Novak Djokovic goes off on umpire over allowing match to continue in rain
Novak Djokovic had yet another outburst toward an official during a match on Tuesday, albeit for a different reason than usual.
During his match against Taylor Fritz at the Italian Open in Rome, Djokovic became furious with the umpire for not suspending play despite heavy rain. He screamed in the direction of the umpire and asked, “How much do you want to play?” The umpire responded that he was checking the court, to which Djokovic angrily replied, “I asked you three times, you are not checking anything!”
The clip below shows the exchange:
"How much do you wanna play ? I asked you three times, you are not checking anything" #Djokovic #IBI21 pic.twitter.com/9VGDLPZYKX
— Tennis GIFs (@tennis_gifs) May 11, 2021
Djokovic then walked off the court and took cover in the tunnel area. Fritz remained in the bench area as rain fell, but the match was eventually suspended because of the inclement weather.
Rain indeed got heavier. Djokovic takes shelter while Fritz is happy to sit on his chair.
Match suspended.#IBI21 pic.twitter.com/ul0W3ROxB1
— Tennis GIFs (@tennis_gifs) May 11, 2021
Djokovic is known for having outbursts on the court. He smashed a racket in anger at the Australian Open back in February and left the court damaged (video here). The 33-year-old was infamously disqualified from the US Open last year after he hit a ball in frustration and it inadvertently struck a line judge. You can see that incident here.
While he said after the US Open incident that he would focus on controlling his temper, Djokovic clearly still work to do in that department.
