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Tennis fans online were up in arms after hearing that Novak Djokovic was subjected to doping control before his match at the 2023 Davis Cup in Malaga, Spain.
Djokovic underwent a random drug test by doping authorities 90 minutes before the start of his match against Cameron Norrie in the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup. Earlier in the day, Miomir Kecmanovic saw off Jack Draper 7-6 (2), 7-6 (6) to give Serbia an early lead at the Davis Cup.
Djokovic’s doping test scenario drew sharp reactions from tennis fans online. One fan commented on a Reddit post taking a jab at the doping officials:
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"Yeah, make Novak mad. Great idea! I wonder what can go wrong. I swear, these morons never learn."
Another fan opined that the more Novak Djokovic gets infuriated, the better he performs. They commented:
"The more you piss him off, the better he becomes"
Here are a few more reactions:
The Serb comfortably saw off Norrie, winning 6-4, 6-4, to eliminate Great Britain from the Davis Cup. His team will next take on Jannik Sinner's Italy in the semis.
Novak Djokovic will meet Jannik Sinner in the 2023 Davis Cup semi-finals
In a press conference following Serbia’s victory over Great Britain, Novak Djokovic said there is a new rivalry brewing between him and Jannik Sinner, and that it would be entertaining for the fans to witness it.
“Yeah, third time in a little bit more than a week," he said. "It's going to be great, I think, for tennis fans and for both Italian sports tennis fans and Serbia, and here also in Malaga. We're kind of developing a nice rivalry lately. You know, I have tons of respect for him.”
The 24-time Grand Slam champion lavished praise on Sinner, saying he was playing "the tennis of his life."
“You know, he's been playing arguably the tennis of his life," Djokovic said. "I saw a little bit of singles and doubles that he won today. Amazing. Really played on a high level. I could see that he was very pumped to play for his nation. It was impressive the way they turned it around from 0-1.”
For context, Sinner won his quarter-final match against Tallon Griekspoor 7-6,(3), 6-1 and levelled the score 1-1, after Italy went 1-0 down in the tie.
Djokovic also stated that his past two meetings with the 22-year-old would benefit both of them in their forthcoming semi-final showdown. He said:
“You know, I think the two matches that we had against each other in Torino will serve and help both of us in our preparation for Saturday.”
The winner of this semi-final contest will meet either Australia or Finland in the finals of the 2023 Davis Cup on 26 November.
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