Fans online criticized Novak Djokovic for complaining to the chair umpire during his US Open win over Taylor Fritz. Many pointed out that, as a 38-year-old former world No. 1, he should be well accustomed to raucous crowds, especially when facing a top-seeded American on their home turf.
On Tuesday, September 2, Djokovic took on fourth seed Fritz in the quarterfinal of the 2025 US Open. The Serb led their head-to-head 10-0 before entering the Arthur Ashe Stadium and left leading it 11-0.
He won the first two sets 6-3, 7-5 before his argument with the chair umpire took place. In the third set, while he trailed 1-2, 40-40, the Serb was frustrated with the crowd making a noise during his serve. The 38-year-old complained to the chair umpire and asked what he was going to do to stop it. The chair umpire, however, had no solution.
A video of the incident was shared on X, and fan reactions were heated and unforgiving. One fan highlighted that Djokovic was troubling the crowd before they gave it back to him. They wrote:
"Novak was antagonizing the crowd long before the crowd retaliated"
"This is all theatrics he's just trying to get himself riled up cause he needs an adrenaline boost. I swear his game is 90% mental and 10% physical"
Here are some more fan reactions unhappy with the Serb's behavior.
"He's in America against the top American player and yet he's dumbfounded how the crowd could be rooting for the American. He's 38 folks with this kind of sub mental petulance. FRAUDOVIC 4 LIFE," one fan wrote.
"he's been fuelling them to act like this since the first set and cries about it when they do🤣🤣🤣" another fan wrote.
"Guys 38 and still lets the crowd and his emotions get the better of him," yet another fan wrote.
Notably, Fritz broke Djokovic to make it 3-1 and eventually won the set. However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion continued his quest for a 25th by winning the fourth set 6-4 and qualifying for the semifinal.