World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is a man of many moods. However, for the most part, his mood at the 2023 Italian Open has been one of irritation and frustration. The Serb would have hoped for an improvement in his mood during his quarterfinal clash against Dane Holger Rune, but yet again, he cut a frustrated figure. Ultimately, Rune got the better of Djokovic in what was a tightly-fought contest. During the match, Djokovic’s temper made its presence felt and its target was the chair umpire.

Djokovic’s frustration stemmed from the time it took for the score to be called. The Serb didn’t even try to hide his emotions in what turned out to be a hilarious moment for tennis fans the world over.

Novak Djokovic loses the plot once more in a disappointing Italian Open showing

The World No. 1 was the favorite for the Italian Open going into the tournament. However, Djokovic’s head wasn’t in the right place. During his round of 32 match against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, the Serb lashed out at the court conditions. Against Cameron Norrie in the round of 16, he complained about the Briton’s attitude. Finally, against Holger Rune in the quarterfinal stage, the 22-time Grand Slam winner clashed with the chair umpire.

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Following a 20 second delay in resuming the match owing to the score being called in both Italian and English, Djokovic headed straight to the chair umpire. The Serb was furious, but the chair umpire did his best to calm him down. The chair umpire said, “The first call is Italian then only starts the clock.”

Djokovic’s response was as dramatic as it could be. “What’s the drama of waiting between English & Italian to call the score? Are you acting here or what?” The chair umpire tried his best to reason with a clearly infuriated Djokovic, but the Serb concluded the heated exchange by saying, “This is how you do what? Why do you call the score for 20 seconds? Just call the score! God’s sake!”

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Holger Rune humbles Djokovic and registers statement win

World No. 7 Holger Rune must be in seventh heaven right now. The Dane’s Italian Open quarterfinal win against Djokovic was his second consecutive win against the Serb. The last time the pair clashed was at the Paris Masters in November 2022.

Even though conditions in Rome were far from favorable owing to frequent spells of rain, Rune deservedly won the match 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. Now that tournament favorites Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are out of the way, Rune will be hoping to clinch the Italian Open crown and issue a stern warning to his opposition in the buildup to the 2023 French Open.

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