Novak Djokovic clashed with both opponent Alexander Zverev and the umpire during his China Open quarter-final match. The former World No.1 described a decision made by the umpire as the 'most stupid change of rules' in an angry outburst.
Incident during opening set
The incident happened during the opening set of the match, with Zverev complaining to the umpire about the advertising boards after hitting a return of serve out. He claimed that they changed just as he was hitting his return, subsequently putting him off.
Officials quickly checked a video replay, which showed the boards changing before the point and not during. Despite that, the decision was made for the point to be replayed, instead of being awarded to Djokovic.
Djokovic's furious protest
This led to a furious retort from the Serbian, who immediately approached umpire Adel Nour to protest. Nour stated: "We will have a video review to check if the side panel changed during the point," to which an irate Djokovic responded: "I served, he played another shot, is that OK? Like that, it changed there. He played after the serve. It doesn't make any sense."
By this stage, Zverev had also waded into the argument, with the German hitting back: "I didn't know about the challenge, that's why I came to him and asked." That only served to further inflame Djokovic, who fired back: "But then you [should] stop after the serve? This must be the most stupid change of rules I've ever heard in my life. It makes no sense. We could play a 30-shot rally and he could lose the point and say: 'OK, I'm going to challenge now'."
Reaction and match outcome
The 24-time slam winner eventually walked away laughing in disbelief before getting ready to replay the point. The crowd made their feelings clear on the incident as they cheered as he made his way back to the service line.
The incident also left the commentary team covering the match for Sky Sports baffled. "I've never seen that before. Obviously the VAR is there to be used," commentator Nick Lester said. Annabel Croft then added: "This is absolutely fascinating. I have never, ever seen this. It would be a first if they replayed the point."
Djokovic went on to lose the first set 6-4, with Zverev taking the early advantage in the match. The winner will take on Daniil Medvedev in the semi-final after he beat Francisco Cerundolo in his quarter-final earlier today.
