It's fair to say that Novak Djokovic has proven a...divisive...figure at Wimbledon this year.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion clashed with members of the crowd during week one, before again falling foul of a frosty reception during his semi-final victory over Jannik Sinner on Friday.
Despite this, he continued on to a fifth successive Wimbledon singles' final appearance, where he faced young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, widely seen as the heir to the throne disputed by Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal at the top of the game for the past two decades.
It was an intriguing contest on paper, but there may have been understandable worries that Djokovic would run away with things after winning the first set 6-1.
The match came to life in the second set, however, as did Alcaraz, who claimed a dramatic tiebreaker victory to level the match.
During the third set, the pair came close to breaking the record for the longest single game in Wimbledon history, with 13 deuces in a game which lasted over 25 minutes - and during that game, Djokovic clashed with the Irishman tasked with umpiring the decider.
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Novak Djokovic: Serb clashes with Irish umpire at Wimbledon final
52-year-old Dubliner Fergus Murphy was the man entrusted with umpiring Sunday's men's singles final at Wimbledon.
Murphy was selected for a Wimbledon final for the first time in his career, and it was to be a match filled with drama and incident.
Here now @Wimbledon on Premier Sports 1 we have the men's singles final between Carlos Alcaraz the top seed and Novak Djokovic, with the players level at a set apiece. Alcaraz took the 2nd set on a tie-break .This final is developing into a classic. #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/74ldT7aeFu
— Premier Sports Ireland (@PremSportsIRL) July 16, 2023
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The fifth game of the third set would last over 25 minutes, as Alcaraz attempted to break Djokovic's serve.
During the game, Djokovic became visibly agitated, and the timekeeping of umpire Murphy was evidently playing on his nerves. Eventually, he confronted Murphy in an exchange which was picked up by courtside mics:
What do you mean? I cannot 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 comments from Murphy were inaudible, but Djokovic would ultimately leave midway through the Dubliner's retort, laughing to himself as the crowd responded coolly to the defending champ's complaints.
It is not the first time that Djokovic has clashed with Murphy. In 2016, when the Irishman was in the umpire's chair at the London Masters, Djokovic claimed that he "had no clue about the game," after being left frustrated by a similar time violation call.
Alcaraz would ultimately claim that game to go 4-1 up, before breaking Djokovic's serve for a third time in the set to win 6-1 and go 2-1 up on sets.
Ahead of the fourth set, Djokovic took an extended bathroom break, which delayed the resumption of proceedings significantly.
World number one Alcaraz went on to claim his first Wimbledon title, breaking Djokovic's unbeaten streak of over ten years on centre court at the championships, in a seminal moment for tennis' "new wave."
An all-time classic final at Wimbledon.
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