‘I’m not perfect,’ says Djokovic after losing cool at Italian Open

Less than two weeks after being disqualified from the U.S. Open, Novak Djokovic’s frustration boiled over as soon as once more as he smashed his racket in a match of rage throughout his 6-Three 4-6 6-Three win over Dominik Koepfer within the Italian Open quarter-finals on Saturday.

The top-ranked Serb was damaged to like within the sixth sport of the second set following which he threw his racket on the bottom, drawing a warning from the chair umpire.

“Well, let me tell you it’s not the first nor the last racket that I’ll break in my career,” Djokovic, 33, informed reporters. “I have done it before, I’ll probably do it again. I don’t want to do it, but when it comes, it happens.

“That’s how I guess I release sometimes my anger. And it’s definitely not the best message out there, especially for the young tennis players looking at me.

“I don’t encourage that, definitely. But, look, we’re all people. We all do our best. There were times and periods when I don’t do that, and there are periods when I do,” he stated.

The Serb was disqualified from the U.S. Open after inadvertently hitting a ball right into a line decide’s throat throughout his fourth-round match in opposition to Pablo Carreno Busta.

Djokovic, who apologised on the time and vowed to remove precious classes from the incident, reiterated that he was engaged on his “mental and emotional health” to try to assist maintain a lid on his feelings.

“It’s always been part of my, I guess, training and recovery, as well, developing strong character and understanding myself on different levels, holistic approach to life,” the 17-time Slam champion stated.

“That’s just me. Of course I’m not perfect. I’m doing my best.”

Djokovic, who faces Norway’s Casper Ruud within the semi-finals, will fancy his probabilities of sealing a report 36th Masters 1000 crown following nine-time champion Rafa Nadal’s shock exit by the hands of Diego Schwartzman.