Novak Djokovic Yells At Ball Girl During Tense Clash With Kevin Anderson

He clinched victory after a nail-biting final set against Kevin Anderson this afternoon.

But Novak Djokovic appeared to be feeling the pressure of defending his Wimbledon championship this afternoon before his triumph was sealed.
In the final stint of his match today the Serb seemed to have lost his cool momentarily, shouting and gesticulating towards a baby-faced ball girl.

Apparently requesting his towel amid the afternoon mugginess, the 28-year-old screamed in her direction and held his hands out in anger.

After wiping his face he discarded it back in the youngster's direction before resuming play. The girl was left visibly shaken and stifling tears, according to sources on the court.




She was seen nervously drinking from a water bottle moments after the eruption, her cheeks redder than before. After beating his South African opponent, Djokovic allegedly walked off Court No. 1 without glancing in her direction.

A spectator said: ‘He was only two or three feet away, it was full on, I was quite shocked. She had to stay on court afterwards. She was trembling’.

   

Djokovic had returned to Centre Court after his match against Anderson, 29, was stopped for bad light on Monday night. He had fought back to two sets all after losing the first two sets.

He went on to win 6-7 (6-8) 6-7 (6-8) 6-1 6-4 7-5 but was criticised on Twitter for his outburst and now faces a fine. He said afterwards he would apologise to the young girl ‘if I did something wrong’.
‘It was a very difficult match, one of the most difficult in my Wimbledon career, that’s for sure,’ he said.

Nerves: The girl was left red-faced and was seen nervously drinking from a water bottle after the heated exchange during the fifth set 

Rattled: Court sources said the youngster was shaken afterwards and was struggling to perform as quickly following Djokovic's outburst

Asked about the ball girl, he replied: ‘As I said, it was a very, very intense fifth set today.

‘I just took out everything I had, not on anybody but me. I was looking at the box, but I was talking to myself…emotions are present. Always going through ups and downs…I was trying to get myself motivated. I was not showing much emotions yesterday. I was just trying to keep it together. Sometimes it’s just good to scream and let it all out, because that’s the way I work. Somebody else is different.

‘I’m sorry. There was nothing towards her. Maybe she was just afraid of my screaming there. I was pretty close to her. I’m definitely going to try to apologise to her if I did something wrong.’
Photographers capturing the match said the World Number One had left the girl on the verge of tears after shouting 'aggressively' towards her.




Earlier this year the tennis player issued a public apology to a ball boy he shouted at during the Miami Open. The Wimbledon champion lost his temper with his coaches and 'camp' and began shouting in their direction while playing against his friend Andy Murray.

The boy was caught between Djokovic and his supporters, bearing the brunt of the rant. Issuing a video later that day the Serb said he had 'absolutely no intention' of upsetting or 'scaring' the child.

Today sports journalists at the All England Club reported the star as having said he would apologise to the girl after 'inadvertently' yelling at her. Djokovic's representatives have not responded to MailOnline's requests for comment.