"Seemed genuinely pissed off by the level of tennis" - Tennis fans discuss Novak Djokovic's frustration with Tomas Machac's prowess during Dubai win

Novak Djokovic battled past Tomas Machac in a closely contested encounter in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. Tennis fans shared their reaction to the Serb's supposed frustration with Machac's skill level during the match.

Following his record 10th championship win at the Australian Open, Djokovic returned to the tour at the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai. The Serb faced Tomas Machac in his opening match. The 22-time Grand Slam champion struggled to find his rhythm initially as evidenced by his 28 unforced errors and eight double faults. He held his nerve to eventually win 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(1).

Djokovic acknowledged Machac's level during the match and said that he played a lot better than what his ranking would suggest. Despite the challenge, the Serb was able to raise his level in the moments that mattered.

"Tomas certainly didn't play like the No. 130 in the world today. He was giving me all kinds of trouble. But I guess when it mattered, I found another gear,” the World No. 1 said.

Tennis fans weighed in on Djokovic's supposed frustration with the level his opponent was displaying.

One fan stated that they understood why Djokovic was upset about the level of play Machac brought to the match, which he probably anticipated would be straightforward.

"Novak seemed genuinely pissed off by the level of tennis his opponent was able to produce and I can't blame him lol," the fan wrote.

Another fan chimed in, saying that recently the World No. 1's annoyance reared its head anytime he was not winning comfortably. The fan added that the Serb's frustration is directed at himself anytime he loses to younger players, who he doesn't hold in high regard.

"Novak nowadays just seems pissed off unless he's bageling people. But my impression is that he's pissed off at himself. He thinks so little of nextgen and next-nextgen that if he isn't outright murdering them on the court, he's disappointed in himself," the fan wrote.

Here are some more reactions to the World No. 1's victory over Tomas Machac:

Novak Djokovic admits to initial struggle in his first match after a month-long layoff

The Serb at the Dubai Tennis Championships

Novak Djokovic revealed that he was a little rusty in his match against Tomas Machac at the Dubai Tennis Championships.

The Serb explained that since he had taken time off to deal with his hamstring injury, he required time to adjust to holding the racket. He also stated that he hadn't played much tennis before coming to Dubai, so he hopes to improve his game as the tournament goes on.

"I did struggle with injury for several weeks and it took me a little bit of time to really get used to holding the raquet, you know, I haven't played much tennis coming into Dubai, so I'm hoping, hoping that as the tournament progresses, I can, I can raise the level of tennis as well," he said.

Novak Djokovic will face Tallon Griekspoor in the second round in Dubai. The Serb won their lone previous encounter at the 2021 US Open in straight sets.