"Unfair behaviour" - Lacoste CEO slams Stefanos Tsitsipas while praising Jannik Sinner for win that helped Novak Djokovic enter ATP Finals SF
Novak Djokovic booked his place in the semifinals of the ATP Finals after Jannik Sinner defeated Holger Rune 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 to win the Green Group.
Djokovic thus qualified for the knockout stages in Turin by finishing as runner-up after notching up his second win in the tournament, a 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-1 win over Hubert Hurkacz.
The Serb endorses a lot of popular brands, one of which, is Lacoste, whose apparel he dons while playing. The company's CEO Thierry Guibert lauded Jannik Sinner on his victory over Holger Rune, calling the Italian a "future champ" and an "authentic guy".
He also accused Stefanos Tsitsipas of "unfair behavior", referring to the Greek's early withdrawal during his match against Rune due to a back injury.
"Hats off to for his win tonight. Despite the unfair behaviour of Tsitsipas, he showed to everyone why he is a future champ and an authentic guy," Guibert wrote on X.
Novak Djokovic: "Amazing news that Rafael Nadal will be back"
Novak Djokovic was asked to comment about Rafael Nadal stating that he would return to tennis.
The Serb claimed that another match between himself and the Spaniard would be good for tennis.
"I think it would be nice for the sport to have at least one more match between Nadal and me. That's the biggest rivalry in terms of the amount of matches played that this sport ever had. Hopefully that can happen," Djokovic said in a press conference after defeating Hubert Hurkacz.
The Serb also lavished praise on Nadal, calling him a warrior. He added that the Spaniard's return to tennis is good for the sport.
"He's a big warrior. He's somebody that really never gives up. With all the injuries that he had, keeps going. That's definitely something that you have to respect and admire about him and his spirit. For the world of tennis, no doubt that it's amazing news that he'll be back," Djokovic said.
The Serb's win over Hurkacz takes his win-loss tally for the 2023 season to 54-6. After booking his place in the semifinals of the ATP Finals, the Serb will take on the winner of the Red Group.
At the moment, Daniil Medvedev leads the group with two wins in as many matches, and is already through to the knockout stages. The Russian will finish the Red Group as the winner if he defeats Carlos Alcaraz in his final round-robin clash.