Novak Djokovic says sorry for his ‘meltdown’ during his famous Wimbledon win.
Novak Djokovic said sorry to fans after admitting he had a bit of a “meltdown” during his latest historic Wimbledon win.
The 39-year-old made history by beating Roman Safiullin in four sets on Sunday, breaking Roger Federer’s record for the most men’s singles wins at Wimbledon. This win puts him into the quarter-finals.
It was another big moment for Djokovic, who is chasing his 25th Grand Slam title and his eighth Wimbledon trophy. But the match wasn’t easy on Centre Court.
Qualifier Safiullin, ranked 132nd in the world, gave Djokovic a tough time and kept disrupting his rhythm. Djokovic started well by breaking Safiullin’s serve early, but Safiullin fought back to force a first-set tie-break. Djokovic won the first set and took the second 6-3, but then things got tricky in the third.
Djokovic showed his frustration by looking up to the sky and even smashed a ball into the back of the court after losing points. Some fans were unhappy about this and booed, as they admired the underdog’s strong play.
The moment made the match even more intense. Both players had exciting rallies, and Djokovic had to change his strategy to take control again. After a key break in the fourth set, Safiullin couldn’t come back, and Djokovic won 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
After the match, Djokovic talked about his emotions and apologized for his outbursts.
“It was a tough win,” he said. “Roman played very well and was very aggressive. I didn’t feel comfortable at the back of the court and knew it would be hard to stay in long rallies, especially with the wind. I don’t usually feel out of place at the back, but today was different. I had to change things up, and sometimes it worked, sometimes not. In the end, my first serve helped me get out of trouble in the fourth set.”
Looking ahead to his quarter-final match on Tuesday against Felix Auger-Aliassime, Djokovic summed up his first week at Wimbledon.
“Survive to thrive — that’s how I feel,” he said. “Hopefully, the thriving part is coming. And the outbursts too, the meltdowns — I had a few of those today, and I apologize.”