Was Djokovic close to being disqualified at Wimbledon?

Pedro de Pablos | 6 Jul 2026 | 11.37

Was Djokovic close to being disqualified at Wimbledon? Source: Getty Images

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Novak Djokovic has reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon 2026 once again after defeating Roman Safiullin. However, during the match, he was seen frustrated with his game, and even received a warning for hitting a ball against the advertising board, something that could have cost him disqualification according to Andy Roddick.

It should not be forgotten that at the US Open 2020, Djokovic was disqualified in his match against Pablo Carreño for a similar situation. In a moment of anger, the Serbian player hit a ball towards the advertising board with such bad luck that he hit a line judge, leading to his immediate disqualification. This time he did not hit anyone, but memories of Vietnam came back to Roddick, as he revealed in his podcast 'Served'.

"Novak was somewhat nervous. In the third set, he became aggressive. He himself said in his post-match press conference that he probably crossed the line. His serve got broken, and he threw the ball to the other side of the court, towards the board, and went all the way through. I mean, there were no ball boys nearby. He went back to the board again, but, well, it reminded me of that US Open when he threw a ball against the board," acknowledged the former world number 1.

Roddick explains why he feared Djokovic's disqualification

The reality is that the ball was far from hitting anyone, but Roddick stated, "Maybe we had a strange angle in the bunker, but it passed two feet away, and then the cameramen would have also appeared who are above the court. For a moment I thought: 'It came off his racquet,' and I thought: 'Oh, my God.' You know, everything can go well and then something goes wrong, but he plays better when he has a chance to find that negative energy."

It is common for Djokovic to feed off the environment (whether negative or positive) to display his best tennis, and this is what Roddick believes he did to get back into the match and close it out in 4 sets. “It feels like if there is no energy, he can find a way out. He finds just one person among the crowd of 23,000 people who doesn't like what he says, and basically he can use anyone as a stimulus to find the energy he needs to play with it," he acknowledged.

Djokovic himself admitted his mistake in the press conference, and the good news is that nothing worse happened. Now he will face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals, who also recently had a controversial moment against Alejandro Davidovich in his round of 16 match. A showdown between two of the most in-form players on the circuit, who could meet in hypothetical semifinals against Jannik Sinner if he overcomes his match with Jan-Lennard Struff. The top half of the draw is hotter than ever.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, ¿Estuvo cerca de ser descalificado Djokovic en Wimbledon?

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