Novak Djokovic unhappy with losing his temper during win over Denis Shapovalov at Australian Open

Novak Djokovic could next week become king of Rod Laver Arena for an incredible seventh time. But is his coronation a foregone conclusion?

Perhaps not. The world No 1 was largely dominant against the exciting 19-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov. But he also dropped a set, for the first time in the tournament, and generally seemed more irritable and antsy than you might have expected.

Djokovic spent much of the third set complaining about the stadium’s lights, which had been turned on at the behest of broadcasters, even though there was bright sunshine on most of the court.

Then, when a crowd member shouted out “No pressure” between his first and second serves, he started barking obscenities in Serbian, and earned a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct from chair umpire Damien Dumusois.

“I misconducted myself verbally,” said Djokovic afterwards, coming up with a neat euphemism for his sweary outburst. “That why I got the code violation. I mean, it's not the first, nor the last time.”

Shapovalov – who won junior Wimbledon in 2016 – made for an eye-catching opponent, thanks to his habit of playing shots with both feet off the ground. He was also a generous one, throwing in no fewer than 57 unforced errors. These contributed just over half of Djokovic’s 113 points.

Presented with all this low-hanging fruit, and playing on a court he knows as well as his own front room, you might have expected Djokovic to ease through to his traditional “wonderbra” celebration at the end of the match – the one where he cups his hands under his pectorals and then thrusts them in the direction of the fans, presumably to express loving energy.

Instead, he became distracted by the difficult sighting conditions as the heavy afternoon shadow crept across Rod Laver Arena. In the ninth game of the third set, Djokovic served two double-faults to hand Shapovalov a break – and with it the set a few minutes later. This was also the game in which he earned the code violation, and responded by giving Dumusois a sarcastic thumbs-up.

“I don't remember having lights in the past years at 5pm,” said Djokovic afterwards. “Maybe I'm wrong, maybe not. I just felt with such a low position of the sun, the lights being switched on was completely unnecessary.”

During the post-match press conference, another issue emerged that Djokovic might have preferred to keep in the dark, metaphorically speaking. That is the ongoing political debate about the renewal of Chris Kermode’s contract as the head of the men’s tour.

As the Telegraph has reported, a faction on the player council – which is chaired by Djokovic – has been pressing for a change of leader. Djokovic insists that the details of their meetings must remain confidential, but he is not enjoying being asked about the subject every time he comes into the interview room.

“I don't know why people keep on talking about me as being against Chris?” said Djokovic indignantly, almost as if he were unaware that the Telegraph and L’Equipe, among other publications, have identified the five players who are believed to have voted against Kermode a week ago as him, John Isner, Sam Querrey, Vasek Pospisil and “Rendy” Lu.

“Who said that that was the truth?” Djokovic added. “One of my greatest concerns right now, of every council member, is that we have leaking information from someone within the council in the last couple months. Many of those things that have been leaked to certain media are also not 100 per cent true. It's obvious that there is a certain kind of one-dimensional agenda in place. Players and certain medias are served with quite a one-sided story.”

Djokovic has certainly devoted significant effort to the political side of tennis since he joined the player council three years ago. But he is also thought to be uncomfortable with the way the ATP tour is governed, having argued here in 2018 that an independent union would better serve the players’ interests.

Over the last week, his critics on this issue have included Stan Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal and Nadal’s coach Carlos Moya, who have all expressed support for Kermode. Moya also told the Melbourne Age that “Djokovic, he must have his own reasons.”

Isner, meanwhile, declined to explain why he is understood to have voted against Kermode at last week’s player council meeting, which ended deadlocked at 5-5. “I don’t know where you’re hearing that,” he told the Telegraph.

The politics will rumble on, but in the short term Djokovic needs to refocus in time for Monday’s meeting with Daniil Medvedev. He might not have a famous name, but Medvedev – a 22-year-old Russian who is ranked No, 19 – is in terrific form.

A fortnight ago, he reached the final of his build-up event in Brisbane, where his 7-5, 6-2 drubbing of Andy Murray helped to hasten Murray’s retirement talk. Here in Melbourne, he has continued to hand out straight-sets beatdowns. Medvedev gives the ball a real whack, and yet his combined tally of unforced errors – just 38 so far – is comfortably the lowest of anyone in the tournament.