The sports arena is no stranger to controversies, and once again, it’s a tennis star at the heart of the storm. But this time, the drama isn’t unfolding on the court—it’s happening off it. Former American pro Mardy Fish has found himself in the spotlight after a subtle yet sharp dig at none other than the Olympic champion and tennis legend Novak Djokovic. And as you’d expect, the tennis community is buzzing.

After the defeat of the Serbian basketball team against the USA in the semi-finals of the Paris Olympics, Fish took a dig at Djokovic. Taking to his X, the American tagged Djokovic and asked him a question which fumed the fans. “Yo @DjokerNole I didn’t catch the end of the 🇺🇸 vs 🇷🇸 Basketball game. Who ended up winning that?” he wrote.

For the unversed, Serbia was 17 points ahead of the US team in the match. But finally, it was the Americans who had the last laugh as they paved their way to the finals after winning the match 95-91. Coming back to Fish, his tweet is perceived by the tennis community as sarcasm against Djokovic’s dream run at the Paris Olympics this year. 

As soon as the above tweet gained traction, several fans expressed their anger against Fish. From highlighting the Serbian Maestro’s legacy to charging the American player, fans avenged the tweet against Djokovic. 

Tennis fans lash out at Fish over his remarks

Taking to Twitter, one user highlighted Djokovic’s record against the US Team. “When was the last time American beat @DjokerNole ? Remind us….” Interestingly, the current Top 5 US players on the ATP tour have failed to win a single match against Djokovic. Nole is leading the head-to-head tally against Taylor Fritz 9-0, against Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton 1-0. Moreover, his lead is similar against Sebastian Korda and Frances Tiafoe, where he is leading 1-0 and 2-0, respectively. The series of backlashes continued. 

Responding to the Tweet, another user wrote, “Hey @MardyFish I didn’t catch the end of your career. How many Grand Slam titles do you have?” Fish also does not have a great record against the Serbian legend. The duo have clashed seven times on the ATP circuit, with the latter winning all the encounters. Besides, Fish’s best results at a Grand Slam are in the quarterfinals as opposed to Nole’s 24 titles in such tournaments. 

One more user joined the fray of critics. “The referee joined the USA team, so the Serbian team lost because they were outnumbered.” The match between Serbia and the USA was followed by dramatic scenes. Serbian shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic accused the referees of not listening to their appeals during the match and making biased decisions. “We tried to talk to referees; they didn’t try to talk to us, but it’s ok,” Bogdanovic said after the game, per BasketNews. “The USA doesn’t need that type of help against us. We didn’t have that type of help when they were grabbing us with two hands and all that. We played the best we could.” Meanwhile, Fish did not have an easy day either. 

Another user highlighted Djokovic’s tough upbringing. “Novak Djokovic learned tennis between 2 NATO bombings in Belgrade while he was 12. So shut up, and please, respect for Serbia.” In a CBS documentary from 2011, Djokovic revealed the impact of the incident on his life. He recalled waking up because of the bombings often late at night for almost 3 months for those 78 days in 1999. “In a way these experiences made me a champion, it made us tougher, made us more hungry for success,” he had said.

One more user simply wrote, “That’s one way to get his attention, Mardy.” For Djokovic, this is one of the kinds of support he would expect as he moves ahead this season. Can the Serb use this to clinch his 25th title at the US Open? Only time will tell.