Umpire had to stop Alexander Zverev’s match after Novak Djokovic called it ‘one of the most silly rule changes’
Novak Djokovic got really upset over a confusing rule change during his quarter-final match against Alexander Zverev at the China Open. The drama started when Zverev was serving at 1-0, 30-15 in the first set. After Djokovic returned Zverev’s first big serve, Zverev mishit a forehand and lost the point. But then, Zverev complained to the chair umpire, Adel Nour, because a courtside LED advertising board had changed during the point.
The umpire checked the video and saw that the screen display did change while Zverev was serving. He decided that this meant the point should be replayed, which made Djokovic really frustrated. Djokovic couldn’t believe the point was being redone after Zverev didn’t stop the play right away but waited until after missing the forehand to complain.
Djokovic said, “Okay, the board changed when he was about to serve… then he served, I played a shot, he played a shot, and only then did he challenge. Is that fair?” He thought if Zverev was bothered by the screen, he should have stopped right after the serve.
When Zverev came to the net, Djokovic told him, “You missed the forehand and then challenged.” Zverev said he wasn’t sure if he could challenge and came over to ask. Djokovic replied, “But you should have stopped right after the serve.” Then Djokovic called the rule change “one of the most stupid” he’d ever heard, saying it doesn’t make sense to wait and challenge after several shots.
Many agreed with Djokovic. Players must stop play right away to challenge a call; they can’t wait until later or after the point ends, or it messes up the game’s flow. On Sky Sports, commentator Nick Lester said he’d never seen this rule used like that, and Annabel Croft called the decision “ridiculous,” saying she couldn’t believe it happened.
Djokovic also got support online. One fan said, “I’m not a Djokovic fan, but he’s right here. Zverev served, Djokovic returned, Zverev missed the next shot, then challenged about the screen changing during the serve.” Others called the umpire’s decision crazy or said top players like Alcaraz or Sinner wouldn’t ask for the point to be replayed like that.
In the end, Djokovic’s frustration made a lot of sense, as the rule clearly wasn’t working well in this moment.