The umpire Novak Djokovic clashed with during Wimbledon final was Irish man Fergus Murphy

They say you’re never more than two metres away from an Irish person getting a rise out of someone.

This year’s men’s Wimbledon final brought with it a smashed racket, a first-time tournament win for Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz and some heated words between Novak Djokovic and an Irish umpire.

Dublin man Fergus Murphy was in the umpire’s chair for the five-set final, and experienced his fair share of clashes with Djokovic during his time on Centre Court.

At one stage, the Serbian approached Murphy to challenge him on the strict manner with which he was maintaining a fluid pace of play.

Comments picked up by nearby mics from Djokovic included:

“What do you mean? I can’t get the towel from the ball kids, so I have to go myself. Why do you…”

“If I am not able to get the towel from the ball kid, I have to go and get the towel, but you start the time, how is that fair?”

“Oh, you do it for everybody?”

The Dublin-born umpire’s responses were not audible.

According to the Irish Sun, the pair have previous history with Djokovic claiming Murphy ‘had no clue about the game’ in a 2016 match over a similar time violation dispute.

Djokovic was more complimentary of his opponent, saying after the match:

“I have to start with praises to Carlos and his team. What a quality at the end of the match when you had to serve it out. You came up with some big plays in the big situation and you absolutely deserve it. Amazing”.

Header image via Getty 

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