Four instances when Novak Djokovic lost his cool

There are numerous occasions when a player shows their frustration during a match. It happens to even the best of players. It is nothing to do with behavioral issues or anything. It’s the passion to win every time they step onto the playing arena that makes them lose their cool head. You all must be knowing that frustration can get the better of you especially when you or your team are not in a great position. That’s human nature and we cannot do much about it.

The great Serb Novak Djokovic, who happens to be the only player to win all Grand Slams and ATP 1000 Masters titles has lost his cool on many occasions. We are not going to look at all of them but we will be looking into four major instances when Novak Djokovic lost his cool.

#1 Cincinnati Masters 2018

Djokovic went on to win the title

Earlier this year in Cincinnati, Novak Djokovic after already being a tad frustrated with having to finish his third round clash with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov earlier in the day, showed signs of frustration again in his quarterfinal match against Canadian Milos Raonic. Both players were hardly giving each other a sniff at break point opportunities until the Canadian managed to do so in the seventh game of the first set.

As soon as the game was lost, Djokovic smashed his racquet several times against the floor until it was broken into two. His emotions were getting the better of him as he walked back to his chair to unwrap a brand new racquet. At that very moment, he needed to regain his composure and he did exactly that. He broke Raonic in the 10th game to restore parity and went on to break him again in the following game to win the opening set. Raonic came back strongly in the second set to level things up at one set apiece.

The Serb seemed a bit annoyed but held his shape. His calmness in the deciding set helped him overcome a dogged Raonic. He in fact went all the way and won the title by beating Roger Federer in the final. Prior to that, he defeated Marin Cilic in the semis.

#2 Wimbledon 2018

Novak Djokovic

During the Wimbledon heat, Novak Djokovic lost his cool in the middle of his quarterfinal clash against Japanese Kei Nishikori. The Serb grew increasingly frustrated when the second set was not going to plan. He had as many as four break point opportunities in two service games alone and in frustration bounced his racquet off the ground. His frustration even led him to an argument with the chair umpire. Djokovic’s frustration prevented him from playing his usual tennis as he succumbed under pressure to hand Nishikori the second set.

However, Nishikori tried his best to make a sterling comeback into the match but a rejuvenated Djokovic kept his calm and managed to grind out games in the third set. He managed to continue the same in the fourth set as well as he saw off a spirited Nishikori in four sets. The Serb was charged up and little did he know that in a few days time he would lift his fourth Wimbledon crown.

#3 Shanghai Masters 2016

Djokovic smashes his racket on the ground

The Serb’s temper got the better of him during his Shanghai Masters semifinal encounter against Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut. His temper loss led him to a 4-6, 4-6 defeat to Bautista Agut, who on the other hand was pretty good on the day. The number one seed found it hard to control his errors and missed routine drop shots and groundstrokes. It seemed as if it was not his day as he finished the match with a whopping 29 unforced errors and a dismal 2 out of 9 break point opportunities converted.

During the match, Djokovic was unable to control his emotions as he smashed his racquet to bits and later asked a ball boy for a towel to clean the mess up. It got worse as he ripped off his shirt in anger on losing a point. He even quarreled repeatedly with the chair umpire over line calls and also complained about it during his post-match interview.

#4 Wimbledon 2015

Djokovic went to win the title

Novak Djokovic had a dream run in the year 2015. In fact, it is compared with Roger Federer's 2006 season as one of the most dominant seasons of all time. However, not everything was smooth for the Serb in 2015. During Djokovic’s hard-fought five-set win over Kevin Anderson, there was a moment when the Serb lost his cool and let out his frustration on a ball girl.

After the match, Novak promised to apologise to the ball girl who seemed shaken during the Serb’s outburst. When asked about the incident, Novak wore a surprised look on his face and said that the anger was wholly aimed at himself and not at the ball girl. Though it appeared as if his anger started to show when he gestured the ball girl to hand him the towel.

“I’m sorry. There was nothing towards her. Maybe she was afraid of my screaming there. I was pretty close to her. I’m definitely going to try to apologise to her if I did something wrong,” said Djokovic.