World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has come under scrutiny for yelling at a chair umpire during an explosive outburst at the Italian Open on Tuesday.
Djokovic secured a 6-3, 7-6 victory over American Taylor Fritz to qualify for the tournament’s Round of 16, where he will face Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
After Djokovic was broken while serving for the match in the second set, the Serbian superstar lost his temper with chair umpire Nacho Forcadell, calling for play to suspended as rain fell on the court.
“How much more you wanna play?” Djokovic yelled. “I asked you three times, you are not checking anything.”
The players eventually retired to the locker rooms, returning three hours later to finish off the contest.
Fritz forced a tiebreak, but was unable to take the match into a decisive third set.
Djokovic apologized to Forcadell after the contest, telling the official: “Sorry for screaming at you.”
“We played almost two full sets non-stop under the rains, at one point it was quite dangerous for movement,” the 33-year-old explained to reporters after the match.
“I kind of lost my cool towards the end of that second set when I served for the match. It was a really strange match, to play in the rain, it was difficult. It possibly helped me because the play was slower, and he has a good serve. He played really well.
“In these circumstances, you don’t know how much time it will go on for. If you have to eat, rest, or not. You have to do what feels best for you.”
Djokovic will face Davidovich Fokina on Thursday for a spot in the Italian quarterfinals.
