(VIDEO) Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas involved in bizarre hindrance moment at Indian Wells

A curious moment unfolded in the men’s doubles draw at Indian Wells, where Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas were involved in an unusual on-court situation during their match. The first Masters 1000 event of the season has several top names from the singles draw competing in doubles as well, including the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

After overcoming their opening match against the third-seeded pair Mate Pavic and Marcelo Arevalo – both former World No. 1 and former Grand Slam champions – Tsitsipas and Djokovic surprisingly moved into the second round of the doubles draw. There they faced another pair we usually see in singles: the cousins Arthur Rinderknech and Valentin Vacherot.

Rinderknech and Vacherot had their breakthrough at the Shanghai Masters last year, when they unexpectedly reached the final, eliminating many of the big names along the way in one of the most surprising Masters 1000 finals in recent memory. Vacherot was Djokovic’s executioner on that occasion, defeating him in straight sets in the semifinals.

The match was marked by a peculiar moment during the first set when the chair umpire had to change his decision regarding an unforced error by Tsitsipas after Djokovic protested and requested a video review to clarify the situation.

During a rally, Rinderknech can be seen from the baseline making a movement with his racquet moments before Tsitsipas was about to hit a smash. The Greek’s shot went long, and while the French-Monegasque duo celebrated the point, Djokovic immediately turned to the chair umpire to demand a video review.

“Mr Djokovic requesting a video review, the video review will check if his opponent somehow distracted him during the point,” the umpire was heard saying through the microphone, prompting laughter from the spectators and even the players on court, while Rinderknech himself smiled at the unusual situation.

After the video review was played, the chair umpire decided to award the point to the Tsitsipas/Djokovic duo. “After the video review, Mr. Rinderknech moved his racquet. This is interpreted to be a hindrance, therefore point to Djokovic & Tsitsipas.”

The point gave Tsitsipas and Djokovic the advantage as they moved ahead 3–2 in the first set. However, it proved to be of little use, as the Rinderknech/Vacherot duo eventually secured the victory in straight sets – even saving a couple of set points against them in the opening set – before sealing their place in the quarterfinals with a 7–6(4), 7–5 win.

They will face another singles-based pairing in the next round: the Russians Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev, who survived twice in the super tie-break against the sixth seeds Roger-Vasselin/Nys and also against the pair of Korda/Auger-Aliassime.

On the other side, Tsitsipas and Djokovic – who had received a wildcard from the tournament organisers – were eliminated as early as the second round of the tournament. While the Greek will travel to the Miami Open, Djokovic remains in Indian Wells where he will play the fourth round against defending champion Jack Draper this Wednesday.