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Why Novak Djokovic's Message in the Bottle Caused a Revolution at the Australian Open

2023-01-23T22:14:16.396Z


While advancing at a steady pace in the first Grand Slam of the season, which he has already won nine times, he also ignites controversy off the court.


Novak Djokovic

continues to make steady progress towards his tenth

Australian Open

title and his 22nd Grand Slam title.

The Serbian, who returned to play the "big" ocean after the controversial deportation last year, related to his refusal to get vaccinated against Covid, got into the quarterfinals by crushing 6-2, 6-1 and 6- 2 to local

Alex De Miñaur

, 22nd seed.

"This victory gives me reasons to think that I can win the title"

, he celebrated.

Although not everything is rosy for the former number one in Melbourne: in the run-up to the match against the Australian, he was once again at the center of a controversy over "coaching", which in the end was not such. 

It is that hours before he jumped onto the field to face De Miñaur, a video began to circulate on

Twitter 

that set off an alarm.

In the images, taken during the second round duel, which Djokovic beat Frenchman

Enzo Couacaud

in four sets ,

Milan Amanovic

, his physiotherapist, is seen preparing a bottle and then giving it to the tournament's general referee, who, with authorization from the chair umpire, he brings it closer to Djokovic.

Nole

takes the bottle and realizes that he has a piece of paper attached: he grabs it, reads it and puts it away.

Criticism against the Balkan did not take long to appear.

Social networks were filled with comments accusing him of cheating and pointing out that receiving instructions from his bank in a note is a violation of the regulations.

Many perhaps forgot that

coaching

during matches has been allowed since January 1 of this year, after being approved by the ATP after a trial process in the second half of last season.

The question, then, was to know if the way in which the Serbian would have been

coached

-and it is worth saying there would be, because nobody knows what that piece of paper was and if it really said something- was legal.

From the Spanish blog

Punto de Break they

contacted the authorities of the Australian Grand Slam and clarified the situation.

According to what that site explained, in Australia (where the rules are almost the same as those of the ATP)

verbal coaching

-short phrases and instructions- is allowed, as long as it is done when the player is on the same side of the court. than your bank;

and the

non-verbal

(signs or gestures with the hands), which can be done from any side, as long as it does not bother the rival.

Djokovic continues to advance steadily in Australia, in search of his 22nd Grand Slam.

Photo EFE/EPA/FAZRY ISMAIL

Players can even drop by their box to talk to their coach during an opponent's

Medical Time Out

, a bathroom break, or the last 90 seconds of a heat stoppage.

And, since in the regulations it is impossible to contemplate all the ways in which the player can communicate with his team during the match, it is established that it is up to the chair umpire to assess whether an infraction is committed. 

From that information, it is clear that Djokovic and his team did not cheat.

The Serb could have received the same indications that would have come to him in that "note" by approaching his bench during one of those allowed moments.

The other "controversy" of Nole in Melbourne

This "failed controversy" was not the only one in which Djokovic was involved in this edition of the Australian Grand Slam.

In the first round clash, in which he beat the Spanish

Roberto Carballes Baena

6-3, 6-4, 6-0 , he starred in another situation that was widely criticized.

In the video, which also went viral, it is seen that, when the initial set had only been played for five games,

Nole

asks permission to go to the bathroom.

Although the response of the party authority is not heard, it seems that he denies it, because when the Serb runs towards the locker room, another official is seen trying to intercept the Serb and stop him.

Quickly, the umpire warns that if he doesn't return quickly, she will penalize him.

The Serbian returns in time to receive his rival's serve and avoids the penalty.

But the sequence earned him the disapproval of many -including the journalists in charge of the transmission of the game on the Eurosport signal-, who pointed it out for "defying authority".


Djokovic's response to the bathroom controversy.

Instagram photo

The Serbian did not take long to come out at the crossroads of criticism.

"Next time, be careful what you post. Please check the information before posting something critical and wrong," he wrote on Instagram, addressing that European television network directly.

"The chair umpire allowed me to go to the bathroom, but she told me that I didn't have a break for that, only to change. So she told me (the cameras didn't catch it) that I had to hurry. When I was almost out of the track, I she called (I didn't hear her) and it was to tell me that the bathroom was on the opposite side of the court. I found one in the area of ​​the stadium she was in and had to hurry. I didn't 'defy' her or the rules She gave me permission and told me to go fast. You have a responsibility towards many sports fans", he completed.

The Serbian will face the Russian Andrey Rublev

, fifth seed, 

in the quarterfinals .

look also

The story of the surprising Ben Shelton: the reasons for the undercover who "sneaked" into the top eight of the Australian Open

Djokovic crushed De Minaur, enlarged his myth in Australia and is already among the top eight

Auger-Aliassime, the latest victim of the "curse" of Netflix in an Australian Open that knocks down favorites

Source: clarin

All news articles on 2023-01-23

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