Former British No.1 Slams ‘Utterly Wrong’ Rule After Novak Djokovic’s Heated Argument With Alexander Zverev

Novak Djokovic lost his cool when the umpire called for a point to be replayed after Alexander Zverev requested a video review because the advertising board around the court flickered during a rally, causing hindrance. The incident happened during their quarterfinal match at the China Open.

Djokovic confronted chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani, saying Zverev should have stopped play right after he served and not when he lost the point. Zverev tried to explain to him that he “didn’t know about the challenge, that’s why I came to him and asked.” But the angry Serb insisted, “You missed the forehand, and then you challenged,” before calling this rule “stupid”.

Reacting to the whole thing, former British No.1 Greg Rusedski backed Djokovic, saying if players want to stop a point due to hindrance, they must not do it after the point is finished.

I’m not so sure about that. You don’t play the full point out and then say, ‘Oh, can I play it again?’ From my point of view, if you want to play the point again, you’ve got to stop it before the point is finished. That’s always been the rule before. If there’s interference or anything happened, you have to stop immediately. And if you don’t stop immediately and you lose the point and it has to replay it, I think that’s just completely and utterly wrong.

Greg Rusedski said on his Off Court with Greg podcast

Djokovic defeated Zverev in three sets, improving his head-to-head record to 10-5. In the semifinal, when Djokovic was on the verge of victory, Daniil Medvedev faced disqualification for hitting a ball at a spectator.

Alex de Minaur shares injury details after his match against Novak Djokovic in the China Open final

In the final of the China Open, Alex de Minaur handed Novak Djokovic the walkover. This saw Djokovic become a champion in ATP singles events for the 102nd time in his career. Following the match, the Aussie revealed why he decided to throw in the towel.

I was feeling quite good, and then I felt something midway through the end of the first set. It gradually got a little worse. I felt something in the adductor. I don’t know what it is yet, as I need more scans. I want to say sorry to all the amazing fans who came to watch this match.

Alex de Minaur said (H/T: Tennis World USA)

Djokovic has improved his head-to-head lead over de Minaur to 4-1. De Minaur was chasing his second title of the season following his win at the Rotterdam Open. He also reached the final of the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, losing it to Kamil Majchrzak.

I didn’t want to finish like this, so I’m really, really sorry. I mean, everything except for the end was really positive. There was a lot of good tennis; I played some great stuff and felt amazing on the court. I will take a lot of confidence from this week.

Alex de Minaur added

Djokovic will next be competing at the Shanghai Masters, which kicked off on October 7. Djokovic made his seventh appearance in the tournament, where he now holds a perfect 34-0 win-loss record. He played in Beijing for the first time since 2015.

Djokovic, a four-time champion in the penultimate Masters 1000 of the season, last reached a final here in 2024, losing it to Jannik Sinner, who withdrew not just from this tournament but was forced to end his season because of his knee injury. Djokovic will be playing in a Masters 1000 event for the fourth time this season after the Indian Wells Masters, Italian Open, and the Cincinnati Masters.

Valentin Vacherot is the reigning Shanghai champion. Last year, after beating Djokovic in the semifinals, he beat his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final.

Also read: Novak Djokovic Reveals His ‘Biggest Motivation’ After Ousting Alexander Zverev in Beijing: “I Can Still Beat the Best Players”