"He's a lousy loser" "Give the man a break"- Fans divided over Novak Djokovic refusing to talk about possible arm injury during Monte-Carlo loss

Novak Djokovic exited the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters in the third round, losing 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 to 16th seed Lorenzo Musetti on Thursday (April 14). Both players put on a show for nearly three hours but it was the 21-year-old Italian who came out on top for the biggest win of his career.

At the post-match press conference, Djokovic refused to speak about what looked like an apparent injury during the match. He claimed he was not in a good mood to speak after the kind of day he had.

Tennis fans had mixed reactions to the Serb's words. A few fans were critical of his demeanor, with one calling him a "lousy loser".

"He's a lousy loser," a fan said.

Another fan called the World No. 1 a sore loser who could never be compared to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

"This was the sore loser, Djokovic, we all missed!! Welcome back, Mate! And people said we had the trio! This guy can never be compared with Rafa and Federer," a tweet read.

One user stated that Djokovic needed to learn how to handle a defeat gracefully from his rivals Federer and Nadal.

"Djokovic needs to take lessons from Nadal and Federer on how to handle defeat with humility and dignity," the fan's tweet read.

Here are some more fan reactions criticizing Djokovic for his blunt reaction to being asked about his arm injury:

However, some fans were more supportive of Djokovic, with one stating that he should be allowed to be upset over a defeat.

"The fact that he cannot even speak about a possible elbow Injury because it would be be criticised for even suggesting something was off is sad, He very rarely makes excuses for ever losing and he is allowed be pissed off with himself now and again,, Give the man a break," a fan opined.

Another fan stated that Djokovic was just being honest as he was not happy with himself after the defeat.

"He played awful and is not happy with himself. This is just being honest, no pretending he’s okay with the loss when he clearly is not. Doesn’t mean any disrespect for Lorenzo, what a great congrats hug at the net," a tweet read.

One user praised Djokovic for giving Lorenzo Musetti full credit by refusing to bring his possible arm injury into the spotlight.

"Great response! Not taking anything from Musetti, as he shouldn't. There will be time for such questions but to put that out there for Musetti to answer as well and to spoil his victory - wouldn't be fair. Bravo," a post said.

Here are some more fan reactions supporting Novak Djokovic's response to being asked about his arm injury:

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Novak Djokovic is next scheduled to compete at the 2023 Srpska Open

Novak Djokovic during his match against Lorenzo Musetti

Following his defeat in Monte-Carlo, Novak Djokovic, who has 15 wins out of 17 matches this season, will compete in the inaugural edition of the Srpska Open next week. The ATP 250 event will take place in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Other players in the tournament's main draw include Andrey Rublev, Borna Coric, Miomir Kecmanovic, Jiri Lehecka and Gael Monfils.