Tommy Paul refused to greet Djokovic at the Laver Cup. Has De Minaur’s fate?

Tommy Paul refused to greet Djokovic at the Laver Cup. Has De Minaur’s fate?
Tommy Paul refused to greet Djokovic at the Laver Cup. Has De Minaur’s fate?
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Friday’s duel, from the semifinals of the Australian Open, has a huge favorite in the person of Djokovic. He is on a completely different level than the other players in the ATP and will probably be further motivated by the way Tommy Paul challenged him in the fall of 2022. Reserve in the Rest of the World team, the Yankee then displayed a hostile attitude in relation to Novak Djokovic, the player from the European team who ruled the field on the second day of the Laver Cup. Paul has also expressed his displeasure with the actions of the Serbian grand champion in the past, most notably when Nole was disqualified from the US Open two seasons ago.

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A day after Roger Federer’s retirement match, Novak crushed Tiafoe on the court, then teamed up with Matteo Berrettini and beat De Minaur and Sock in straight sets. After the singles match, there was a controversial moment on the losing team’s bench, with Tommy Paul distancing himself from the bench when the Serbian came to shake hands with his opponents. The American preferred to place his cap, turning his back to Nole.

It was definitely not a coincidence. All the players in John McEnroe’s team shook hands with the Serb, but Tommy Paul turned his back on Djokovic, sending a clear message. It was undoubtedly an inappropriate gesture, especially in the context in which it was still a demonstration event, which had the great Roger Federer in the center, in the last match of his career.

Novak and Paul have never faced each other on the world tennis circuit, but they were indirectly linked by a “tweet” two and a half years ago, when the Serbian tennis player was disqualified from the US Open by a controversial decision by the organizers. At that point, Nick Kyrgios tagged the Serb and asked how big the penalty would have been if what happened to Djokovic had happened to him. The Australian also offered a poll and people voted for the options: five years, ten years and 20 years of suspension. The American was one of those who responded to Kyrgios’ “tweet” and gave the following reply: “I’d bail you out of jail now”; a line by which he clearly expressed his contempt for the Serb.

Djokovic responded to De Minaur on the court

The great Nole almost never gets into polemics with the players in the circuit, but he remembers very well when someone attacks him. And he responds on the field, like a great champion.

That’s what happened in the round of 16 in Melbourne this year, when he had no mercy on De Minaur, whom he managed 6-2, 6-1, 6-2, in a match that lasted two hours and 7 minutes game. After the match with the Australian, Novak Djokovic recalled at the press conference about the insulting words that Alex said about him last year, when he was expelled for not getting vaccinated against COVID-19. After Djokovic was sent home last year, De Minaur had some offensive words. As well as describing the Serb’s whole situation as a “cheap circus”, the Aussie also mocked the medical exemption Djokovic had on hand: “I think it’s very interesting. That’s all I’ll say. But hey, it is. I just hope that other tennis players get an exemption, that they all meet the conditions to be here” said De Minaur in 2022.

Look what it is, I have no relationship with him. I respect him as a rival and because he is my circuit mate, as I respect everyone. I have no problem contacting him and his team, his parents. I have no problem complimenting someone when they deserve it. I have no communication with him, he showed what he thinks about me last year. What kind of relationship should I build with him?”, Nole said now.

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The article is in Romanian

Tags: Tommy Paul refused greet Djokovic Laver Cup Minaurs fate

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