Novak Djokovic is the man to beat in the tennis circuit currently. Earlier this month, he won his 24th Grand Slam title, defeating Daniil Medvedev in the summit clash of the US Open. With this, he clinched 3 out of 4 major trophies this year. Despite his stupendous performance, Serena Williams’ ex-coach, Rennae Stubbs had a controversial stance on the Serb. As a result, Stubbs faced a backlash from Djokovic’s fans, following which she cleared the air about her statement.

Stubbs went on to compare Djokovic with Roger Federer, saying that he’s not going to be as popular as the Swiss maestro. Djokovic’s fans brutally slammed the former Doubles World Number 1 for her statement. Here’s what Stubbs subsequently had to say in her defense.

Serena’s former coach defends her statement on Novak Djokovic

Soon after Stubbs made the seemingly snubby comment on Djokovic, her statement went viral on social media. It didn’t go down well with the Serb’s fans, who criticized Stubbs for making such a statement at a time when Djokovic was fresh off after winning the US Open title.

Taking to her official Twitter handle, Stubbs said, “Also I NEVER said he’s not loved! Those words never came out of my mouth. U just like lying to make your narrative stronger.”

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Earlier, Stubbs had also commented that Djokovic was polarizing and obsessed with winning. Additionally, she said that he wants to stack up the numbers because he knows that he’ll not become as popular as Federer and Rafael Nadal. This is not the first time Stubbs has spoken against Djokovic. A few months back, a similar incident took place.

When Stubbs slammed Djokovic

Last year, Stubbs was talking about the sportsmanship award where she explained why Djokovic wasn’t a fit for it. She said, “Novak is not a great sport on the court, he’s been defaulted, broken racquets, etc. among other things.” On that occasion, too, Djokovic fans hit back at Serena’s former coach, as Stubbs’ statement didn’t go down well with them.

Despite the off-court talks surrounding him, Djokovic continues to defy odds and prove his critics wrong. It’ll be interesting to see if he can break Margaret Court’s all-time Grand Slam record of 24 major titles.

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