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Czech Tennis Icon Refuses to Join Novak Djokovic Into the Ben Shelton Bandwagon as She Rubbishes Controversial Celebration Claims Following San Diego Triumph

Published 09/19/2023, 2:50 AM EDT

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The trending cellphone celebration of Ben Shelton has taken the tennis world by storm – not only because it has a bit of spice in it but also because Novak Djokovic too emulated it during the US Open semi-finals. But it has derived some mixed opinions from the tennis realm. Some have criticized Djokovic for copying Shelton’s celebration. Some, on the other hand, have hailed it. Besides that, other players are also keeping up with the trend, but the recent San Diego Open champion, Barbora Krejcikova, is not one of them.

The cell phone celebration was recently picked up by yet another tennis player, Lorenzo Musetti after he scored a victory at the Davis Cup. However, for the newly crowned Krejcikova, some other celebration speaks more about her victory.

WTA tennis star lets Ben Shelton have his moment with his celebration 

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Unlike Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti, Barbora Krejcikova is happy to take up a new celebration after earning a difficult and much-needed victory at the San Diego Open.

Coming into the tournament as a wildcard entry who had a losing streak of four matches, Krejcikova persevered against all odds. Going against Danielle Collins in the finals, the Czech player pointed to her head taking up a new victory gesture. Later on, as she talked to WTA Insider about it, she stated, “It was a really difficult match because I was losing most of the time. I thought Danielle played a really incredible match. Then it just shifted”.

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She was thrilled to break her opponent in the second set. After that, she stated, “In the third set, I just think I was mentally stronger. The mental part was a big moment there.” Hence, she justified her celebration, definitely forgetting about Ben Shelton’s victory. She added, “There’s phones and then there’s this (laughs).” 

via Imago

When asked if she would do the phone celebration next, she said with a laugh, “No (laughs). It’s Ben’s [Shelton]. I’ll leave it to him. But maybe there are other ones.” 

Even though Krejcikova has left it aside, other players like Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti took it up. People have had mixed opinions about it and Shelton’s father, Bryan Shelton, is definitely not happy about Djokovic’s one.

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Ben Shelton’s father bashes Novak Djokovic for emulating his son’s celebration 

The controversy erupted after Djokovic defeated the American player easily in the semi-finals and did his celebration. Even though Djokovic stated he did it because he liked Shelton’s celebration, the mimicking did not sit well with Shelton’s father.

In an interview with GQ, he stated Djokovic wanted to mock his son. Refuting that he did it to emulate Ben Shelton, Bryan Shelton condemned Djokovic for the celebration.

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Do you think Djokovic did it to mock Ben Shelton? Let us know your views in the comments below.

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Written by:

Shivali Sharma

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Shivali Sharma is a tennis writer at EssentiallySports, who specializes in off-court topics and has a particular focus on the legendary ‘Queen of the Court’, Serena Williams. With a wealth of experience in the industry, Shivali has authored numerous articles covering varied topics concerning the 23-time Grand Slam champion, including her personal life, career, and more. In addition to her work on Serena Williams, Shivali is also a huge fan of Naomi Osaka and admires the four-time Major winner, particularly for her advocacy for mental health.
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Edited by:

Mitali Dey