Watch: Novak Djokovic Loses Cool After Chair Umpire Fails To Control Crowd Behaviour At US Open
Novak Djokovic had an argument with the chair umpire during his US Open 2025 quarter-finals match against Taylor Fritz.
- Novak Djokovic defeated Taylor Fritz in four sets at the US Open 2025 men's singles quarter-final
- The match featured crowd disturbances, with spectators cheering Djokovic's faults
- Djokovic confronted the chair umpire over his failure to control the crowd, asking "what are you gonna do?"
Novak Djokovic's love-hate relationship with the crowd in the tennis arena isn't new. Up against Taylor Fritz, the last American standing in the US Open 2025 men's singles event, Djokovic once again had a lot of trouble handling the behavior of the crowd. Though the Serb secured a victory over four sets, he didn't forget to give back his 'love' to fans watching the contest on Tuesday night by sending flying kisses. That was just a taste of the back-and-forth between Djokovic and some of the folks in the Arthur Ashe Stadium seats.
Djokovic secured a 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 victory, improving to 11-0 against the 2024 runner-up Fritz and reaching a record-extending 53rd Grand Slam semifinal, a total that includes a record-tying 14 at Flushing Meadows.
Along the way, Djokovic got into it with the spectators backing his opponent, although it's worth noting there were plenty supporting the man who's spent more time at No. 1 than anyone in tennis history, too.
Still, there were those applauding and cheering faults by Djokovic, considered a no-no in tennis.
It reached a head in the third set, when the fault celebrations grew more raucous as the clock passed 10:30 p.m. Things got a little messy in the match as Djokovic became visibly angry with the excessive crowd jeering after he missed a first serve while trying to defend a break point. Maintaining silence between serves is a rule that the crowd is aware of, but Djokovic wasn't happy to see the repeated interruptions during his service games.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner decided to take up the matter with the chair umpire and highlighted the umpire's failure to control the crowd. In a video that has surfaced on social media, Djokovic could be heard saying, "What are you going to do?" and blaming him by stating, "All you say is thank you, please, thank you please," expressing his displeasure.
Djokovic asking the umpire to do something about the crowd making noise while he's trying to serve in his match against Fritz at U.S. Open
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 3, 2025
Novak: “What are you gonna do?”
Umpire: “It's not gonna help Novak” pic.twitter.com/ukR100mLGj
Soon, Fritz was smacking a forehand winner to break for a 3-1 lead in the third set, one he would take.
But Djokovic came through when it mattered most.
"He served better. He made a lot fewer mistakes," Fritz said. "He played better in the fourth."
With AP inputs
Novak Djokovic