"[FONT="]Novak Djokovic damages racket in fit of anger during Italian Open quarter-finals
[/FONT][h=2]Top-ranked player given warning from chair umpire after recent U.S. Open outburst[/h][FONT="]Top-ranked Novak Djokovic had another meltdown Saturday in his quarter-final match at the Italian Open, slamming his racket to the red clay. He was disqualified from the U.S. Open earlier this month after striking a line judge accidentally with a ball.[/FONT][FONT="]
[/FONT][FONT="]Less than two weeks after getting defaulted from the U.S. Open, Novak Djokovic lost his cool again midway through a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over German qualifier Dominik Koepfer in the Italian Open quarter-finals Saturday.[/FONT]
[FONT="]When Djokovic was broken at love to even the second set at 3-3, he slammed his racket to the red clay in anger in Rome.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]With the frame broken and the strings all mangled, Djokovic was forced to get a new racket and received a warning from the chair umpire.[/FONT]
[FONT="]"It's not the first nor the last racket that I'll break in my career," Djokovic said. "I've done it before and I'll probably do it again. I don't want to do it but when it comes, it happens.[/FONT]
[FONT="]"That's how, I guess, I release sometimes my anger and it's definitely not the best message out there, especially for the young tennis players looking at me, and I don't encourage that — definitely."
[/FONT]
[FONT="]The top-ranked Djokovic had said Monday that he learned "a big lesson" after he was thrown out of the U.S. Open for unintentionally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball in a fit of anger. Djokovic also acknowledged then "that I have outbursts and this is kind of the personality and the player that I have always been."[/FONT]
[FONT="]At the Foro Italico, Djokovic had already appeared frustrated during the game before he broke his racket, glaring toward the umpire following a couple of overrules and a point that was ordered to be replayed.[/FONT]
[FONT="]"That's just me," Djokovic said. "Of course I'm not perfect and I'm doing my best."
[/FONT]
[h=2]Ruud 1st Norwegian to reach semis of Masters 1000 tourney[/h][FONT="]The 97th-ranked Koepfer, who screamed at himself in frustration throughout the match, was also warned for misbehaviour early in the third set.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Aiming for his fifth title in Rome, Djokovic's semifinal opponent will be Casper Ruud, who eliminated local favourite Matteo Berrettini 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) in a match that lasted two hours 57 minutes.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Ruud is the first Norwegian to reach the semifinals of a Masters 1000 tournament. His father, Christian Ruud, got as far as the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters in 1997.
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/tennis/novak-djokovic-meltdown-italian-open-quarter-finals-1.5731133[/FONT]
[/FONT][h=2]Top-ranked player given warning from chair umpire after recent U.S. Open outburst[/h][FONT="]Top-ranked Novak Djokovic had another meltdown Saturday in his quarter-final match at the Italian Open, slamming his racket to the red clay. He was disqualified from the U.S. Open earlier this month after striking a line judge accidentally with a ball.[/FONT][FONT="]
[/FONT][FONT="]Less than two weeks after getting defaulted from the U.S. Open, Novak Djokovic lost his cool again midway through a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over German qualifier Dominik Koepfer in the Italian Open quarter-finals Saturday.[/FONT]
[FONT="]When Djokovic was broken at love to even the second set at 3-3, he slammed his racket to the red clay in anger in Rome.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]With the frame broken and the strings all mangled, Djokovic was forced to get a new racket and received a warning from the chair umpire.[/FONT]
[FONT="]"It's not the first nor the last racket that I'll break in my career," Djokovic said. "I've done it before and I'll probably do it again. I don't want to do it but when it comes, it happens.[/FONT]
[FONT="]"That's how, I guess, I release sometimes my anger and it's definitely not the best message out there, especially for the young tennis players looking at me, and I don't encourage that — definitely."
[/FONT]
[FONT="]The top-ranked Djokovic had said Monday that he learned "a big lesson" after he was thrown out of the U.S. Open for unintentionally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball in a fit of anger. Djokovic also acknowledged then "that I have outbursts and this is kind of the personality and the player that I have always been."[/FONT]
[FONT="]At the Foro Italico, Djokovic had already appeared frustrated during the game before he broke his racket, glaring toward the umpire following a couple of overrules and a point that was ordered to be replayed.[/FONT]
[FONT="]"That's just me," Djokovic said. "Of course I'm not perfect and I'm doing my best."
[/FONT]
[h=2]Ruud 1st Norwegian to reach semis of Masters 1000 tourney[/h][FONT="]The 97th-ranked Koepfer, who screamed at himself in frustration throughout the match, was also warned for misbehaviour early in the third set.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Aiming for his fifth title in Rome, Djokovic's semifinal opponent will be Casper Ruud, who eliminated local favourite Matteo Berrettini 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) in a match that lasted two hours 57 minutes.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Ruud is the first Norwegian to reach the semifinals of a Masters 1000 tournament. His father, Christian Ruud, got as far as the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters in 1997.
https://www.cbc.ca/sports/tennis/novak-djokovic-meltdown-italian-open-quarter-finals-1.5731133[/FONT]
