Novak Djokovic was forced to dig deep to beat Arthur Rinderknech in the Wimbledon third round and a BBC star has called him out
Novak Djokovic got the better of Arthur Rinderknech at Wimbledon(Image: Getty)
BBC pundit Jamie Murray reckoned Novak Djokovic might come to rue repeatedly striking his leg during a Wimbledon third-round triumph over Arthur Rinderknech. Djokovic hit himself 11 times as he risked squandering a two-set advantage against his French rival.
The tactic proved effective in spurring the Serb on to seal a hard-earned victory but Murray hinted it could leave him nursing bruises the following day.
“That might leave a mark in the morning. He might regret that tomorrow,” the Scot said. Fellow pundit Tim Henman then weighed in, saying: “My opponent was battering me as much as it is, let alone battering myself.
“That was a little bit OTT I think from Djokovic but whatever it takes to get the motivation going. I think he knew the early part of that fourth set, having lost the third set, was going to be vital to really change the momentum. And I thought the fourth set was just top quality from both men.”
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Following Djokovic’s win, Henman was asked by presenter Clare Balding if he harboured any worries about the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s physical condition.
Djokovic repeatedly punched his leg after going 0-5 down in the third set(Image: BBC)
“It’s a classic cliche in Grand Slam tennis, certainly in the men’s, that you can’t win the tournament in the first week but you can certainly lose it,” the former semi-finalist said.
“I think even though Djokovic is winning, that has been an issue in the past when he has played these very long, extended matches. Then when he gets into the semi-finals he’s coming up against a Sinner or an Alcaraz, as was the case in 2025 when he got through to all four semi-finals he was a little short of gas in the tank.”
“But when I look at all of these three matches, he’s come through, it’s been pretty straightforward, I don’t think it’s been particularly physically demanding. So I think if you’d offered Djokovic this first week at Wimbledon this year he’d have said ‘Absolutely, I’ll take that every day of the week’.”
Speaking courtside following his victory, Djokovic was quizzed on both his mental and physical state. “How do I put this into simple terms?
The Serb spoke on court after his win(Image: Getty)
“I think I’ve done everything I needed to do today, under circumstances that weren’t maybe as good for me as they were in the second round, and it was still enough to win,” he said.
“At this age and stage in my career, every day brings something new and unpredictable for me. I’m hoping that I will come out at my best in a few days’ time.
“More than tennis, I hope that my dance moves will improve because my daughter has been teaching me but I’m pretty poor. She didn’t give me a smile in the end, she was more like: ‘Yeah, we have to practice!’ But hopefully I can have many more dances throughout the rest of this tournament. We will see.”
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