Novak Djokovic complains to umpire after ‘the world’s most stupid’ call in his match vs Alexander Zverev
· Yahoo Sports
It took just two games for Novak Djokovic’s match with Alexander Zverev to erupt, and not in the way many had expected.
This was tipped to be a heavyweight clash between two of the world’s very best players, and long, gruelling baseline rallies were predicted.
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We were guaranteed some incredible shot-making, but what we could not have foreseen was an argument so early into the match.
In the end, the decision made by the umpire after Alexander Zverev’s challenge was branded by Novak Djokovic as ‘the world’s most stupid .
Here’s what went down.
Novak Djokovic argues against ‘stupid’ umpire call vs Alexander Zverev
With Djokovic having fallen down an early break, Zverev was serving to consolidate his lead.
It was 30-15, and he tossed the ball to serve. The Serbian hit a thunderous return, forcing the world number two back, and causing him to misfire a forehand wide left.
However, this was where the controversy started.
Zverev approached the umpire and appeared to complain about the advertising board having changed during the point. Upon video review, it was shown to have changed, but only as he went to serve. He lost the point two shots later, and in theory, should not have been impacted.
Djokovic, initially calm, pleaded his case to the umpire: “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 have stopped after the serve and replayed the point.
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
Then, as Zverev approached the net too, Djokovic addressed him directly: “You missed the forehand, and then you challenged.”
The German argued: “But I didn’t know if I could challenge; that’s why I came to him and I asked him.”
It was ordered that they would replay the point, and the reaction from Djokovic was one of great frustration.
He claimed: “I think this must be the world’s most stupid change of rules that I’ve ever heard in my life. There is no sense that the players… if there is a hindrance, he stops immediately. That way we can play a 30-shot rally, and he can lose the point, and he’s like, okay, I’m going to challenge now.”
The umpire nodded back, and Djokovic laughed, throwing up his hands in disagreement. He went on to win the next point anyway.
Annabel Croft stunned by umpire decision in Novak Djokovic match
Throughout this exchange, Nick Lester and Annabel Croft sought to provide their analysis on a unique and unconventional occurrence on the tennis court.
They began by dissecting exactly what had happened, with the British pundit theorising: “Is he saying the hoardings on the side changed as he was about to hit that shot? It did look like he was distracted by something, but whether it was on that forehand.
“Maybe they might replay that point.”
Lester admitted he had never seen anything like it before, to which Croft added: “This is absolutely fascinating, and it would be a first if they replayed the point.”
The footage then showed, as aforementioned, the LED board’s change occurred way before he hit his shot wide.
Lester then added: “But it wasn’t impacted. It was a good serve. In fact, he hit a great serve; it just happened to come back with interest. That hasn’t impacted the forehand as far as I’m concerned, which is the miss.”
Croft, who branded the whole ordeal as ‘weird’ and the ‘wrong’ call, concluded by noting: “Well, I think that Djokovic is right! I’ve never seen anything so ridiculous! I cannot believe he made that decision. I think that is going to poke the bear.”
Zverev claimed he ‘fancied his chances’ to beat Djokovic before the match, and at the time of writing, still holds that slender lead in the first set.