'I deserved it': Djokovic gets obscenity warning in SF win

Rome: Novak Djokovic knows it isn't model behaviour when he loses his cool on the tennis court.

Yet he just can't help himself.

Exactly two weeks after he was defaulted from the US Open, and a day after he was warned by the chair umpire for breaking his racket in a fit of rage, Djokovic received an obscenity warning midway through a 7-5 6-3 win over Casper Ruud in the Italian Open semifinals Sunday.

The obscenity came in the third game of the second set, by which time Djokovic had a running dialogue with the chair umpire over a series of contested calls.

"I deserved the warning," Djokovic said.

"I didn't say nice things in my language.

"I had a couple of disputes with the chair umpire with those calls," Djokovic added.

"As I understood, I was three out of three right, but doesn't matter. Everybody makes mistakes. It's fine. It was a kind of the heat of the battle. There is a lot of intensity on the court. A lot of pressure for him, for both players. It's kind of whatever happens,

happens."

As opposed to his previous two outbursts, this time there were fans in the stands who could clearly hear how Djokovic dealt with his frustration.

With 1,000 spectators allowed in to the Foro Italico for the first time this week, a large proportion of those in attendance were children.

"I don't want to do it, but when it comes, it happens," Djokovic said Saturday.