"Feels like a targeted omission": 'The Disruptor' Novak Djokovic misses out on ATP Award nominations as fans react negatively
Tennis NewsFriday, 01 December 2023 at 09:33
A big omission to the ATP Awards once again was Novak Djokovic in at this point a yearly occurrence. As ever it drew the ire of fans who said he should've been nominated for the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award.
The only award that has involvement of the 24-time Grand Slam champion is Goran Ivanisevic for Coach of the Year. Twitter users have pointed towards Alcaraz being nominated despite losing his temper on a number of occasions on the court.
The Spaniard is up for the award alongside Carlos Alcaraz, Hubert Hurkacz, Grigor Dimitrov and Jannik Sinner.
"Novak didn’t get the Sportsmanship Award nomination once again? Feels like a targeted omission at this point," one fan wrote.
"Should change this to No-Novak Award! Dont give him an award - C’mon won’t nominate him? Such a BS. Now we know what motivates him - [Awards] which isn't subjective- gotta win!," another commented.
While another cited an article from TennisUpToDate hitting back at Rennae Stubbs saying last year that he doesn't get nominated for being too angry when in reality it should be also for charitable donations and being gracious in defeat.
"Stubbs said last year that Djokovic doesn't get nominated/ win the sportsmanship award because he's too angry on court and breaks rackets. Djokovic who off court made more charitable donations then ANY player and is always gracious in defeats, but it appears that doesn't count," they wrote.
Novak the disruptor
Marion Bartoli who is well known for defending Djokovic summed it up calling him the disruptor recently out of the legendary tennis names.
“I think people just got used so much to two players facing each other. If you look at the history of tennis it was (Bjorn) Borg against (John) McEnroe, it was (Pete) Sampras against (Andre) Agassi and it was Roger (Federer) against (Rafa) Nadal. You are not used to having a third one.
“The third one feels like the disruptor. You want to cheer for one or the other. You say ‘I was to cheer for Roger’ or ‘I want to cheer for Rafa’. You don’t want the third one that comes in and wins everything.”
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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