😂
A symphony 🎶
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) November 14, 2023
The crowd tried to get a rise out of Novak again when he was arguing with the umpire about the let call. With the crowd rallying behind the local boy, Jannik managed to get his first win over Novak.
Sinner vs. Djokovic match summary
The 22-year-old was sensational against Novak in Turin. Sinner snapped Djokovic’s winning streak this year, which began at the Cincinnati Open. He defeated the defending champion 7-5 6-7 (5) 7-6 (2) in front of a packed arena.
JANNIK SINNER ENDS NOVAK DJOKOVIC’S 19-MATCH WINNING STREAK 🤯 pic.twitter.com/JOrgJoCNy7
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) November 14, 2023
Both players held on to their serves in the opening set before Jannik claimed it. Djokovic won 73% of the points with his serve, while for Sinner, it was 74%. It just emphasized what a closely fought match it was. Novak played aggressively to take the second set.
They went hard at each other in the decider and dragged it to a tiebreak. Sinner won two minibreaks, leading 5-0, before Novak won two games. However, he could not catch up to the Italian player. Jannik Sinner will take on Holger Rune next. As for Novak Djokovic, he will need to win his next match to make it to the semifinals.