Novak Djokovic Bashes New Serve Clock Rule in Mid-Match Rant to Umpire

He called the rule change "unbelievable."

Novak Djokovic reacts to a point at the 2024 Shanghai Masters. / Zhe Ji/Getty Images

Novak Djokovic is the latest tennis player to express his frustration with the implementation of the serve clock rule in tournaments this season.

Tennis players now have 25 seconds from three seconds after the previous point to serve the next point. The timer used to start after the umpire put in the score change, but the ATP Tour has been testing this new rule since June. It's confused many players this year since it began mid-season and apparently hasn't been well communicated or explained.

Djokovic let the umpire know what his true thoughts are regarding the serve clock during his match Wednesday at the Shanghai Masters, and they are not positive feelings.

“I get it’s not up to you. But the rule change is unbelievable," Djokovic said. "For four years we had a situation where we can’t get the towel. The ball kids are doing their best but they’re not trained. Without even notifying any players, they start this new rule. It’s incredible honestly. I get it. You guys want to speed up the pace of the tennis match. But at the same time we’ve got to know if we’re starting the season this way. We can’t change it midway in the season.”

Novak Djokovic to the umpire in Shanghai about serve clock rule changes:

“I get it’s not up to you. But the rule change is unbelievable. For four years we had a situation where we can’t get the towel. The ball kids are doing their best but they’re not trained. Without even… pic.twitter.com/elUG88lPNn

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 9, 2024

The new rule has been catching some players in recent events, especially at this week's Shanghai Masters. Frances Tiafoe cussed out a chair umpire on Tuesday because of how a match turned out after he was called out for a serve clock violation.

The rule change didn't seem to bother Djokovic too much as he cruised past Roman Safiullin 6–3, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals.

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