Former Wimbledon champ praises Novak Djokovic for staying centred despite umpire's penalty

Serbian Tennis star and world number two player Novak Djokovic qualified for yet again Wimbledon final and now will face top-seeded Spanish Tennis player Carlos Alcaraz. Djokovic faced Italy's Jannik Sinner and defeated him by a scoreline of 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). Novak is now one step away to win level Roger Federer's record of the most Wimbledon titles. 

3 things you need to know 

• Novak Djokovic recently won the French Open 2023 by defeating Casper Ruud in the final 
• Djokovic also broke Spanish star Rafael Nadal's record of winning the most Tennis grand slam titles 
• Novak now has a total of 23 Tennis grand slam titles 

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Novak Djokovic confronts umpire over controversial point deduction 

Novak Djokovic's controversial point deduction by umpire Richard Haigh for a grunt in the Wimbledon 2023 semi-final match against Jannik Sinner. The umpire had penalised Djokovic in the second set of the match believing that his voice had disturbed the opponent. 

Novak Djokovic has become the first player in history to reach 35 Grand Slam singles finals 🤯#Wimbledon | @DjokerNole pic.twitter.com/8NYR6dTEdy

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 14, 2023

Novak Djokovic however, emerged victorious in the match and also confronted the umpire by saying that the decision could have an impact on the match's result. 

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John McEnroe praises Novak Djokovic

Former Wimbledon champion John McEnroe, in a conversation with BBC TV praised Novak Djokovic for the way he handled the situation and also for how calmly he told the umpire that his interference could have affected the result of the match. 

He handled it admirably - way, way better than most players. I would have hated if that was a turning point.

(Serbian Tennis star Novak Djokovic celebrates after defeating Italy's Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon 2023 semifinals / Image: AP)

However, John McEnroe criticised umpire Richard Haigh's judgement and deemed his decision as a very 'horrible-horrible call.' He also suggested that the umpire should have kept attention. The incident happened during the second set of the match, which also gave Jannik Sinner an advantage to lead by 15-30, wherein Djokovic was leading by 2-1. 

Novak Djokovic has now secured a place in the consecutive fifth Wimbledon final and will aim to win his eighth title when he will face top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz. Borh stars would remain determined to stand out as the winner.