NOVAK DJOKOVIC fumed at an umpire following a controversial decision in Beijing.
The Serbian superstar, 39, took on Alexander Zverev in the China Open quarter-finals. Having been broken in the opening game of the contest, Djokovic was wound up by as Zverev served to consolidate his early break. The German, 29, had argued that the LED screen in the stadium switched to an advert as he served, causing a hindrance.
But Djokovic pointed out that the rally continued beyond that point, with Zverev only complaining after he missed a subsequent shot.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion told umpire Adel Nour: “Okay, fine. So now you tell me, fine, I get it, he was about to serve. He served, I played one shot, he played another shot, and then he challenged. Is that okay? “One second. If he was annoyed by that change there, he would stop after the serve. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Following a video review the umpire sided with Zverev, much to Djokovic’s increased frustration.The veteran star said: “This must be one of the most stupid change of rules that I’ve ever heard in my life.
“If the player sees there is a hindrance on that shot, he stops immediately. We could play a 30-shot rally, and he can lose the point, and he’s like, ‘okay, I’m going to challenge now’.”
Djokovic went into the match 31-0 all-time in Beijing, having won the title on all six previous visits to the China Open.
A victory over Zverev would see him go to 32-0, a new record for the best-ever start at an event — with Rafael Nadal having begun 31-0 at Roland Garros. After the early controversy, Zverev would go on to serve out the first set 6-4.
But Djokovic came roaring back to claim the new record, defying a health issue that he discussed earlier this week to triumph 4-6 6-4 6-4 over Zverev, booking a semi-final berth against Daniil Medvedev in the process.
He said: “These are the kind of moments that I still play for, still compete for.
The motivation is big when you are feeling good and competing at par with the best players in the world in front of 15,000 people.
“These are the kind of moments that define dreams, I think, of every tennis player.” — Sun
