WATCH: “He’s found his protégé” – Novak Djokovic SMILES from his chair seeing Holger Rune go on a ‘barbaric’ rant against Mohamed Lahyani

Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune faced off against each other in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Italian Open. The match lasted for 2 hours and 20 minutes and had to be stopped for 1 hour and 7 minutes due to rain. The young Danish player Holger Rune came out victorious against the six-time Italian Open champion and has now made it to the semi-finals of the tournament.

Although Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune were opponents in the match, they became united after openly bashing the chair umpire, Mohamed Lahyani. The 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 game saw a lot of tension directed toward the well-renowned Mohamed Lahyani. Rune was the first person whose frustration against the chair umpire emerged. Lahyani ruled in Djokovic’s favor on a ball-mark review, and Rune eventually fell behind.

Rune lashed out and even went on to express that it was not the first time that Lahyani had done something like this to him.

“Listen to me. I had you three or four times, and you make misses every time we play,” said Rune.

Rune went on to call Lahyani a joke, saying, “You’re an absolute joke, man. It’s always the umpire that makes me look like a bad guy. Always.”  Djokovic could be seen smirking and turning his head in approval during Rune’s rant.

Djokovic smiled and showed his approval from his chair during the incident. In the deciding set, Djokovic also called out the chair umpire. “But what’s the drama of waiting between English and Italian?” asked Djokovic, and he went on to ask another big question. “What, are you acting here or what?”. Djokovic also expressed his displeasure with Mohamed Lahyani for taking so long to call the scores.

Also Read: WATCH: Iga Swiatek FORCED to retire against Elena Rybakina in Rome courtesy of a ‘brutal’ upper leg injury just days before the French Open

Social media reacts to Novak Djokovic’s smirk of approval

As expected, tennis fans around the world have been nothing short of excited after this incident. They are praising the rise of Holger Rune. Fans are also pointing out how it seems Novak Djokovic has found his successor in Rune. Djokovic’s smirk of approval spoke volumes to the fans.

Sharing a wide spectrum of reactions online, here’s what fans have to say:

A small number of fans are also calling Djokovic a hippo-cite, as they think he would have reacted differently if it was Cameron Norrie instead of Rune. But the majority are finding that Djokovic and Rune are alike. Djokovic’s fans have started rooting for Rune to win the tournament, and it has been nothing but a pleasure to watch him.

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