Novak Djokovic is battling for the quarterfinal spot at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters but his job was made harder by an umpire.
In the third-round match, the 22-time Grand Slam champion met Lorenzo Musetti from Italy, who was heavily supported by the crowd in Monte Carlo. Even former Monte-Carlo Masters champion, Fabio Fognini attended the match and he witnessed how world no. 1 was robbed.
Djokovic won the first set 6-4 despite great level from his opponent, and he led also 4-2 in the second set. But the Serb lost his one-break lead and in the following game, he lost also a point that he should have won.
Leading 4-3 in the second set, Djokovic was aiming to break Musetti's serve for the fifth consecutive time as he played really well on the Italian's serve throughout the match.
However, during the first rally of the game, Musetti missed a forehand that initially looked like a winner, but experienced Djokovic soon noticed that the ball went out and the situation was inspected by umpire Aurelie Tourte.
Djokovic was confident that the ball went out, while the umpire had different opinion, also stating that line umpire can't show the mark of the ball, making the situation even trickier.
After the discussion was over and the umpire gave the point to Musetti, hawk-eye available only to TV viewers showed that ball was clearly out and it wasn't even by a small margin.
Subsequently, Djokovic lost the game, his only on return in the second set. Arguably, the Serb was affected by the rally which potentially turned the whole match, or at least the second set around.
It once again reminded fans and the ATP Tour how important electronic live calling is and why, despite complaints from some players, it should be allowed at every tournament on every surface.
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