"Did they ask Nadal why he yelled at umpire?" "What a joke" - Fans furious over Novak Djokovic being questioned about 'intense' behavior with team

Novak Djokovic has advanced to the 2023 US Open semifinals, defeating ninth seed Taylor Fritz, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday to continue his quest for a record-equaling 24th Grand Slam title.

This marks Djokovic's 47th Grand Slam semifinal appearance, helping him break Roger Federer's previous Open Era men's record of 46. The victory over Fritz has also helped the Serb become the first man in history to have 250 career wins over top 10 players.

Novak Djokovic attended a press conference following his victory, where a reporter asked him to elaborate on whether he was "difficult" with his team.

"After some of your Slam victories in the past, you have thanked your team for kind of putting up with you for a couple of weeks because you can be difficult to be around. Wondered if you could just elaborate. But you can get pretty intense behind the scenes," the reporter asked.

The Serb handled the question with characteristic grace, saying that it's not just him who is difficult to be around when playing at the highest level.

"Yeah, I can be difficult, but who is not, again? I don't know the player playing on the highest level that is, you know, easygoing and, you know, everything is, so to say, flowers and music, you know, (smiling). It has to be challenging for everyone, for the player and for the coaching staff, otherwise, there is no growth," he said.

Several tennis fans, however, were outraged by this exchange, and they took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their feelings. One user brought up Rafael Nadal's feuds with controversial umpire Carlos Bernardes over the years and wrote:

"Did they repeatedly ask Nadal why he yelled at umpire Bernardes so many times and why he banned him from his matches and denied him his earnings? Are they??"

Another user said it was ironic that Alexander Zverev hasn't faced as many questions as the Serb despite being accused of abuse by two different women.

"Djokovic gets asked so many idiotic questions in a desperate attempt for a juicy headline to make him look bad. Meanwhile, Zverev is in the quarter-finals with serious allegations of domestic violence from TWO different women, and it isn't mentioned whatsoever. What a joke," the user tweeted.

Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:

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Novak Djokovic has reclaimed the World No. 1 ranking from Carlos Alcaraz

Novak Djokovic pictured at the 2023 US Open.

Novak Djokovic and Alcaraz have been battling it out for the No. 1 ranking all year.

Alcaraz held the top spot going into the 2023 US Open, the final Grand Slam tournament of the year. But the Serb had a chance to overthrow his rival with a victory in his first-round match against Frenchman Alexandre Muller at the New York Slam.

That's exactly what happened, as Djokovic marked a triumphant return to Flushing Meadows and cruised to a 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 win against Muller. He will officially sit on the top spot when the rankings are updated after the tournament ends.

Meanwhile, in the semifinals, the 23-time Grand Slam champion will take on Ben Shelton of the United States. Alcaraz, on the other hand, is set to take on Alexander Zverev in his quarterfinal later on Wednesday.