"My head kind of cools off, even though it probably looks ugly" - When Novak Djokovic discussed 'positive' impact of breaking racquets during a match

Novak Djokovic once opened up about how venting his frustrations by breaking a racquet during a match had a positive effect on his performance.

Djokovic entered the 2010 Rogers Cup, also known as the Canadian Open, as the second seed. Following a bye in the first round, he kicked off his campaign with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Julien Benneteau. Although he triumphed in straight sets, the Serb experienced a moment of frustration during the second set of the match, leading to a racquet-breaking outburst.

The incident was brought up during his post-match press conference, prompting Novak Djokovic to hilariously thank a journalist after being complimented for 'smashing up his racquet pretty good.'

The Serb admitted that breaking racquets wasn't problematic behavior for him, citing his tendency to have "positive" reactions after blowing off steam. While he conceded that his conduct may appear ugly to fans, he emphasized the relief it brought him.

"It's never been a problem for me to smash a racquet. (Laughter.) But I kind of tend to have this positive reactions after that. My head kind of cools off after I break the racquet, even though it probably looks ugly to the fans, or interesting. You ask them," he said.

"But definitely I get a little more, I don't know, relief after I do that. But, you know, it's relative, really. Depends from the situation," he added.

Djokovic also humorously reflected on the number of racquets he had broken during the year, attributing the majority of such instances to his doubles matches, especially during his title run at the Queen's Club Championships alongside doubles partner Jonathan Erlich.

"Oh, I think most of the racquets I broke was in doubles matches. Actually in Queens I broke -- even though I won the tournament I broke every single match one," he said.

The Serb then joked that breaking racquets was his "lucky charm," but acknowledged that it might cause his sponsor to stop sending him racquets and charge him for the ones he smashed.

"Yeah, lucky charm. My sponsor will not send me anymore. He's gonna charge me for racquets," he added.

Looking back at Novak Djokovic's campaign at Rogers Cup 2010

Rogers Cup

After kicking off his campaign with a straight sets win over Julien Benneteau, Novak Djokovic defeated Victor Hanescu 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2010 Rogers Cup.

He then claimed a dominant 6-2, 6-3 win over Jeremy Chardy to book his place in the semifinals, marking the first time in tournament history that the top four seeds, namely Rafael Nadal, Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray, all reached the last four.

Federer and the Serb battled it out in a blockbuster semifinal clash, with the Swiss legend securing a 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 victory. Subsequently, defending champion Murray defeated Federer 7-5, 7-5 in the final to clinch his second consecutive title at the Masters 1000 event.