After a sweeping semi-final victory against Alexander Zverev at the US Open, Novak Djokovic spared some words in defence of Stefanos Tsitsipas in his post-match interview.
The statement of support came after a comment on the “quick” – as labelled by the on-court commentator Patrick McEnroe – toilet break taken by his opponent during the game.
Toilet breaks became the epicentre of a heated debate last week at the tournament, after Stefanos Tsitsipas was criticised over a lengthy one taken during his first round match against England veteran Andy Murray.
“I think he’s great for the game,” Murray told reporters.
“But I have zero time for that stuff at all and I lost respect for him. It’s not so much leaving the court. It’s the amount of time. I spoke to my team before the match about it and they said to expect that, prepare for it if things were not going his way, ” he said noting that a seven to eight minute long pause during an intense match inevitably cools you down.
The World No.1 however defended Tsitsipas, claiming he did not deserve the media backlash he faced.
“I got to stand for Stefanos Tsitsipas. I don’t think he is doing anything wrong. So, I support him … because the rule is not clear, ” Djokovic said.”
You can argue it’s all relative, everyone sees it differently, we’re completely off topic, but I’ve got to say because this was a hot topic the last couple of weeks, I think he didn’t deserve that many attacks he was getting through the media and everyone.”