"I asked chair umpire, 'Is it necessary somebody gets injured?'" - When Novak Djokovic was left incensed by slippery courts in Italian Open final
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was once frustrated by the slippery courts at the Italian Open in 2016 after losing the title to his arch-rival Andy Murray in the final. For the first time in 11 years, the tournament wasn't won by either Djokovic or Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic defeated Stephane Robert, Thomaz Bellucci, Nadal, and Kei Nishikori to reach the championship match, where he aimed to secure his third consecutive title in the ATP Masters 1000 tournament. However, his hopes were dashed as Murray defeated him 6-3, 6-3.
During his match against the Brit, Djokovic wasn't at his best and seemed pretty grumpy. He kept complaining to the umpire about the slippery court surface on that damp day.
In his post-match press conference, Djokovic brought up the issue again, mentioning that he had asked the umpire to pause the match briefly due to the rain to avoid getting injured. However, his request was turned down.
"You know, we played on a very, very heavy court because it was raining for an hour and it was very muddy behind the baseline. In three games I literally, you know, could have twisted my ankle two or three times. That's what I said," Djokovic said.
"And I asked him, you know, 'Is it necessary that something like this happens that somebody gets injured until he realizes what's going on?' You know, it's, in the end of the day, I guess, his decision whether or not the court is playable," he added.
Djokovic couldn't wrap his head around why the chair umpire, who wasn't out there playing on the court like the players, got to make such an important call:
"But, you know, to me it's also ridiculous that the chair umpire, who doesn't wear tennis shoes and wears the casual shoes, comes out and just slides on the line and, you know, says, 'Okay, the court is good or not.'"
Novak Djokovic: "If we have the conditions like we had today, the risk for an injury is much higher than it can be"
In the press conference, Novak Djokovic kept up his argument against playing on slippery courts after rain, emphasizing that it was all about an athlete staying "healthy."
"I mean, those things are -- you know, we can laugh about it now, but on the court, it's not just a matter of match whether or not you're going to play better or not, win or lose. It's a matter of you keeping yourself healthy. You know, it's us players that have to slide and run all over the court," the 24-time Grand Slam champion said.
He added shortly:
"If we have the conditions like we had today, and if you keep on going for, you know, the reasons that are only familiar to himself, then, you know, the risk for an injury is much higher than it can be."