Why Australia's top tennis umpire chose Windies over Wimbledon
He also once told Frenchman Elliot Benchetrit to peel his own banana after asking a ballgirl to do so.
Martina Navratilova retweeted a video of the incident, writing: 'What's next – grapes? John did the right thing, that's for sure.'
But Blom's idea of a good time is sitting in the stands at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, drinking rum with fans and watching Australia's cricketers.
Coincidentally, Blom stayed at Australia's team hotel in Islamabad during their 2022 Test tour when he happened to be umpiring a Davis Cup tie between Pakistan and Uzbekistan.
He has since travelled to India and New Zealand to watch Australia play, and plans to be in South Africa next year for the team's first Test tour since Sandpapergate in 2018.
'I'm surrounded by the world's top tennis players but I get a bit nervous around the Australian cricket team,' Blom said. 'When I see them at the team hotel, I'm a bit of a fanboy.
'It's my favourite sport. Much better than tennis. I grew up watching cricket in the '80s and '90s and it was just such a golden era that crystallised my love for cricket.'
The interview is momentarily interrupted by a flight attendant announcing that the descent into Grenada is two minutes away.
'We'll get a fair view of the islands of the Grenadines out the right window,' she says over the PA. 'The temperature is 30 degrees at the airport.'
Blom smiles and continues. 'It seemed like there were almost more Australians than locals in the crowd in Barbados.'
There's time for a few rapid-fire questions before landing.
Favourite player to watch?
'Every official loved watching Roger Federer play. He had such a unique style. He was pretty easy-going and didn't complain too much.'
Best match to umpire?
'Nadal and Medvedev in 2022 (Nadal won 2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in a match that lasted five hours and 24 minutes). It was an incredible experience. It finished at 2am but I was still buzzing at 6am.'
Is it the dream job?
'I think it is. It's like any job that has its issues, right? No one loves their job all the time. You do have some wonderful memories and experiences that you wouldn't get doing watching tennis as a spectator. Wimbledon is my favourite but the US Open has grown on me.'
Something people don't know about umpiring?
'A lot of people think that having good eyesight is the most important thing. It's far and away not. You have to have the ability to communicate well and defuse situations before they get out of hand. If you make a big enough mistake, any player is going to go nuts.'
Blom says there's one question he gets asked more than any: whether he's allowed to go to the toilet during a match.
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'The answer is yes,' he says with a laugh. 'But you don't do it at 6-6 in a tiebreak. You go quickly at a set break. I've probably done it once in 20 years.'
Blom has no regrets missing Wimbledon. With Test cricket potentially splitting into two tiers, this might be Australia's last full tour of the Caribbean.
'It really is the dream tour,' he said.
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He'll be the one feeling the pressure,' Vukic said of Sinner, who is hunting a maiden Wimbledon title. 'If there's a surface to play him on, it's probably this one because it is a bit more random, so more upsets can happen. Hopefully, I can be one of those.' It was a tougher day for Walton, Eastbourne champion Maya Joint and qualifiers Priscilla Hon, James McCabe and Alex Bolt, who all fell at the first hurdle. Russian 18th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova ousted Hon 6-2, 7-5, and her 19th-seeded countrywoman Liudmila Samsonova eliminated 19-year-old Joint 6-3, 6-2, while Fabian Marozsan spoiled McCabe's All England Club debut in a 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 result. American 10th seed Ben Shelton pipped fellow left-hander Bolt 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-4), and next faces Hijikata, whose win over Goffin was just his sixth from 20 tour matches this year. 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