Rips Happen! Novak On A Tear At US Open

There are competitive tennis players, and then there’s Novak Djokovic.

During his semi-final match on Friday at the US Open, Djokovic was leading Gael Monfils two sets to love. But the top seed had just lost three consecutive break points. So upset was Djokovic that he ripped his shirt.

“These things happen,” he said. “Sometimes you’ll see a thrown racquet here and there, a ripped shirt. It’s all in the heat of the battle.”

Djokovic would go on to beat Monfils 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to advance to his seventh US Open final. But when he ripped his shirt, the match didn’t look so promising.

Monfils was serving at 5-3 in the third set and had momentum. The Frenchman had fallen behind 0/40 but climbed back to deuce. After he won the deuce point to gain the advantage, Djokovic, furious about the missed chances, ripped away.

“I can’t blame Uniqlo for that shirt,” he said of his clothing sponsor. “The quality is very good, by the way.”

The Serbian ripped his shirt a little and then tore away at the Uniqlo polo, exposing his chest to the humid air in Arthur Ashe Stadium. “I did rip it once, and then the second time just got out of hand,” he said. “But, you know, it felt nice, because my body could breathe a little bit more.”

Djokovic, a two-time US Open champion (2011, 2015), will face Stan Wawrinka in Sunday’s final. It will mark the third time the two have met in Flushing Meadows. Djokovic won both prior meetings in New York and leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 19-4. But the third-seeded Wawrinka won their only previous meeting in a Grand Slam tournament final, 2015 Roland Garros.

So whatever happened to Djokovic’s shirt? Did it land in the garbage?

“I guess so,” he said. “I haven’t seen it ever since.”