An important aspect of tennis is an athlete’s endurance. This factor largely comes into play during Grand Slams, when the players play best-of-five sets against each other. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was put to a similar test in the 2nd round of the Australian Open 2021 by American Frances Tiafoe. 

Tiafoe challenged Djokovic with a spirited display 

Tiafoe was clearly the underdog in the match, but he successfully stretched Novak Djokovic past his comfort zone. The #64 seed in the world matched up to almost every aspect of Novak’s game, right from the serve. 

The American wasn’t largely successful in breaking Djokovic’s serve and did it only twice in the entire match. On the other hand, this is where Djokovic won the game. The Serbian converted 5 total breakpoints and one of them came at a very crucial moment in the 4th set. 

Tiafoe put on an inspiring display against the best player in the world. He toiled hard and took the second set in the match, but that’s when he roused the beast in Novak. The Serbian clinched the subsequent set and as the match went into the 4th, Tiafoe faced a disruption to his momentum. 

Novak Djokovic capitalized when Frances Tiafoe was distracted by the chair umpire

The score was tied 3 games apiece in the 4th set, and it was Tiafoe’s service game. Unfortunately for the American, he was awarded a service violation by the chair umpire, which resulted in a loss of a first serve. 

An agitated Tiafoe couldn’t do much as he’d lost his momentum completely. He had a chance to go 4-3 up in the 4th set, but Djokovic seized the moment and broke his service game knowing Tiafoe’s rhythm was disrupted. 

Tiafoe was livid with the chair umpire for costing him the game and subsequently marched up to him and said:

“Why are you disturbing the match? It’s an unreal match! Why are you disturbing the match? It’s bull**it! The point’s massive and I’m going for the f***ing towel!”

Novak Djokovic knew that he had the game at this point. The Serbian had just broken his opponent and needed just 2 more games to cruise into the 3rd round. Tiafoe couldn’t do much against a powerful service game by Djokovic, but it was his time to serve in the subsequent game.

However, the serve violation, which was still lingering in his mind, didn’t allow the 23-year-old to focus on the proceedings. A double fault eventually handed the match over to Djokovic, who was happy enough to be taking the win in the 4th set. 

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