Published 15:08 IST, July 18th 2023
Novak Djokovic handed a 'Record' fine for smashing racquet during Wimbledon 2023 Final
Wimbledon runners-up Novak Djokovic needs to pay a record fine for breaking his racquet during the final game against Carlos Alcaraz on the Centre Court.
Novak Djokovic failed to retain his Wimbledon title as he lost to Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in the final on Sunday. The marathon five-set thriller witnessed a lot of emotions as players drained their energy on the Centre Court throughout the match. The match lasted almost five hours and it boiled down to the final set when Alacaraz hit the top gear to be crowned the Wimbledon champion. But the game did see a number of outbursts from the runners-up.
3 things you need to know
- This was Novak Djokovic's 5th consecutive Wimbledon final
- He had won the last four Wimbledon finals
- This could have been his third grand slam title after Australian Open and French Open in this calendar year
Novak Djokovic fined by Wimbledon for breaking racquet in the final
Novak Djokovic has now been hit with a hefty fine as he broke his racket during a point in the deciding set. The Serbian lost his cool when Alcaraz broke his serve during a crucial juncture of the game.
Tyrell Djokovic. pic.twitter.com/g5nXWSNTjL
— TweeterAlliss (Parody) (by Jove) (@TweeterAlliss) July 16, 2023
The 36-year-old vented his frustration by smashing his racquet against the net post which immediately caught the attention of the chair umpire. The umpire gave him a code violation for the incident and Wimbledon now slapped a £6,100 fine, a record in this edition of the tournament.
This is not the first time in the final as the Serbian also received a time violation from the umpire during the clash. The fine will be deducted from his prize money of £1.2 million which he received for coming second.
Novak Djokovic explained the reason for breaking his racket
However, praising Alcaraz's effort Djokovic accepted the fact he did that out of frustration.
"There's not much to talk about that. The second one was frustration. I had break points in the second game. Yeah, just tough, tough couple of points. He played amazingly to break my serve, which was enough to win the fifth. The first one was the time violation, so yeah. Not a great moment again, but you just kind of have to accept it."
Djokovic still tops the list with 23 Grand Slams in the Open Era and given his fitness he is expected to bounce back strong next year.
Updated 15:08 IST, July 18th 2023