Victorious Novak Djokovic to umpire: ‘You’re losing your mind’

“You’re losing your mind,” Novak Djokovic bluntly told an umpire Friday as the Serb skirmished with officialdom at the French Open.

However, the former world No. 1’s heated exchange with umpire Carlos Ramos seemed to serve Djokovic well in a five-set comeback win against Diego Schwartzman.

Djokovic was unhappy for being docked a first serve for taking too long while serving at 4-0 in the fourth set and given a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct later in the same game.

He glared at Ramos, uttered something in Serbian and gestured with his racket, before approaching the umpire to question the status of the official’s sanity.

Novak Djokovic wasn't happy with chair umpire Carlos Ramos at the French Open on Friday after he was docked a serve and given an unsportsmanlike conduct warning.

But far from throwing off Djokovic’s concentration, the defending champion stepped it up and progressed to the fourth round with a 5-7 6-3 3-6 6-1 6-1 win to no doubt please new coach Andre Agassi. Agassi said he is – by his own choice – working with Djokovic for free.

So close to authoring a first victory over top-10 opposition on his 13th attempt, the 41st-ranked Schwartzman ultimately offered little resistance in the final two sets.

Indeed the fourth and fifth sets were a complete contrast to the intense first three.

Argentinian Schwartzman was clearly rattled after blowing a 40-0 lead in his first service game of the fourth and then took a medical timeout for a back injury in the fifth.

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Nevertheless it was a tough day at the office for Djokovic, especially when considering his two main rivals in the bottom half of the draw, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem, mostly breezed.

2017 is turning out to be a bit of an annus horribilis for Novak Djokovic. Ahead of the French Open he teamed with Andre Agassi as the Serb looked for coaching guidance from the American tennis great. But Djokovic crashed out of the French Open after he was crushed by Dominic Thiem 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-0 in the quarterfinals.

In May 2017, Novak Djokovic parted ways with his entire coaching team in a bid to rediscover his "winning spark." Scroll through the gallery to see who has been part of the Serb's coaching team over the years.

Nikola Pilic (1999-2003) —

A French Open finalist in 1973, Nikola "Niki" Pili? went on to become the first captain to win the David Cup trophy for three different nations. The Croatian coached a teenage Djokovic at his tennis academy in Oberschleissheim, Germany.

Dejan Petrovic (2004-2005) —

Djokovic was coached by Dejan Petrovi? from the age of 16, moving over 200 places up the rankings into the ATP top 100 inside a year. Petrovi?, an Australian-born Serb, also coached 2008 French Open winner Ana Ivanovic from 2014 to 2015.

Riccardo Piatti (2005-2006) —

Italian tennis coach Riccardo Piatti divided his time between working with Djokovic and former world No. 3 Ivan Ljubi?i?. Despite only coaching Djokovic until the Serb was 18, Piatti claimed he always knew his protege was destined for greatness because he "battled so hard."

Marián Vajda (2006-2017) —

Former Czechoslovakia tennis player Marián Vajda coached Djokovic for over a decade, guiding his charge to 12 grand slam titles. The two parted ways in May 2017 as Djokovic sought "shock therapy" and a fresh direction ahead of the French Open.

Mark Woodforde (2007) —

Alongside Vajda, Djokovic worked with Australian 12-time grand slam doubles champion Mark Woodforde during the spring hard-court season in 2007, honing his volleys and net play.

Todd Martin (2009-2010) —

With his first major under his belt -- the 2008 Australian Open -- Djokovic turned to American former world No. 4 in the summer of 2009. The pairing ceased when the Serb lost his opening match of the Miami Masters after Martin had tried and failed to rejuvenate the Djokovic serve.

Gebhard Phil-Gritsch (2009-2017) —

Djokovic hired German fitness coach Gebhard Phil-Gritsch (R) in the spring of 2009 having identified conditioning as a weakness in his game. The two worked together until May 2017.

Igor ?etojevi? (2010-2011) —

The most transformational figure in Djokovic's illustrious career was arguably not a coach but a nutritionist. Dr. Igor Cetojevic instructed the Serb to undertake a gluten-free diet, immediately alleviating his breathing problems and bringing spectacular results.

Boris Becker (2013-2016) —

Djokovic appointed six-time grand slam champion Boris Becker head coach in December 2013, citing him as a "true legend." It would become a fruitful partnership, with Djokovic winning six major titles in three years.

'The time of our life' —

They ended their arrangement in December 2016, capping a tumultuous year for Djokovic, who released a statement saying: "I will make all future decisions." Becker, in the aftermath of the announcement, posted on Twitter: "Thank you! We had the time of our life."

Andre Agassi (2017) —

When Djokovic ended his longstanding relationship with Vajda in May 2017, it appeared he was ready to go alone. But ahead of his French Open title defense, the 30-year-old turned to yet another so-called "super coach," approaching Agassi later that month and citing his "tremendous respect" for the American.

The coaching arrangements of Novak Djokovic in photos

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Nadal – bidding for a 10th French Open title – crushed Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-0 6-1 6-0 on the eve of his 31st birthday. The Spaniard has now contested 100 best-of-five set matches on clay, winning a remarkable 98 times.

Thiem defeated American Steve Johnson – who was playing weeks after the death of his father – 6-1 7-6 (7-4) 6-3.

But David Goffin, one of the form players of the clay-court swing, was forced to retire at 5-4 in the first set against Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos when he injured his ankle sliding into a tarp at the back of the court. It is thus Zeballos, not Belgium’s Goffin, who will face Thiem in the fourth round.

Goffin couldn’t attend the habitual post-match press conference. His coach Thierry van Cleemput did and when he was asked if he was angry with the tournament for having the tarp on the court, he replied: “I don’t think that this event will be followed by no consequences. There will be consequences. The decisions will be to have a safer court.”

Relief for home fans

The home fans breathed a sigh of relief when Kristina Mladenovic, one of the favorites in the women’s draw, escaped from a 5-2 hole in the third set to beat 2016 quarterfinalist Shelby Rogers 7-5 4-6 8-6.

“Yeah, that was epic,” Mladenovic told reporters. “I think that’s the word I’m going to use today, because I still don’t know how I won that match.”

Hindered by a back injury, Mladenovic had trailed another American, Jennifer Brady, 3-0 in the final set in the first round.

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Mladenovic is arguably France’s top hope in either singles draw, having reached finals in Stuttgart and Madrid.

Venus Williams and 2009 Roland Garros champion Svetlana Kuznetsova were among those who also advanced.