By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday July 14, 2023
To hinder, or not to hinder? That is the question...
Novak Djokovic was victimized by a hindrance call during the second set of his 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) win over Jannik Sinner in Friday’s semifinal action at Wimbledon, and the call, made by umpire Richard Haigh, generated quite a lot of discussion on social media, and even after the match.
If you're scoring at home, ITF hindrance rules state: “If a player is hindered in playing the point by a deliberate act of the opponent(s), the player shall win the point. However, the point shall be replayed if a player is hindered in playing the point by either an unintentional act of the opponent(s), or something outside the player’s own control (not including a permanent fixture).”
In his post-match interview, Djokovic was asked about the rare call, which docked him a point when he stretched out his grunt past in prolonged fashion.
“The hindrance earlier on today in the match could have changed the course of the match,” he said. “I felt really nervous after that call from the chair umpire but I kind of managed to regroup.”
Djokovic said it was the first time he had ever been hit with such a call.
“It was, I think, probably the first time in my career that something like this happened,” he said. “It never happened to me. I don't normally have an extended grunt, but maybe it was an echo from the roof or something like this, but I actually didn't feel I was causing any hindrance for my opponent but okay, it was the kind of call that I have to respect.”
Serena Williams was victimized by a similar call in the 2011 US Open final when she was in the process of yelling "Come on" as her opponent, Sam Stosur, was hitting the ball.
Djokovic's opponent, 21-year-old Jannik Sinner, was asked about the call after the match.
He didn’t seem to have a strong opinion either way, but was not surprised that Djokovic was called for hindrance.
“It's a call of the umpire, no?” he said. “Obviously he hit the ball already, and then after he was shouting quite long and with the volume up. I came there, obviously I was quite focused about the ball. Players, we do this when we are quite sure we win the point with this shot.
American Taylor Fritz later weighed in on Twitter, saying that Djokovic isn’t one of the typical culprits, but adding that the hindrance call should be called more frequently.
“I can’t speak to this specific instance because I didn’t see it,” he wrote. “Novak doesn’t come to my mind when I think of this rule, BUT some players I can think of extend/delay grunts A LOT on big points to put you off and it needs to be called more by umpires.”
In his post-match press conference Djokovic elaborated on his feelings, saying that he viewed the replay and concluded that the hindrance call was incorrect.
“I saw the replay. I saw that my grunt finished before he hit the shot. So I thought that chair umpire's call was not correct. I mean, my opinion.
“Again, you have to accept it.”