"The insecurity of Nolefam is unmatched" - Fans react as Novak Djokovic supporters lambast Cincinnati Open over birthday wish for Carlos Alcaraz

Novak Djokovic's fans 'Noelfam' faced backlash from tennis fans for criticizing the Cincinnati Open. The tournament wished Carlos Alcaraz on his 21st birthday by running it back to their final last year which led to confusion.

Alcaraz, who turned 21 on Sunday, May 5, was wished by the tennis fraternity across the globe. He was also wished by the Cincinnati Open, a tournament where Alcaraz made it to the final in 2023 where he faced 24-time Major champion Djokovic.

The duo battled it out for three hours and 49 minutes, with the 36-year-old coming from a set down to defeat the Spaniard 5-7 7-6(7), 7-6(4) in a contest that was ranked ATP match of the year. It is also the longest best of three-sets final in ATP Tour's history.

The tournament's page wished Alcaraz on X (formerly Twitter) but didn't explicitly state the word birthday, but rather posted a grueling point won by the Spaniard. This irked Djokovic fans who didn't realize that it was a birthday post and proceeded to lambast the tournament. Cincinnati Open jokingly stated afterward that they would just wish Alcaraz a happy birthday next time.

Fans couldn't believe that Nolefam couldn't just let the tournament wish Alcaraz a birthday without making it about the Serb. One of the fans said that the insecurity of Nolefam is unparalleled.

"The insecurity of the Nolefam is unmatched."

Another fan found it hilarious that the Masters 1000 tournament was being criticized for making a birthday post.

"not yall getting jumped for making an innocent birthday post."

Here are other fan reactions to Nolefam's behavior.

"clock these clowns Cincy! takes two to tango for an iconic final, sad they can’t see that" said a fan.

"A faction of Novak fans always bully everyone for having a positive post about any other players that’s not Novak - a🐊 trait! And turning the rest of us off of the man🤷‍♀️ On that note, happy birthday to amazing carlos who’ll be sharing the no 1 ranking with jannik - soon" a fan opined.

"The victim mentality of a lot of Nolefam is truly unmatched!" a fan mentioned.

Some other fans felt that the original post was unclear as it didn't mention any birthday wish.

"You didn’t say birthday on the post brother! Had no clue it was his bday it just looked like you were praising one player in the match when they both shoulda been praised." said a fan

"Nothing wrong with the video but not everyone knew it was Carlos* birthday, so it seemed weird since that wasn't mentioned." a fan opined

"If that’s what you were trying to say, then yes. Strange that you wouldn’t have mentioned it somewhere in your post. Makes me think you are just trying to walk this back" another fan mentioned

"For such a young player to show so much poise in important moments is impressive" - Novak Djokovic on Carlos Alcaraz

2023 Western & Southern Open

Although their fans may be criticizing the players, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz share the highest respect for each other.

During the post-match interview, Djokovic shared how his rivalry with the Spaniard seemed to be getting better and better with every match. He also called Alcaraz an amazing player whom he had tonnes of respect for and also praised his ability to show poise during important moments in the match.

“This rivalry just gets better. It gets better and better,” the Serb said. “Amazing player. Tonnes of respect for him. For such a young player to show so much poise in important moments is impressive.”

Novak Djokovic is slated to play at the Italian Open next where he will be joined by Daniil Medvedev, Rafael Nadal, and others.

Alcaraz has withdrawn from the tournament to deal with ongoing injury concerns as the Spaniard looks to return at the French Open.