Perhaps the most iconic image of Novak Djokovic’s historic 24th Grand Slam victory at the the 2023 U.S. Open came immediately after his semifinal match against American phenom Ben Shelton.
Djokovic, who dispatched the unranked American in straight sets, finished the match with a flourish after Shelton forced a tiebreak in the third set. After winning the final point, the 36-year-old Serbian mimicked Shelton’s “dialed in” celebration, which the 20-year-old had employed during his quarterfinal victory over fellow American Francis Tiafoe.
Some, including fellow tennis players, enjoyed seeing Djokovic dish it out, saying that tennis could use more of the fiery behavior. However, not everyone was as enthused at the world’s best taking a victory lap after defeating an unseeded player.
Among those in the latter category? Shelton’s father and coach, Bryan Shelton.
“He wants to be loved so much, Novak …” Bryan Shelton told GQ about Djokovic’s use of his son’s celebration. “He wanted to mock Ben at the end. It wasn’t something he was doing just to copy Ben. It was to mock him. And that’s too bad, for that to come from such a great champion.”
AP Photo/Manu Fernandez
Ben, on the other hand, had almost the complete opposite reaction of his father and used Djokovic’s antics as a chance to give it right back to the 24-time Grand Slam winner.
“I think if you win the match you deserve to do whatever you want,” Shelton said of the mimicry in his postmatch press conference. “You know, as a kid growing up, I always learned that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so … that’s all I have to say about that.”
Though the two players are at opposite ends of their careers, any future match between Djokovic and Shelton bears watching for potential friction.
