WATCH: “A little drama queen,” Novak Djokovic falls over while returning against Alex De Minaur, fans react

Novak Djokovic defeated Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters.

Novak Djokovic (Source: IMAGO)

Novak Djokovic continued his sensational run in the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters by defeating Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals of the tournament. The Serb is now just two wins away from winning the ATP 1000 tournament. If he manages to do so, it will be a really great start for him in the 2024 clay season, giving him much-needed momentum.

However, the victory did not come easily. Although the Serb won the match 7-5, 6-4 in straight sets, it was far from an easy match for him. Alex de Minaur gave Djokovic tough competition from the very beginning and both players were on their toes throughout the match. The fact that the Australian had defeated the Serb in their last encounter in the United Cup had definitely raised the stakes of the match beforehand.

While returning one of de Minaur’s shots, Novak Djokovic could not control his momentum and fell against the motion. While he won the point, the Serb rolled down, and it almost seemed like he got imbalanced. However, some fans think on social media that it was a ‘fake antic’ and he fell down for absolutely no reason at all.

Fans react to Novak Djokovic’s fall against Alex de Minaur

Novak Djokovic surely has a lot of fans across the globe but on the contrary, he also has plenty of critics. These critics do not leave any opportunity to speak up against the 24-time Grand Slam champion and today’s match was no different. His fall after that one return, in particular, became a controversial topic on social media in no time, as many thought that it was fake.

“Nothing happened. He thought he missed the shot. This is what he does every single match when he misses or almost misses an easy shot. He’s a little drama queen,” a fan wrote on X. Here are some of the reactions:

Novak Djokovic is unhinged by these criticisms, though. After the match, he said that it was difficult for both him and de Minaur today and that neither of them played at a very high level. He also praised the Australian for being a formidable foe.

It was tough for both of us. He’s one of the quickest players on tour. He gets a lot of balls back that 99% of players don’t.. he surprised me with several passing shots, in the 2nd set particularly when I was up a break.. He said at the net that it was ugly in the 2nd set.

Novak Djokovic said in the on-court interview.

Although Novak Djokovic agrees that things like these do tend to happen on clay, the number of unforced errors that took place in today’s game was probably a bit too much, according to him. However, the Serb said that he was happy with the win.