Novak Djokovic to 'have French Open prize fund docked' after furious outburst
NOVAK DJOKOVIC will have his French Open prize fund docked after a furious outburst this afternoon, according to Eurosport pundit Miles Maclagan.
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Djokovic dented Court Suzanne-Lenglen during his win against Roberto Bautista Agut by slamming his racket against the clay after missing a simple shot during a second-set tie break.
The Serbian star, who was one-set up, moved towards the net and should have put himself on set point but instead whacking the ball against the top of the net before it bounced out.
Djokovic then crashed his racket against the dirt three times before handing his broken equipment to a young supporter.
Bautista Agut took advantage of the outburst to win the tie-break but he lost the following two sets to exit the competition.
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I’m sure that will lighten his prize money load slightly
But Andy Murray’s former coach Maclagan believes Djokovic will now see his prize fund docked for the damages he caused.
“He has been a break up in this set and he’d been down in the tie break, wrestled it back to 6-6, looked like he was going to have set point and then that happened,” Maclagan told Eurosport.
“His emotions just spilled over and he has put a little bit of a dent in the court.
“I’m sure that will lighten his prize money load slightly.
“He is playing full of fight and passion. His emotions are still settling in.”
Meanwhile, fellow pundit Annabel Croft was unsure why Djokovic lost his cool at that specific point in the match.
“It was an extraordinary time in the game to do it,” she added.
“I know he had just lost the point with a sitter but I could understand if he lost the set straight after and then doing it.”