The Australian Open‘s bathroom breaks have generated a lot of discussions thus far during the competition in 2023. Novak Djokovic went for his 22nd Grand Slam title during the Australian Open 2023 final against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday. In the first round of the match itself, Novak Djokovic left his match to use the bathroom, directly disobeying the chair umpire’s instructions.

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Opponent Stefanos Tsitipas’ reaction

Commentators called it Djokovic‘s tactics to break his Greek opponent’s momentum. Tsitsipas was also seen complaining about the duration of the chair umpire. However, Tsitsipas immediately broke Novak Djokovic’s serve. There were many reactions on Twitter regarding Djokovic’s bathroom break.

“That bathroom break benefitted Tsitsipas more lol stop crying folks,” a Twitter user said. “Way to go Novak, you have the opportunity to serve first in the third and you break your momentum with a bathroom break,” a second one added.

Also Read: Who is Louise Azemar Engzell, chair umpire for Australian Open 2023 final between Novak Djokovic vs Stefanos Tsitsipas?

Novak Djokovic and his bathroom breaks

As it turns out, Novak Djokovic has violated the rules before and taken extended restroom breaks. In the first set of his Australian Open match against Roberto Carballes Baena, the nine-time winner had hurried off the court to use the restroom.

Djokovic had turned to the umpire and announced, “I’m going to the toilet,” after just the fifth game of the match. She didn’t seem to hear, so Djokovic had to shout three times to gain her attention. Then he repeated it again and left the court quickly. The chair umpire, who appeared irritated, jumped right on her internal phone to call the representative who had accompanied Djokovic backstage. The chair umpire had then signaled time, and Djokovic returned to the court in time to avoid a penalty.