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Novak Djokovic has been accused of breaking the rules by defying the referee and leaving the court without permission during his victory in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday night.
The grand slam icon was beating Roberto Caballes Baena 3-2 in the first set when he tried, and seemed to fail, to get the referee’s attention when he needed to use the bathroom during the change of ends.
‘I need to go to the bathroom. Hello? Hello? Hello? I need to go to the bathroom,’ he told the match official, before turning and running down the tunnel to the bathroom when another official appeared to try to stop him from leaving.
It was not clear if he received a response from the referee.
Djokovic said to the referee Hello? Hello? Hello? I need to go to the bathroom’ and then he left the court; it was not clear if he received a response from the officer.
The referee could be heard telling another official that Djokovic risked a penalty if he did not return to the court immediately.
Australian tennis legend Mark Woodforde was unimpressed in the commentary booth.
“I think he’s actually moved up in range there,” Woodforde said. I think that officer was trying to push him back.
Former Australian star John Fitzgerald agreed, adding: “He just ran off the pitch.”
The referee then got on his radio and said, ‘I’ll call time in 15 seconds.’
“I think he went AWOL,” Fitzgerald said then.
The referee then calls time out and another official can be heard saying that Djokovic could be penalized if he does not return to the court immediately.
Australian tennis legend Mark Woodforde accused the Serbian star of “pulling his range” with the umpire, and fellow former star John Fitzgerald said he “had gone AWOL”.
The 35-year-old avoided a penalty and beat Spaniard Roberto Caballes Baena in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 6-0.
The Serbian star then returned, apparently in time to avoid any penalties.
Djokovic’s apparent rule-breaking was not a problem for tennis fans, who supported him online.
“To use the bathroom is a basic human right…you shouldn’t have to ask, and rape is just the arbiter of a power struggle,” Tracey Swarbick tweeted.
‘People need to pee. Not allowing this could cause problems if urgent. It took 1 minute, geez,” added Joe Dee.
“If I was up all day hydrating, drinking water and then playing a late game, I hope there’s no drama of lightning-fast peeing in the toilet.” Going back in time even though Novak failed to get the referee’s attention,’ wrote a third.
Another responder quipped: “He just ran away to take his third covid hit” after Djokovic’s vaccination drama at last year’s Open.
The 35-year-old won the match 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 and praised the crowd after receiving an enthusiastic reception despite being deported from Australia last year.
‘So much support. So much love. I mean, I couldn’t ask for a better start to the tournament in terms of support, in terms of how I felt on the court,” he said.
Some worried that Djokovic would receive a harsh welcome from the crowd after last year’s Covid deportation drama, but he had a great reception on Tuesday night.
‘Joker’ said he received ‘so much love’ from the crowd: ‘I couldn’t ask for a better start to the tournament in terms of support’
Djokovic had severe hamstring strain, which has troubled him since the Adelaide International 1, and looked dapper at times.
But after admitting he felt hesitant at first, he then turned up the aggressiveness and finally hit 41 game-winners.
“I was testing my leg a bit. At the beginning I was a bit tight, mentally too, to protect something that was bothering me the last 10 days.
“So it took me a little bit of time to really get into the game and start moving more freely. The big sign was that the longer the game went on, the better I felt, the better I moved.
The leg is fine. It is not ideal, but it is being achieved. Today was a very good test.’