Novak Djokovic accidentally flings racquet into crowd at Srpska Open

Novak Djokovic accidentally tossed his racquet into the crowd during his quarterfinal match against Dusan Lajovic in the quarterfinals of the Srpska Open.

The World No. 1's poor run of form continued as he lost to Lajovic, 6-4, 7-6(6), in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Banja Luka. Lajovic made a comeback from being down 3-6 in the second set tie-break to make it to the semifinals of the event.

During the first set of the match, with Lajovic leading the set 3-2, the Serbian tried hard to return one of Lajovic's shots but eventually ended up flinging the racquet into the stands, much to his disbelief. Fans, however, took the incident in a lighthearted manner as they returned the racquet to the Serbian while others clapped.

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Novak Djokovic kicked off his 2023 season with two consecutive titles in Australia, including his 10th Australian Open win. In the season's first tournament, the Adelaide International 1, the 35-year-old dropped just one set, that too in the final, to win the title.

Making his return to the Australian Open for the first time since last year's controversy, Djokovic dominated his way through to the finals as he lifted his 10th Australian Open singles title. In the summit clash, the Serbian beat Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-3, 7-6(4), 7-6(5).

The 22-time Grand Slam singles winner was, however, forced to withdraw from the Sunshine Double after his special request for entry into the US was denied by the government.

He made his return to the tour in Dubai and lost to former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, 6-4, 6-4, in the semifinals of the tournament. In his first clay tournament of the season, Djokovic started off by beating Ivan Gakhov in straight sets. However, he unexpectedly lost to Lorenzo Musetti, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, in the third round of the Monte-Carlo Masters. During the match, the Serbian was involved in a controversy as he smashed his racquet into two after losing the second set of the match.

At the Srpska Open, the World No. 1 won the round-of-16 match against Luca Van Assche, 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-2, and set up a quarterfinal encounter with the Serbian Lajovic.

Djokovic's loss to Lajovic was his first loss to a Serbian opponent since 2012. The veteran will next be seen in action at the Madrid Open which is slated to start later this month.