Controversy Splits: Tsitsipas Turns Back on Djokovic, Sparking Tension
Novak Djokovic’s feud with Stefanos Tsitsipas has been reignited after the Greek snubbed the 24-time Grand Slam champion while naming the greatest sportsperson of all-time. Tsitsipas and his fellow tennis stars Aleksandar Zverev and Casper Ruud were all asked the same winner-stays-on questions, pitting greats of their game against football legends, basketball icons and boxing champions.
Names like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan were posited, but both Zverev and Ruud picked Djokovic as the last man standing. Tsitsipas, however, went for Rafael Nadal instead in the interview with 433 and the ATP Tour.
In fact, the 26-year-old was faced with a Nadal vs Djokovic showdown at the very end of the game, but opted for the Spaniard in spite of him winning fewer major titles. The snub may come as little surprise given the frigid history between Tsitsipas and Djokovic.
The pair have clashed several times on court, and thrown subtle jabs at one another off it. In 2021, after Tsitsipas took a long bathroom break during a match against Andy Murray at the US Open, Djokovic accused the youngster of covertly trying to disrupt his opponent’s momentum.
He never specifcally referenced Tsitsipas, but the 37-year-old said he wasn’t a fan of lengthy toilet breaks and insisted it was an “issue that needed to be addressed” in tennis. Tsitsipas hit back, saying there was nothing in the rules that prohibited such breaks.
During the 2023 French Open, Djokovic took issue with what he perceived to be similary-disruptive antics in a match against Tsitsipas, who delayed the start of a tiebreak by taking extra time to get ready. Annoyed by the lengthy wait, Djokovic told the umpire: “Every single time.”
