Novak Djokovic is known for his tenacious baseline defense and ferocious offensive assaults from every corner of the court. But when the opponent does finally manage to put the ball seemingly out of Djokovic’s reach, tennis fans get to see the acrobatic side of the ageless Serbian.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is known to stretch his body to reach shots, often extending his arms and legs to full length to get to the ball. Even this year, during his US Open win at the age of 36, Novak displayed some acrobatic moves, apt for an Olympic gymnast’s routine.
Matteo Arnaldi challenges Novak Djokovic’s No. 1 spot
22-year-old Italian tennis player Matteo Arnaldi recently played the Vienna Open, where he defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the first round but lost to Russian Andrey Rublev in the second. However, Matteo did not go down without a fight and his acrobatic moves during the match, including a full-stretch split during a point, have left social media ablaze, with fans sharing the photo repeatedly.
Matteo himself became aware of the virality of his feat and decided to take a sly dig at Novak Djokovic in the process. Taking to Instagram, Matteo reshared TennisTv’s photo of him in a story and tagged the image with the caption ‘@djokernole I’m coming for you ( face with tears of joy emoji)’.
The taunt could be Matteo’s attempt at challenging Novak’s No. 1 spot. The Italian is ranked world no. 46 now and recently lost in the fourth round of the US Open. The dig could also be a cheeky reference to Novak’s agile moves on the tennis court, with Matteo seeing himself as the new generation’s equivalent of Novak Djokovic.
Many fans of Djokovic commented on the story but the best retort was saved for the Serbian himself, as he took notice of Matteo’s reference to him and responded in a savage and typical Djokovic manner—one that is irreverent to people’s opinions of him.
Novak Djokovic savagely responds to Matteo Arnaldi’s taunt
Novak Djokovic, who has some time off before he heads to Paris for the Masters 1000 event, managed to get a glimpse of Matteo’s story on Instagram before it disappeared after a day.
Novak was having none of the new kid on the block’s comparisons with him and savagely replied, ‘First, you need to be facing the net and not the wall. Then we can talk (2 face with tears of joy emojis)’.
The retort was in reference to Matteo looking back from over his shoulder while lying on the ground in a split, but it could have also meant that the Italian was in no position to match Djokovic’s agility. Often, Novak Djokovic wins points when he slides and breaks into splits, with his focus on the next point, should his opponent return. That was evidently missing in Matteo’s shotmaking and Novak savagely pointed that out.
Novak Djokovic will play three more tournaments before the year concludes, with the Paris Masters, Davis Cup knockout stages and Nitto ATP Finals rounding off his season as he looks to hold on to his world no. 1 ranking amid a back-and-forth ranking battle with Carlos Alcaraz.
What are your opinions on Novak’s response to Matteo Arnaldi’s taunt? Should the Italians have refrained from being cheeky and resorting to comparisons with the legend? Let us know in the comments section below.
