Novak Djokovic's tumultuous week in Rome continued with another on-court performance.
After receiving a time-violation warning from chair umpire Mohamed Lahayani, the world No. 1 accused the Swede of behaving more like a thespian than a tennis official.
The outburst came 24 hours after Djokovic's emphatic run-in with British No. 1 Cameron Norrie and shortly before he was ousted from the Italian Open by Denmark's Holger Roon.
“What is the drama of waiting between the English and the Italian?” shouted Djokovic, who had just been warned for exceeding the allotted 25-second period between points. “Are you acting here or what? Why do you call the score for 20 seconds?”
The outcry attracted outrage from tennis fans on social media. While Lahyani is generally regarded as one of the best umpires on tour, he is also notorious for the flamboyant – and extremely loud – way he announces scores.
It may sound like an obscure detail, but officiating guidelines state that an umpire must start the shot clock 25 seconds after the score is announced.
Lahayani was first using Italian and then English, but the drama surrounding the entire performance made it difficult for Djokovic to decide how much time he had left.
In contrast to Djokovic's stormy encounter with Norrie on Tuesday, at least the players maintained a sense of mutual respect. after that matchHe accused the British No. 1 – who had hit him on the left leg with blood all over it – of “not fair play”.
Djokovic's press-conference interview also found him complaining about Norrie celebrating too aggressively and calling a medical time-out when there was a tactical moment. Djokovic was not the only person to show animosity towards Lahayani.
Rooney was incensed when Lahyani insisted that Djokovic's return had come to the baseline, missing his first service game of the match. “You're a complete joke,” raved rune during the ensuing altercation.
Djokovic was clearly strained by his poor performance in the 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 defeat. The result meant he would be without a clay court semi-final at Roland Garros. Remarkably, this has happened only once before in his history, and that was in 2005, when he turned 18.
Health issues seemed to affect Djokovic. He called the medical staff onto the court after three games for the delivery of painkillers, and was still wearing a sleeve on the suspected right elbow that kept him out of Madrid.
He was usually a step below his normal electric footspeed, especially during the first set, although such was his innate quality that Rune still needed to deliver an outstanding performance.
The disappointment contributes to a perception that the upcoming French Open – which starts a week in Paris on Sunday – will be one of the most unpredictable majors in decades.
With Djokovic lacking his usual clinical edge, and Rafael Nadal absent from the tour since January, both Rooney and Carlos Alcaraz (who were born a week apart in 2003) are emerging among bookmakers' favourites.
And his troubles were compounded when Nadal announced he would hold a press conference on Thursday at his tennis academy in Mallorca. The expectation is that he will probably withdraw from Roland Garros.
The Italian Open has arguably been Djokovic's most successful event outside the four Slams. There he has six titles to his credit and overall he has 67 wins.
But the exit means that Sunday's final will be the first since 2004 in Rome to feature neither Djokovic nor Nadal.
Even the middle set, which she stole during play, had some inconsistencies—including a disputed line call that disrupted Roone's concentration, and an hour-long rain break.
When the players returned, Djokovic quickly picked up the two points he needed to complete the set. But he was soon clawed back from a 0-4 deficit in the decider as Roon turned on the style.
It was an incident-filled match, including a 34-shot rally which the Amazon Prime commentary team was quick to name as the point of the year.
The lung-busting, thigh-burning exchange ended appropriately with one of Roan's many delightful drop-shots – this one a deadly doodlebug that swung sideways to avoid Djokovic's out-thrust racquet. .
Roon said, “I enjoyed every moment there.” His apparent penchant for fighting is part of a compelling package, and has in the past brought him into conflict with some players – notably stan Wawrinka and Kasper Ruud.
Yet he and Djokovic, whom he has now beaten twice in a row, are getting along well, with Djokovic saying Tuesday that Roon reminds him of his own younger self.
Djokovic will move back to No. 2 in Monday's new world rankings behind Alcaraz, while Rooney could potentially climb into the top five if he wins this tournament.
The result was another vibration in the gradual shifting of tennis's tectonic plates. But while Djokovic may have been suffering some unusual defeats of late – 21-year-old Lorenzo Musetti in Monte Carlo, for example, or compatriot Dusan Lajovic in Banja Luka – he is a different beast in the majors, where he loves his place next generation
The youngest person to beat him in a Slam is Hyeon Chung of South Korea, who turns 27 this week. Meanwhile, Djokovic is reported to be closing his tennis center in Belgrade after 15 years away from the court.
They hosted the Serbian Open in 2021 and 2022, but only through a license leased to them by Romanian billionaire Ion Tiriac. And Tiriac has since claimed to have withdrawn the license.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray suffered a 6-3, 6-0 loss against Stan Wawrinka in the second round of an ATP Challenger Tour event in Bordeaux.