Novak Djokovic surprised many by losing a set to Jacob Fearnley in the second round of Wimbledon 2024. Djokovic’s good friend Nick Kyrgios and former British player Tim Henman used that to make fun of the Serb lightheartedly by claiming that he deliberately delayed his win against the Brit wildcard. Turns out, the reason involved Andy Murray and his farewell match.
Doing their broadcasting duties for BBC, Kyrgios and Henman joined host Clare Balding to discuss and analyze Djokovic’s win over Fearnley. They suggested that after winning the first two sets, Djokovic slowed down a bit. They concluded that the 7-time Wimbledon champion did it to kill time, so that Murray, whose game was scheduled later in the day, could get the prime time TV slot for his doubles match with his brother, Jamie Murray.
There was another all-Brit match i.e. Jack Draper vs Cameron Norrie, that was scheduled to take place on July 4. Now, that match started in time, but if not for Djokovic’s alleged delay tactics, the doubles match of the Murray brothers vs John Peers and Rinky Hijikata had to clash with the other all-Brit singles match.
No one in Britain, including the Wimbledon organizers, would’ve ideally wanted that. Therefore, the BBC pundits joked that since the former World No.1 is a longtime member of the club, he helped them out by letting Andy Murray’s match take place later in the evening.
“Maybe Novak knows that deep down. Maybe he does,” Kyrgios responded to Clare Balding’s claim that schedulers got it wrong by trying to hold the Murray match at the same time as the Draper vs Norrie one.
Henman joined Kyrgios in the fun by talking about Djokovic being nice to Wimbledon because he has their membership.
“He’s almost trying to help the tournament, he’s a member of the club,” the former British World No.1 added.
It also worked out for Djokovic, since he could join the farewell tribute for Murray. It was a jam-packed Centre Court and the 24-time Grand Slam champion was probably the biggest name there besides Martina Navratilova.
While it was a sweet gesture from the Serb, he could face Murray at the Olympics 2024 in Paris later in July. If that happens, it would be the last time the duo play each other professionally on a tennis court.
Could the Olympics Be the ‘Last Dance’ for Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray?
Djokovic thinks he’s still young, but at 37 and having played the sport for 20 years, he is clearly not getting any younger. While he has no plans to announce his retirement anytime soon, one won’t be wrong to think that he might consider it if things don’t go his way in upcoming tournaments. The Olympics 2024 is all set to be the champion player’s last-ever appearance for Serbia at the event.
Murray, on the other hand, will be retiring after the Paris Olympics. The 2-time Olympic gold medalist will close the chapter on his illustrious career in a fitting manner as he aims for his third gold for Great Britain.
