Love him or hate him, but you can’t ignore the current world number one in tennis, Novak Djokovic. He uses criticisms as fuel and Tuesday night at Piedmont capital was no exception. Despite the loss to home favorite, Jannik Sinner at the ATP Finals he was seen sarcastically gesturing towards the Italian crowd. The 49YO former British number 1 in tennis, Tim Henman noticed something unusual about the Serbian. Let’s find out what was it.

Novak Djokovic witnessed an end to his epic 19-match unbeaten streak at the hands of the 22-year-old Italian player. Jannik Sinner defeated the number 1 by 7-5,6-7(5),7-6(2) in a 3-hour and 9-minute nail-biting encounter. Fans looked absolutely ecstatic with Sinner’s victory at Pala Alpitour. However, there were a few moments in the match where the Serbian faced the heat from the hostile fans. How did he react to it?

Novak Djokovic had a perfect reaction to silence the fans in Turin

It was a high-intensity match with end-to-end action where the number 1 was competing with the number 4. Many fans idolize Novak Djokovic and then there are some who lash out with negative comments whenever he steps onto the court. Having an impactful character has its consequences, the Serbian is now used to it. The crowd chanted Sinner’s name right from the moment he stepped into the court.

During the first set of the match, Djokovic hit a double fault and fans cheered for it. The Serbian didn’t look pleased at all. During another instance, he handed a breakpoint to the Italian and sarcastically clapped at the crowd as they celebrated his mistake. It didn’t take long for the fans to hit back at the Serb by whistling and booing at his ears from the stands.

On seeing this reaction from Djokovic, the 6 time Grand Slam semifinalist, Tim Henman felt he might be relishing his role as the bad boy of tennis. In an Amazon Prime video, he said, “Sometimes when Djokovic starts taking on a crowd it is with much more animosity than he showed here. Here, he looked like he was enjoying it. Maybe it is a reflection of him ending the year as world No 1 whatever. He was the conductor. Trying to orchestrate the crowd. It seemed he was in good spirits, but he will be disappointed to lose this match.”

Henman felt that the 24-time Grand Slam winner draws inspiration from all those negativities that are thrown at him. With already securing the top spot at the year-end, Djokovic will now look to end the year on a higher note in Turin.

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Novak Djokovic is still in the race to clinch his 7th ATP Finals title

The ATP Finals always give you a second bite at the cherry. Novak Djokovic would now look to capitalize on most of his chances when he faces Hubert Hurkacz in the final group stage match on Thursday. Can Djokovic go through to the knockout phases of the tournament?

Well, there are still lots of permutations and combinations to look after to get that answer. If he wins the match against the Polish international and Sinner beats Holger Rune then Djokovic goes through. However, if he manages to beat Hurkacz in straight sets and Rune defeats the Italian in three sets, Djokovic will go through as a group topper.

Djokovic can also reach the semifinals if he beats Hurkacz in straight sets and Rune defeats Sinner in straight sets. But to get to all these calculations Djokovic needs to beat Hurkacz in their 7th faceoff. Can Djokovic snatch the victory over Hurkacz on Thursday?

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