Novak Djokovic had an unpleasant experience during his semifinal match at the 2023 Wimbledon against Jannik Sinner, but he handled it well.
The scoreboard showed 2-1 for Djokovic, and 15-15 in the second set as the Serb wanted to make sure that he won't lose the one-break advantage that he earned earlier in the set. But his mission was a bit more difficult than he expected.
During the rally, the Serb hit a backhand down the line, but the umpire, Richard Haigh, called the hindrance on Djokovic as he extended his grunt, potentially distracting his opponent. The seven-time Wimbledon champion didn't agree, and went to discuss the call with the umpire.
Ultimately, the match continued, and the moment didn't distract Djokovic too much as he cruised to his fifth consecutive Wimbledon final in three sets. The call from the umpire was much different than the one we saw in Daniil Medvedev's match last year, when the Russian shouted 'no' before realizing his ball was actually going in.
During the match, John McEnroe who does the commentary for BBC talked about the situation, and he didn't really agree with the call. Yet, it was made and the American could only praise the Serb for how he handled the situation.
"Did you notice that Sinner’s ball went back in the court and dropped like a foot from the baseline? So how much of a hindrance could it have been? [Djokovic] handled it admirably. Way, way better than most players."
Djokovic was also asked about the incident during his post-match on-court interview. The 23-time Grand Slam champion didn't think it was worthy a hindrance call, and in a joking nature, he made fun of the call.
"The hindrance earlier on today in the match could have changed the course of the match. I felt really nervous after that call from the chair umpire, but I kind of managed to regroup, and it was probably the first time in my career that something like that happened to me, I normally don't have extended grunts."
"Maybe it was an echo from the roof, I didn't feel like I was causing any hindrance to my opponent, but it was a call and I had to respect. So, what was your question because I heard the hindrance part [laughing]."
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