Novak Djokovic has not lost his fiery edge, as proven during a heated moment in the second set of his contest at the 2025 Geneva Open.
The tennis legend is competing at the ATP 250 tournament to get match practice before Roland Garros after failing to register any victories in Monte-Carlo or Madrid, also playing poorly in each defeat.
Djokovic began his campaign in Geneva with a comfortable triumph against Marton Fucsovics. In the round of 16, he faced Matteo Arnaldi, the man who defeated him at the 2025 Madrid Open a few weeks ago.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion did not allow history to repeat itself. Despite being 1-4 down in the second, Djokovic managed to prevail 6-4, 6-4, securing another morale-boosting win before the French Open.
That win is even more impressive considering how Djokovic lost control of his emotions at one stage. Arnaldi broke serve to go 3-1 up in the second set, which led to the Serbian's brief moment of anger.
After losing the point to be broken, Djokovic slammed his racket down on the Swiss clay. It spun away from him before he went to collect it, and the act was also met with a few whistles from the crowd.
Although Djokovic's achievements and resilience make him an excellent role model, he has smashed several rackets over the years. The three-time French Open champion is authentic and never hides how he is feeling on the court.
Djokovic's attitude contrasts with that of his legendary former rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Federer's racket smash against Djokovic at the 2009 Miami Open was a rare instance of him doing it, while Nadal, incredibly, never smashed a racket.
That difference in behavior is why Toni Nadal believes his nephew and Federer are more respected than Djokovic. He believes they showed more class over the course of their careers.
Many found Toni's comments to be unfair to Djokovic. Last year's Olympic gold medalist always shows class in defeat, and some of the younger players on the ATP Tour have praised him for being helpful and respectful when they emerged as professionals.
Djokovic not receiving the same adulation as Federer and Nadal used to bother him, but there has been a noticeable shift in recent years to being himself no matter what and realizing he has millions of fans who love him regardless.
A high-profile example of Djokovic sticking to his beliefs is his refusal to take any of the available COVID-19 vaccines. The 38-year-old does not think anyone should be compelled to take anything they do not want to.
That refusal led to him being given a medical exemption for the 2022 Australian Open, but Border Patrol detained him, and he was ultimately deported after the country's immigration minister at the time used special powers at his disposal.
Earlier this year, Djokovic shockingly claimed that he had been poisoned while detained. The former ATP world No. 1 came to that conclusion after becoming unwell when he returned to Serbia.
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