Yes, according to some Serbian social media portals and forum posts. No, according to the rest of us.
During the third set of the semifinal match between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the Rogers Cup, Rafa pegged Novak in the face. Rafa immediately approached the net and apologized, but the apology was not accepted.
Folks in forums and on social media like to speculate, but they should know that these things happen. It’s always entertaining to read these conspiracy theories, as long as no one gets hurt. However, it’s sad to see fans of a player jumping on every incident to discredit his opponent, thereby dragging their own idol down.
But what do the rest of you think? Watch the video and post your comments below.
It didn’t look intentional but that apology was half assed. He may not have intended to hit him but it’s clear from his “apology” that he wasn’t that sorry about it.
Stand there and let me hit you in the face with a tennis ball full force, but please please don’t get mad. Idiots on here.
Wow, I have read a lot of the comments here and I´m amazed of what´s going on here, so Novak get´s hit by the ball in the face, and just because he did not accept Rafa´s apology immediately he´s a bad person, his family is bad, the whole country and all people in it are bad, bad Serbians, that´s amazing what racist are writing inputs here, for you that watch tennis often, and know how the game works, it´s not a country that plays against another country, it´s an individual against another individual, so leave your racist thoughts and comments to more appropriate sites, and for you that have watched games with the top players such as Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and so on you know that they are all professionals, so all these political BS would be better elsewhere, anybody can have a bad day, that don´t give you the right to rampage your racism, join some racist clan instead, you nasty primates!
Lol. Djoko got mad because he made a fool of himself dancing like an idiot and playing like a baby-girl the next day. When you see his reaction, you can only realize how hypocrite he is pretending he is a nice guy always smiley. He smiles when he wins. Boooooooo loser!
Annie, no Baby Girl comments, Baby Boys cry too!!!! And they allowed to!
You’right my bad. Let’s just say he played like… A turtle with a racket!
if you play a drop shot don’t cry that i will try to win it !! i think rafa was thinking how to play it hard and agressive he has no time to think where djokovic head is standing !! for serbian fans it was the best shot in the match anyway !! 😛
I sincerely think Novak stood there like a statue on purpose to get hit and then did not accept the apology to make it look that Rafa hit him on purpose. Novak knew he was losing and wanted to make Rafa the bad Guy in the Serbian press. I so wish Novak’s reign as nO. 1 was over ,when he was no. 3 he was much more amenable ,being no one as brought out great arrogance in Novak.I am tired of his slyness.
I apologize for the late comment on this topic, but I think it is worth discussing, and so I comment.
The notion that Rafa aimed at Djoker’s head is ridiculous on so many levels:
1) Rafa most likely aimed to execute a “body shot” to handcuff his opponent, which is a normal and often-used tennis strategy (a la a “body serve”). Rafa, despite his greatness, was unlikely, while on the run, to aim for Djoker’s head, which would be a small body part (but not the smallest…) to aim for. Furthermore, the shot was not hit from a set position, and was relatively slow-paced, which brings me to my second point,
2) If Djoker had used some of his nimbleness shown in his dance moves, he would not have been hit, and we all of us would not have to witness his stupid wild-eyed expression on his face. The reality is, Djoker is a subpar player at net, and he was hit due to his lack of racquet-preparation and his arrogance of believing he had hit a shot good enough not to return to his side of the net. Every tennis player, middle-school to pro-level, knows that if he ventures to the net, he might get hit, so be prepared with racquet in front! This topic has even evolved to become a topic simply because Djoker allowed himself to get hit and reacted idiotically. Which brings me to my third point,
3) I’d like to make reference to the first point of the third game of the Nadal-Janowicz match (1:30 mark of this video… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAFzWFHmXiw). Janowicz blasted a full-paced two handed backhand from set position at Rafa and almost took his head off. Rafa was prepared and responded with his racquet on the ball, as opposed to reacting with a facial expression at his opponent. The result? No player, commentator, or fan complained, and respect was gained for skill displayed.
And so Djokovic, his dad and his fans (whom I collectively refer to as D-Bag as a group) constantly wonder why a man with half as many majors only garner half as much respect. It is probably already twice as much as he deserves already, so be happy for already receiving more than you deserve, D-Bags.
that’s joker’s fault,theres no place in tennis for the muddle-headed person.EYES ON THE BOARD PLS.
If Djokovic could have returned the ball in place, then there is no issue here. The issue is, Djokovic did not return it well and the ball hit his face. His first reaction is he gets angry, probably because he was hurt. That’s normal. He is just human. His mistake is he turned his back and look at Nadal only to refuse Nadal’s apology. That is not good for the sports. He could have walk straight to the baseline, no more looking back, that is if he does want to accept apology.
¡ Fué un lance del juego y como tal hay que aceptarlo, no hace daño quien puede, sinó quien quiere, porque el deporte es otra cosa………..!
Rafa is a thorough gentleman on and off the court and would never do a thing like this intentionally – clearly you can see that he is looking sideways and has his eyes on the ball and couldn’t have seen how close up novak was = Rafa is a real good sport and it is a pity his apology (although, incident not intentional) was not accepted gracefully by Novak.= Vamos Rafa – keep up your wonderful tennis, which brings pleasure to so many.from Shirley Bird in Durban, South Africa – I think I am your No. 1 fan here!!
Rafael had his head down concentrating on the ball and shot and had no intention of hitting Novak. It is well that Novak does not play hurling, the fantastic ball Irish field game played with a leather ball and hockey like stick! He probably got a shock and did accept the apology later. No big fuss.
off course that the hit was intentional!
You are djoking right… if not you are clueless??!!!!
Rafa is so classy, why can’t you guys be like him instead of lying so much about Novak? He’s always been nice to Rafa, not only when he was the winner. Even after really tough losses (GS finals for example) Novak was really nice to Rafa, so I don’t see the point on saying ridiculous things about Novak being classless and stuff like that. Yes, he got mad AT FIRST for getting hit on the face, it hurt, but he knew Rafa didn’t mean to hit him and he accepted Rafa’s apologies when the match ended.
These two guys are sweethearts and their talent and passion are making tennis better and more exciting than ever! Let’s appreciate that instead. I’m not saying you have to like Novak, but you should be more respectful, just like Rafa.
Cheers! 😉
Ps: Such an awesome week this has been for Rafa, he’s on fire! 🙂
Djokovic not accepting Rafa’s apology was HILARIOUS. It was the best part!!!!! It made my day. And he totally deserved it for putting on that STUPID AFRO and dancing. That was so offensive. So ya that ball to the face was priceless!!!!
Djokovic should consider himself lucky that it was not Rafa’s forehand that struck him by accident!
🙂
Of course Rafa did not hit the Joker on purpose. Rafa has too much class, charisma, sportsmanship & compassion. Don’t want to see anybody hurt but if there was anybody more deserving of such a thing it would be the classless act Djocovic. He is very undeserving of his seed. Being number 1 in this case does not mean you are the best player. Djocovic whines & crys wolf about as much as Mirray. Not a chance it was on purpose. Rafa is a pro – Djocovic is a joke!
Novak was embarrassed and acting like an ass because he got hit. Rafa was a gentleman not to laugh, he even apologized at once. I would have cracked up!
Rafa wasn’t even looking when he made that shot…… Novak was surprised, that’s it folks 🙂