Tag: Djokovic

Tennis bosses have been urged to suspend Novak Djokovic after he refused to be tested by an anti-doping official ahead of a Davis Cup match against Britain’s Cameron Norrie.

Djokovic helped Serbia knock out Great Britain in the quarter-finals of the competition today in Malaga. The pumped-up world No1 beat Norrie 6-4, 6-4 to send Serbia into the next round after refusing to provide a sample in a random drugs test 90 minutes before the match.

The 36-year-old defended his actions, arguing the “outrageous” test would interrupt his pre-match routine. But former cyclist and current team boss of UCI WorldTeam Groupama-FDJ Marc Madiot believes tennis’ authorities should draw a line in the sand by suspending the sport’s biggest star for breaking protocol.

“There are rules of testing before and after competition,” Madiot told RMC. “If the anti-doping body is doing its job, Mr Novak Djokovic must be suspended. He refused a test before the match and did it after. In cycling, you are subjected to a test and if you refuse, you are automatically positive. If that is the case, you are sanctioned. You don’t have the right to refuse testing, that’s the rule.”

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He added: “In the assortment of doping products there are those that can be detected for a very limited period of time. If you don’t test yourself before the start, during the match, their traces can be erased in the body. That is why testing was introduced before the competition. The fact that he was only warned is unreal.”

Djokovic, who told British fans to “shut up” and “learn how to respect players” following his win over Norrie, was still furious when asked about what happened with the anti-doping official. “It’s the first time it’s happened to me. It doesn’t make sense to do it when I’ll be there after the match,” he said. “They gave me an hour and a half’s notice. I have my pre-match routines and I don’t have to think at that point about donating blood or urine.”

He added: “I’ve always supported testing, but not before the match. What will that change? I’ll be there, when the match is over, test me. I have a blood test coming up. I hope they change the decision.

“It is interesting that the doping agency is a private company. There should be a discussion that we as a world organisation within our ecosystem, so to speak, have our own agency. I don’t know what to add, probably everything I say will be interpreted differently.

As the celebrations began for Novak Djokovic’s record-extending 40th Masters 1000 title in Paris last weekend, at the side of the Accor Arena’s vast indoor courts Grigor Dimitrov buried his face in his towel and tried hard to hold off his tears.

His emotion was understandable. Dimitrov had been playing some of the best tennis of his career, picking off Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to his second Masters 1000 final. He gave everything and yet suffered the same fate he has so many times: a demoralising defeat by Djokovic.

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There was a time when it might have been reasonable to suggest that players of Dimitrov’s generation, in the absence of being able to topple the big three, might just wait them out and succeed once they had retired. That has not happened. It is incredible how Djokovic continues to hold off younger rivals.

As another season comes to an end at the ATP Finals in Turin, the defining question is whether anyone can stop the 36-year-old Djokovic from securing a seventh title. Earlier this year, the answer was obvious. Carlos Alcaraz’s incredible triumph in the Wimbledon final could have signified a shift as the 20-year‑old Spaniard took the baton to begin his own dominant period.

Instead Djokovic has done what he always does, using setbacks to rebound stronger. He won the Cincinnati title, then his 24th grand slam at the US Open and then in Paris. He is on an 18-match winning streak having casually pieced together another sensational season with a 51-5 (91%) win-loss record, claiming six titles, and stands a win away from clinching the year-end No 1 ranking.

Novak Djokovic defeated Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-3 in yesterday’s final to win a record-extending seventh Paris Masters title and close in on securing the year-end number one ranking for an eighth time.

The 36-year-old Djokovic eclipsed his previous record set two years ago as the tournament’s oldest champion, capturing his 40th Masters 1000 title and stretching his winning run to 18 matches.

Djokovic collected his sixth title of the season to draw level with Carlos Alcaraz, adding to the Masters victory in Cincinnati that set him up for a landmark 24th Grand Slam singles crown at the US Open.

“It’s incredible. To be able to win it after quite challenging circumstances for me this week,” said Djokovic, who had been hit by a stomach virus that left him feeling under the weather in Paris.

He was taken to three sets in each of his three previous rounds but didn’t face a single break point against the 17th -ranked Dimitrov.

“Basically, coming back from the brink of losing three matches in a row, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I was very close to losing those matches and somehow managed to find an extra gear when it was needed,” said Djokovic.

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“I think the match was closer than the scoreline indicates, but another amazing win for me. I’m very proud of this one, considering what I’ve been through this week.”

It is the second time Djokovic has completed a French Open and Paris Masters double in the same season. Andre Agassi is the only other player to achieve it.

Djokovic’s seventh Bercy crown makes it his most successful Masters event ahead of Miami and Rome, where he has won on six occasions each.

His 97th career title also nudged him closer to Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103).

Djokovic will take a 1,490-point lead over Alcaraz into the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin later this month, all but guaranteeing he will finish 2023 as the world’s top-ranked player.

The Serbian won the eight-man tournament for the sixth time last year – matching Federer’s all-time mark – after Alcaraz withdrew because of injury.

Ben Shelton has taken the US Open by storm and will now play the biggest match of his career against

Shelton became the youngest American male to reach the US Open semi -finals since 1992 by beating his compatriot Frances Tiafoe. The 20-year-old delighted the home crowd by completing a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2 victory on Tuesday night at Flushing Meadows.

He has been on the ATP Tour for less than a year and was knocked out in the first round at the US Open 12 months ago, but is now established as a rising star of the sport. The left-hander overcame a tricky period in the third-set tie-break to power his way through to the last four with 14 aces and a few eye-catching 149mph serves.

 “I felt like I left it all out here tonight. It was an emotional battle,” Shelton said on court after the match.

He added on the crucial tie-break: “Sometimes you have to shut off the brain, close the eyes and just swing. Maybe there was a little bit of that [when I was] down [a] set point, but it ended up working out.

 “I think that was the key for me tonight. Just being tough and being relentless, and knowing that I could go the distance physically no matter how bad it hurt. That was just kind of what I was sticking with.”

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Shelton will face Djokovic in New York tomorrow  after the Serbian star eased past Taylor Fritz in straight sets. Djokovic will be playing in a record-breaking 47th  major semi-final and is gunning for what could be a 10th  final and fourth title at the US Open and a 23rd  Grand Slam title overall.

That could be a daunting prospect for Shelton, but he thinks his inexperience could actually help. “It’s an advantage with my game style playing someone who’s never played me before,” he said.

 “I think that I can bring some things to the table that maybe you don’t see in your normal match that you play on the ATP Tour.”

Djokovic has already spoken admirably about Shelton, who played collegiate tennis for the Florida Gators before getting his break on the ATP Tour.

 “It’s great that Ben Shelton, for example, a player that came from college tennis, is playing on the highest level, producing some amazing tennis,” he said.

 “I think it’s a great message for all the players who want to go to college but then still keep on playing professionally. It proves that it is possible, which maybe up to 15, 20 years ago, it was completely different.”