Novak Djokovic argues with chair umpire for allowing Holger Rune's supposed late challenge over line call at Paris Masters QF

Novak Djokovic argued with the chair umpire for allowing his opponent Holger Rune's supposed late challenge over a line call in their Paris Masters quarterfinal encounter on Friday.

Djokovic won the first set and was just two points away from winning the match when Rune challenged a ball after hitting the return. The umpire accepted the challenge, which upset the Serb as he argued that the Dane's call was too late. He also demanded the supervisor to look into it.

The chair umpire stood firm in his decision, asserting that the judgment was his to make.

Djokovic went on to set up a match point in the same game but failed to capitalize on it and was forced into a third set. After a feisty encounter that lasted two hours and 54 minutes, the Serb won 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-4 to advance to the semifinals of the Masters 1000 tournament.

Reflecting on the incident after the match, the World No. 1 stated that the "mistake" could have cost him the contest.

"Not much to talk about really. It’s obviously his judgement. I thought he made a mistake, to be honest. Could’ve cost me the match," the 36-year-old said (via Daily Express).

He opined that the umpire should not have allowed Rune's challenge since he had played the return prior to making the call, deeming it "ridiculous".

"15-30, I thought Holger played his shot and once he had seen that his shot is going long, he called challenge," he continued. "The chair umpire told me that he was allowed to do that which I thought was ridiculous. But again, it’s his judgement. I know it’s easier to talk about it now when I won the match but definitely a very difficult situation, obviously for the chair umpire as well. But I thought maybe he shouldn’t have allowed him to challenge that on such an important point."

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Novak Djokovic will face Andrey Rublev in the Paris Masters SFs

The Serb in action at the 2023 Paris Masters

Novak Djokovic will face Andrey Rublev in the semifinals of the 2023 Paris Masters on Saturday. The Serb has won four of their previous five encounters, including their most recent meeting in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

Djokovic eased past Tomas Martin Etcheverry, 6-3, 6-2, and rallied from a set down to win 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 against Tallon Griekspoor in the opening rounds. With a solid win over defending champion Holger Rune, the top seed currently looks capable of improving his record against Rublev.

Meanwhile, Rublev registered straight-set wins against Yoshihito Nishioka and Botic van de Zandschulp before defeating Alex de Minaur 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Rublev has shown promise in recent times but beating Djokovic will be a challenge, given his 0-3 record against the Serb on hardcourts.