Video: Tennis fans dig up old video where Tommy Paul intentionally avoids shaking hands with Novak Djokovic
ATP
Tennis fans brought back a video of Tommy Paul purposefully not shaking hands with Novak Djokovic at last year's Laver Cup ahead of their clash at the 2023 Australian Open.
The two players will lock horns for the very first time in their semifinal at Melbourne Park on Friday. Djokovic has been sublime in Australia so far, having dropped just one set all tournament. The Serb booked his place in the final four by beating Andrey Rublev 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
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Paul has also enjoyed a dream run, reaching his maiden Grand Slam semifinal by beating compatriot Ben Shelton 7-6(6), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
Meanwhile, fans have been talking about a video involving Djokovic and Paul during the 2022 Laver Cup. In the video, the Serb — who represented Team Europe — beat Team World's Frances Tiafoe 6-1, 6-3 during Day 2 of the exhibition tournament.
After the match, he went to shake hands with his opponents, greeting the likes of captain John McEnroe, Taylor Fritz and Felix Auger-Aliassime. However, Paul could be seen turning his back when the Serb went to shake hands with Fritz and Tiafoe.
Several fans gave their two cents on the incident, with one expressing his desire for Djokovic to be shown the video before his semifinal against Paul, hoping that it would make him even more determined against the American on Friday.
"Tommy Paul intentionally avoided shaking hands with Novak after laver cup match. Hope someone from his team shows this video to him just before the SF," the fan's tweet read.
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One fan stated that the video spoke a lot about Tommy Paul's character.
"Paul looked like pretty nice guy but this video says a lot about his character, well either way Novak is the man and champion and that is what's important and going to be remembered," the fan's tweet read.
Another user slammed Paul and called him a "pathetic loser" for the incident.
"There’s another video that shows this in a much more obvious manner. This Tommy is a complete joke, instead of taking an opportunity to shake hands with greatness he spins around to play with his hat. Pathetic loser," the fan's tweet read.
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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