Novak Djokovic’s sweary Wimbledon rant leaves BBC stunned as umpire steps in | Tennis | Sport

Novak Djokovic received a code violation warning in the third set of his match against Roman Safiullin at Wimbledon. The Serbian superstar came back from 2-5 down in the opening set to win it in a tiebreak, and then looked to be on his way to victory when he took a two-set lead over the Russian qualifier.

But the No. 7 seed was broken early in the third set and appeared to scream “bulls***” and another word in Serbian, prompting chair umpire Timo Janzen to take action.

“Code violation, audible obscenity, warning, Mr. Djokovic,” the official announced to Djokovic and the crowd on Centre Court. John McEnroe, who was commentating on the match live for the BBC, was left confused over what Djokovic had said, believing it was all in his native language.

“He’s working on that code… When you hear another language, it immediately goes to your native tongue. I’d love to know what he was just saying. Apparently the umpire knows,” the American tennis legend said.

But Djokovic took the code violation on the chin and didn’t react. “There was no complaint from Djokovic, so,” Tim Henman added.

The quick outburst of frustration seemed to help the seven-time former champion. Safiullin played a sloppy game, and Djokovic quickly had break points of his own. And he ripped a forehand winner to get the break straight back.

As the 39-year-old headed to his chair for the changeover, McEnroe noted that Djokovic may have been spurred on by his brief rant. “Djokovic let it out, got a warning, and just capitalised immediately. Got his mojo back,” he said.

Safiullin started to struggle as the third set went on, and all the tennis he had played through qualifying and the main draw seemed to be catching up to him. The world No. 132 received an on-court medical timeout while leading 3-2.

While Djokovic looked to be back on track, Henman and McEnroe questioned whether he was satisfied. “You sense he’s frustrated, he’s distracted,” Henman remarked. And the American replied: “Just wants to get through this.”

Their suspicions were confirmed, as the No. 7 seed then found himself 0-40 down on his serve following Safiullin’s medical timeout. Djokovic found some big serves and winners to get to deuce, but the qualifier managed to convert his sixth break point when the 39-year-old made a critical unforced error. And Djokovic then whacked away a ball in frustration.

Things went from bad to worse for the 24-time Major champion, who lost the third set 6-3. It’s the third time he’s dropped a set during these Championships. But Djokovic quickly recovered in the fourth, breaking immediately and racing into a 3-0 lead. And he went on to win 7-6(6) 6-3 3-6 6-3.