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“Protect Your Rights!”: Analyst Hits Back at French Open as They Take Down Novak Djokovic’s Kind Gesture Clipping

Published 06/15/2021, 3:19 AM EDT

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via Reuters

Serbian World No. 1 Novak Djokovic won his 19th Grand Slam title at the French Open 2021. However, what made the day more memorable was him giving his tennis racquet to a young fan.

In the post-match press conference, Djokovic stated that the kid had supported him throughout the match, and he was even coaching and encouraging the Serb even after a two-set-to-love score.

via Reuters

Now, Darren Rovell, a sports business analyst, shared the awe-inspiring video on his Twitter account. Immediately, it blew up on social media and garnered 5.5 million views.

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Surprisingly, this somehow backfired on the French Tennis Federation (FFT). Strict about their content, the governing body asked Rovell to delete the video and caused a stir in the tennis community.

FFT receives heat after asking analyst to delete a kid’s fan moment with Novak Djokovic

After deleting the video, Rovell hit back on Twitter at the responsible party, which was either FFT or NBC. It wasn’t the only time such a thing has happened at the Roland-Garros.

“Congratulations to the French Tennis Federation and/or NBC, who requested that my video of the boy getting Djokovic’s racket be taken down. The video got 5.5 million views, more than any highlight from any match. Great for a struggling sport. But you guys protect your rights!” Rovell wrote on Twitter. 

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Naturally, this got a lot of support from the tennis sports analyst and journalism community. Matthew Willis, a sports analyst, wrote, “Tennis goes viral & of course the original content gets DMCA’d (& kills reach of the tweet). These are accredited sports journalists/media trying to share an interesting thing that happened. How in the absolute f*ck is this good for the sport or harmful for the copyright holder.”

On the same, Jose Morgado, a tennis journalist, added, “FFT is quite disgraceful on that department. But it’s a lost war.” Furthermore, he shared another piece where a Roland-Garros content got blocked, calling it “unreal stuff.” It involved the American football defensive end J. J. Watt, who shared content with his 5.6 million followers.

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Without a doubt, this situation is not in favor of the great sport. Hopefully, a middle way to treat this situation will arise soon. What are your thoughts on this matter?

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Watch this story: Champions!: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, And Others’ Trophy Lift at French Open

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Written by:

Purav Joshi

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Purav Joshi is a Tennis author at EssentiallySports. Having a degree in Films, Television and Media Production, he guided his passion for writing and journalism into the sport of aces and rallies. With over 2 years of experience as a copywriter, Purav has authored over 500 tennis articles.
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