Alex Zverev gets warning after begging umpire to come on court and taking photo of mark

Alexander Zverev was slapped with a code violation during his third-round match at the Madrid Open. Automatic line calling is in use at the Masters 1000 event, meaning umpires can no longer come to the court and manually look at a mark on the clay to make any rulings.

But Zverev wasn't happy when he thought his opponent, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, had hit the ball wide and marched over to the umpire's chair, begging him to come on court and have a look. When chair official Mohamed Lahyani refused, Zverev whipped out his phone to take a photo of the mark and was hit with a warning.

After winning the first set, Davidovich Fokina was serving to stay in the second at 4-5. He got off to a good start, just landing a forehand on the line, but Zverev immediately thought the ball was out.

The automatic hawkeye system confirmed the ball had landed on the line and was therefore in but the German refused to agree. He immediately approached Lahyani and asked him to come onto the court and look at the mark, even if he didn't overrule the call.

"Look at this mark. Please just come down, look at it. Don't overrule it, please. Just come down, please. Just for me," he pleaded.

"I'm not allowed," the umpire replied, explaining that umpires could no longer come down to check marks since the introduction of the automated system. But Zverev continued asking.

"We are not allowed. Alexander, the system gave a decision. It's the same for both of you. You have to accept it," Lahyani said.

There had been another questionable call in the previous game, when Davidovich Fokina claimed one of Zverev's serves was outside of the lines even though it was called in.

The Spaniard asked to see the hawkeye replay on the screen during the changeover, then accepted the decision. But the world No. 2 thought there had to be an issue with the automated technology and even admitted his serve had likely been out.

"Then there's a mistake in the system. Because this ball is like this [far] out. Look at it, please. The ball is like this [far] out. Then there is a malfunction. Because I look at the mark now on the serve, it's also out but like this. The forehand is like this," Zverev continuing, gesturing with his hands to show how far out he thought the ball landed.

When the top seed realised Lahyani wasn't going to answer his pleas, he went to his racket bag and pulled out his phone, walking back to the side of the court and taking a photo of the mark while the umpire asked him to stop and the fans booed and whistled.

Lahyani then officially warned Zverev, who was holding up Davidovich Fokina's service motion, announcing: "Unsportsmanlike conduct, warning, Mr. Zverev."

Sky Sports commentators were firmly on the umpire's side, as Jonathan Overend explained: "It doesn't matter if the mark looks wide, that is what the umpires have been told to express to the players.

"They have been told to communicate to them in a very clear, diplomatic way - which, in fairness to Mohamed Lahyani, who isn't always everybody's cup of tea - he's done well there to hold his ground. The key point here, this has been the communication to the umpires, they have to tell the players that the electronic line calling can be trusted and the technology has been proven to work."

Zverev was still frustrated at the next changeover, continuing to complain to the umpire. "If there's a malfunction in the system, you should be able to come down. This cannot be possible, the ball is not close," he argued.

Having lost the first set, the German managed to take the second 7-6(3) in a tiebreak to force a decider. Still, the incident was on his mind. After winning the marathon, 72-minute set, he told the umpire: "Mohamed, please, for me, just for me. Just look at it."

Zverev went on to win 2-6 7-6(3) 7-6(0) and was all smiles when he shook hands with his opponent and the umpire. He later , believing the system wasn't working properly.