NEW YORK – It was a crazy scene on Arthur Ashe Stadium during the Novak Djokovic and John Millman match at the US Open on Wednesday night.
It was 6-3, 2-2 in favor of the sixth-seeded Djokovic when both players found themselves in an unusual predicament.
Djokovic could be heard being a bit frantic about not being able to find “tablets,” and was telling the umpire that he needed “the tablets that his wife brought from the apartment.” A look at Djokovic’s guest box showed his obviously confused team all conferring, most likely about where the missing tablets went.
Meanwhile, Millman, sweating profusely from the hot, humid conditions left the court to change his clothes. He was heard saying, “I’m sorry, man, I’m going to have to change” to Djokovic.
“I was struggling. He was struggling,” Djokovic said. “He was apologizing he had to go change. I said, ‘Man go ahead. I’m OK just sitting down and relaxing.” I needed that rest. It was great.”
The USTA put out a statement regarding Millman being able to leave the court to change his clothes. The announcement said a similar situation occurred between the fourth and fifth sets of the Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem match Tuesday night.
“At two games all in the second set of the Novak Djokovic-John Millman match, Millman approached the chair umpire to note his excessive sweating and the moisture it was leaving on the court. The chair determined that the surface was dangerous enough to invoke the 'Equipment Out of Adjustment' provision in the ITF Duties and Procedures for Officials and allowed Millman to go off court to change clothes/shoes. Both players agreed that he should do so. Because the chair umpire deemed the situation within the 'Equipment Out of Adjustment' provision, Millman was not charged with an official change of attire or bathroom break."
All, however, seemed to end well.
A bottle was delivered to Djokovic by a ball boy, presumably containing the required tablets. "They arrived in the end,'' Djokovic said after the match. But when asked by USA TODAY Sports what kind of tablets they were, he said: ''I can't talk about that.''
While waiting for Millman to return, Djokovic also was seen opening the seal on nose spray that he then self-administered.
By that point, Milliman was back on court, freshly attired and less sweaty, and ready to play.
Six games later, Djokovic was leading 6-3, 6-4 in the match as order seemed to be restored.
Djokovic held on for a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory and advance to the semifinals, where he will meet Kei Nishikori on Friday.
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