He did Change the Course of the Match: Djokovic on Serena Williams’ Controversy

The 2018 men’s US Open champion, Novak Djokovic’s 14th Grand Slam glory was obliterated by the Serena Williams controversy. This occurred the day before he clinched his US Open crown. The 23-time Grand Slam champion, Williams had to pay a penalty of $17,000 to the U.S. Tennis Association for the incessant code violations which she committed. The first one a warning for receiving coaching, a point penalty for breaking her racket and a game penalty when she was abusive with the chair umpire. Naomi Osaka’s maiden major title achievement was also dwarfed by this argument.

As the issue dominated during the men’s final and Djokovic replied cognitively when she was asked about the same. “Look, I love Serena, first of all,” Djokovic said after defeating Juan Martin del Potro, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 in the Sunday’s final. “I really felt for her [Saturday]. Tough thing for a chair umpire to deal with, as well. We have to empathize with him. Everyone was in a very awkward situation yesterday. A lot of emotions. Serena was crying. Naomi was crying. It was really, really tough.”

Djokovic expresses his personal views on the chair umpire and he believes the issue could have been kept under control especially when it is a Grand slam final. Everybody has emotions and those sensations get escalated when someone is playing for a Grand Slam trophy. Taking away a game from Serena at a crucial moment diverted the route of the match. Djokovic adds, “Just maybe changed — not maybe, but he did change the course of the match. It was, in my opinion, maybe unnecessary. We all go through our emotions, especially when you’re fighting for a Grand Slam trophy.

The head out the WTA, Steve Simon, stepped out and revealed his thoughts. The in-match coaching should be allowed across the events and regardless of gender. The chair umpire, Carlos Ramos also has been disparaged by Venus Williams during the 2016 French Open. He blamed her for communicating with her coach during the match. Williams was shattered by that remark and she replied to Ramos “I’m 36 years old. I play fair.”

The players including Nick Kyrgios, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal were penalized by the chair umpire Carlos Ramos. He penalised Nadal for taking time between two points, and Nadal was shattered and he told him that he wouldn’t chair his matches again.