Djokovic fumes at umpire in rain-affected Rome opener

TIL Desk Sports/ World number one Novak Djokovic was furious with the chair umpire for not suspending play as rain trickled down during his Italian Open second-round match against American Taylor Fritz on Tuesday.

The 33-year-old Serb made his feelings clear after he was broken when serving for victory in the second set. “How much do you wanna play?,” Djokovic yelled at umpire Nacho Forcadell. “I asked you three times, you are not checking anything.” The match was eventually suspended for three hours before Djokovic secured a 6-3, 7-6(5) victory.

All the other men’s matches for the day were cancelled. Djokovic said he had been struggling with the court conditions before the players were sent off the court at 5-5 in the second set. “It’s not the first time or probably the last that I’m going to experience such conditions,” Djokovic, who has received an opening-round bye this week, told.