US Open: Novak Djokovic loses cool, asks his own fan to leave

Novak Djokovic showed his furious side as he asked his own fan to leave during his quarter-final game at the US Open 2023 on Tuesday.

A 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Taylor Fritz could suggest it was a pretty smooth quarter-final win for Djokovic, but the second seed had his moments of frustration. The incident took place in the third set in a game that saw Djokovic lose his serve.

Serving at 4-3 up and deuce, Djokovic lost a point after he was distracted by a fan in the crowd who called a Fritz shot out before it bounced it in. Djokovic then shouted and showed his anger in the direction of where the fan was sitting as the home crowd celebrated Fritz's advantage.

The Serbian star then lost the next point and suffered a break in the third set. A fuming Djokovic almost smashed his racquet on the court before asking the fan to leave. The fan immediately agreed to the 23-time Grand Slam winner's demand.

It was soon revealed that the fan, who was removed from the crowd, was in fact a fan of Djokovic. He was sitting along with a group of fans, with some of them wearing t-shirts saying he is tennis' greatest ever player.

Fortunately for the fan and Djokovic, the incident did not have any effect on the player's result as the 36-year-old sealed the game in straight sets.

Djokovic reacts to the incident

In a post-match interview, when Djokovic was in a much calmer state, he admitted that he was sorry about the incident but also added that the fan really "annoyed" him at that point.

"He [fan] was actually in the box where some of my friends were. I don't know who the guy was; but yeah, I was pretty annoyed by him at that point. I was communicating with my friends to have a little chat with him.

"I'm actually glad the crowd wants to get into it, because it means the match is interesting, that they want to be part of it, that they're having fun. At the end of the day, they pay to come and watch you play, so we try to put on a show. Sometimes [they] might have an interaction with the player, like this guy. I'm sorry for him, but he was really annoying at that point," added Djokovic.

Djokovic, who is a three-time winner at the US Open, will take on the winner of the All-American Frances Tiafoe vs Ben Shelton showdown in the semi-finals on Friday. The former World No. 1 is chasing a record-extending 24th Grand Slam.