Novak Djokovic voiced his frustrations with the chair umpire during his Shanghai Masters fourth round match.
After a tricky first round encounter, Djokovic has cruised through his last two matches and is now into the last eight in Shanghai for a record 10th time.
He came up against Roman Safiullin and the Serbian maintained his unbeaten record against the Russian by securing a 6-3, 6-2 win.
This victory keeps the 37-year-old’s quest for a 100th ATP Tour title alive. If he succeeds in Shanghai, Djokovic would join Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors as the other players to have achieved that feat.
What did Novak Djokovic say to the chair umpire at the Shanghai Masters?
Novak Djokovic was comfortable against Safiullin in his Shanghai Masters match, but there was one incident where he complained to the umpire.
He voiced his displeasure with the new shock clock rule. After each point a 25-second shot clock begins and during this time players must be ready to play the next point.
Initially the shock clock began when the umpire called the score, but now it begins immediately after a point has finished, giving players slightly less time to recover and prepare for the next point.
Djokovic was not happy with this and at a changeover he told the umpire: “I get it’s not up to you. But the rule change is unbelievable. For four years we had a situation where we can’t get the towel.
“The ball kids are doing their best but they’re not trained. Without even notifying any players, they start this new rule. It’s incredible honestly.”
“I get it. You guys want to speed up the pace of the tennis match. But at the same time we’ve got to know if we’re starting the season this way. We can’t change it midway in the season.”
Who will Novak Djokovic play next?
Djokovic sailed into the Shanghai Masters quarter-finals where he will face the teenager Jakub Menšík. He is one of two Czech players into the last eight with Tomas Machac due to play Carlos Alcaraz.
Menšík reached the quarter-finals with a three-set over Grigor Dimitrov and will face the Olympic champion for the first time.
Assessing how he felt after beating Safiullin, Djokovic said: “Both last night’s match and tonight have been, maybe, some of the best matches I have played in a while, so I am just enjoying myself on the court.
“When you play well and feel good, there is obviously a lot of joy in striking a tennis ball on the court.
“These sensations I have on the tennis court are some of the reasons why I keep on playing and keep on competing because I really believe that I can play at a very high level. Now, it’s a matter of keeping that consistency and also having a good time off the court.”
