The frustration was evident on Novak Djokovic’s face from the early moments as the 2023 Wimbledon Men’s final went into a fifth set at the Centre Court on Sunday that saw Carlos Alcaraz pip him for a first Wimbledon title.
The seven-time winner of the slam had managed to win the fourth set – having lost two in a row to Alcaraz – but with the Spaniard scoring a point following a stretched rally, the Serb would lose his cool and break his racquet after smashing it against the net pole.
The incident would induce one of the many extreme emotions from a full house crowd at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which booed the all-time record grand slam winner. Here’s a video of the incident:
Djokovic just smashed his racquet on the net pole pic.twitter.com/1wA5nT9AG0
— Tedd Buddwell 🏀🏈 (@TedBuddy8) July 16, 2023
Earlier, Djokovic started off the final breezing past the 20-year-old prodigious talent in the first set before Alcaraz mounted a comeback in the second and third set.
The Serbian would indulge in possible mind games following a long break at the end of the third set, which did seem to work as he went on to win the fourth set, taking the game into a fifth and deciding one.
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It isn’t the first time a Wimbledon men’s final featuring Novak Djokovic has gone right down the wire. In 2019, the Serb had inched past Roger Federer in another final that went into the fifth set, lasting over 4 hours and 57 minutes.
