“Disgusting” – Australian Commentator Draws Backlash for a Controversial Comment on Novak Djokovic During his Australian Open First Round

Novak Djokovic books a place in the second round of the Australian Open after beating Pedro Martinez in straight sets.

“Disgusting” – Australian Commentator Draws Backlash for a Controversial Comment on Novak Djokovic During his Australian Open First Round

Novak Djokovic (Image via X/AllAboutHQ)

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Former Australian player and now commentator, Wally Masur, has been slammed for “an absolutely disgusting” on-air remark about Novak Djokovic during his first-round match at the Australian Open in Melbourne. Masur joked that the only way Djokovic’s opponent can beat him is if the Serbian legend’s muscle tears.

The moment things unfolded during Djokovic’s first-round win against Pedro Martinez was in the second set. The former World No.1 was playing great tennis and dominating the match against the Spaniard. He looked destined to win the match easily, leading 6-3, 3-1. But in the fifth game of the second set, Djokovic made an uncharacteristic error.

He had lured Martinez out of his baseline before hitting a lob that forced the Spaniard to sprint back and hit a poor forehand shot. Djokovic is now at an advantage as the ball dropped to him, but unfortunately, he hit it into the net. On Stan TV, the highlight of the miss was shown repeatedly, prompting the commentary team to discuss his age and court movement.

Emma Raducanu’s former coach, Mark Petchey, first initiated the discussion, stressing that Djokovic had declared last week that he doesn’t have the “juice” in his legs to compete against the top players in the men’s circuit:

Well he talked about it this week that he’s maybe a little bit slower, that biology as he liked to say because of his age at 38, at times it’s hard to see it.

Coco Gauff’s ex-coach Brad Gilbert responded immediately that it was just a normal mistake and that he didn’t show any weakness. After that, Australian commentator Wally Masur then interjected:

I think that’s Pedro’s biggest chance, if Novak just tears an adductor on one of those slides. It might be just what he needs.

Masur, who is a former Davis Cup Captain and has been a popular tennis commentator for the past decade. His comments about Djokovic were met with a few chuckles in the commentary box, but they didn’t go over well with fans on social media. On X, there was an explosion of outrage from fans watching at home. Here are some of the reactions:

Last year, Djokovic retired from his semi-final clash against Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open, citing an abductor injury. The extent of his injury was publicly questioned, which led him to share an MRI photo that showed a significant tear to his left hamstring. The fourth seed will be focused on winning the tournament rather than letting distractions at this time of the season.

Novak Djokovic makes history at the Australian Open after the first round win

Before Novak Djokovic’s first match at the Australian Open, he revealed that his biggest disadvantage at 38 is that he doesn’t have the “juice in the legs” to compete with youngsters for over two weeks of a Grand Slam tournament. However, he dismissed the notion on Monday (January 19) after beating Pedro Martinez 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in just two hours.

Novak Djokovic (3)
Novak Djokovic (Image via X/AllAboutHQ)

The win was his landmark 100th Australian Open victory, having achieved 102 wins at Wimbledon and 101 wins at Roland Garros. During his on-court interview, he admitted that achieving a century of wins in Melbourne is pretty nice. He further said that his career in professional tennis has been inspiring:

Great to be back once again, definitely my favourite court. Centurion is pretty nice. I always give my best on the court, history-making is a great motivation. Particularly in the last five or 10 years of my career, once I got myself in a position where I could eventually create history, I was even more inspired to play the best tennis. I am blessed to be still playing at this level.

Djokovic will face Italian qualifier Francesco Maestrelli in the second round of the Australian Open. The 10-time champion is likely to face Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals, which will be a rematch of the 2024 Australian Open semi-finals.

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