Novak Djokovic has to stop play at Italian Open when his opponent got a phone call

Novak Djokovic was a bit rusty heading into his match against Frenchman Corentin Moutet. After having his service game broken a couple of times to begin the first set, the Serb was able to right himself and take the first set 6-3. The issue wasn't that he was playing an opponent so fantastic that the foe could take advantage of Djokovic's temporary issues, the problem was Djokovic's serve.

Of note is that the Serb's serve has not been elite for several months now. He has struggled to hold serve against many opponents, even before he parted ways with former coach Goran Ivanisevic. Of course, Ivanisevic had a fantastic serve and was able to improve Djokovic's. But the Serb's greatness was never because of his overpowering serve and instead his ability to return serve better than anyone else ever.

Moutet is not a bad player, either. He has been ranked as high as No. 51 and Djokovic likely would not be ranked No. 1 currently if rankings did not roll over from year to year. Djokovic is still great, but he is far from having the best year in tennis. He might not even be in the top ten.

Corentin Moutet needs to answer his phone while playing Novak Djokovic

Moutet kept the match against Djokovic in the second round of the Italian Open entertaining not because he was physically as good as Djokovic but because he always seemed bubbling with emotion. He was on the verge of exploding with anger but tempered that with a self-awareness that bordered on being humorous.

During the first game of the second set, someone's cell phone went off. As it turns out, the phone did not belong to someone watching from the crowd but Moutet's personal cell phone that was still in his bag. Once Moutet realized this, he jogged over to his bag, pulled the phone out, and pretended to answer. He laughed. Djokovic laughed. The crowd laughed and then applauded.

The moment did not take away Djokovic's march to victory against Moutet (Djokovic won 6-3 6-1), but it was a memorable moment for any who watched. Sometimes going off-script is a nice touch. At least, we can all empathize with how Moutet felt at the moment.

Unfortunately, Djokovic was reportedly hit in the head by an aluminum water bottle from a fan's backpack after the match. The fan had leaned forward to hand Djokovic a notebook to sign and a water bottle fell onto Djokovic's head. The Serb fell to the court and was helped to the locker room but was cleared by doctors after being checked out.

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