"I don't think that's copying, it was a lesson" - Andreea Prisacariu on Novak Djokovic's controversial imitation of Ben Shelton's phone celebration

Romanian tennis player Andreea Prisacariu recently said that what Novak Djokovic did after taking down Ben Shelton at the US Open was not an act of copying. Instead, Prisacariu believes it was an important lesson that the young American needed to be taught.

Novak Djokovic beat Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(4) in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows earlier this month. After claiming the match, the Serbian ace imitated the 20-year-old American’s phone celebration from the same event.

After defeating fellow American Frances Tiafoe in the quarterfinals of the New York major, Ben Shelton had celebrated by acting out a phone call and then hanging up. However, several tennis fans criticized Djokovic harshly for bringing out the same celebration after the semis.

In the latest episode of the "Novak Weekly Podcast," Andreea Prisacariu discussed her thoughts on Ben Shelton's celebration and the backlash it caused for Novak Djokovic. The Romanian believes that Ben Shelton's initial celebration against Tiafoe was inappropriate in the first place.

“I saw a lot of criticism that Novak took after Ben Shelton's celebration which was everywhere and all I can say is this - I don’t know what that Shelton was thinking when he did this celebration against Tiafoe which was a great guy and also I understood they were friends."

"I'm not in Tiafoe shoes to know if that bothered him or not but I'm allowed to have my opinion, I don't think that was cool. I don't think it was the place for that kind of celebration they didn't have any beef to be in the middle to do that of celebration,” she said.

The 23-year-old agreed with Novak Djokovic's actions following his victory over Ben Shelton and said that the Serb had given Shelton a "super important" lesson. She also took exception to Shelton calling the 24-time Grand Slam champion "this guy" in a press interaction, claiming that it was disrespectful.

“I don't think Novak also appreciated that. So 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."

"It was a lesson that was super important so I understood that he didn't understand the lesson anyway because I lost it when he expressed about Novak ‘this guy’. Even if you don't like the guy, you know, atleast pronounce the name of the guy that beat you in three sets, you know,” she said.

Novak Djokovic: “If I wasn't from Serbia, I’d have been glorified on a sporting level many years ago"

US Open Tennis

Recently, Novak Djokovic stated that he believes he would have received greater acclaim as an athlete in the West if it were not for the fact that he is of Serbian nationality. Novak Djokovic sat down with Sportklub after his triumph over Daniil Medvedev in the final of the 2023 US Open and explained the feelings that flowed through him following the historic victory.

"In those moments, physically and materially, I no longer feel my legs, I don't feel strength, the ground under my feet and the sky above my head are spinning," he said.

Djokovic was then questioned if he should be included in a discussion of the greatest athletes of all time, rather than just the greatest in tennis.

"I leave that up to you and everyone else, whether or not I deserve to be part of that discussion... but one thing is a fact, though – if I wasn’t from Serbia, I’d have been glorified on a sporting level many years ago, especially in the West," he replied.