(Newswire.net— September 7, 2020) — The Worlds No 1 tennis player, Novak Djokovic, was disqualified from the US Open tournament on Sunday because he hit a line judge with a tennis ball during the first set against Spanish player Pablo Karen Busta.
The best tennis player in the world was disqualified because he inadvertently hit the line judge with the ball. The ball hit the line judge in the throat forcing her to leave the match in pain.
Djokovic suffered a break in the 11th game of the first set, after which he hit the ball that hit the woman behind him. The moment Djokovic realized what happened, the champion ran to help the lady on the ground who later walked off the court after short aid was administered by physicians.
“This whole situation makes me really sad and empty. I checked how the line judge feels, and according to the information I received, she feels good, thank God. I can’t reveal her name to preserve her privacy. I am very sorry that I caused her such stress. It was not on purpose. It was wrong. I want to turn this unpleasant experience, disqualification from the tournament, into an important life lesson, so that I can continue to grow and develop as a person, but also as a tennis player. I apologize to the organizers of the US Open. I am very grateful to my team and family for giving me strong support, as well as to my fans because they are always with me. Thank you and I’m sorry. This has been a difficult day for everyone,” Djokovic wrote.
The New York Times reports that judges reacted in accordance with the rulebook, even though some of the rules are not well-known to tennis fans.
“In accordance with the Grand Slam rule book, following his actions of intentionally hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly within the court or hitting a ball with negligent disregard of the consequences, the U.S. Open tournament referee defaulted Novak Djokovic from the 2020 U.S. Open. Because he defaulted, Djokovic will lose all ranking points earned at the U.S. Open and will be fined the prize money won at the tournament in addition to any or all fines levied with respect to the offending incident,” the United States Tennis Association said in a statement.
Legendary John McInroe believes that the disqualification from the US Open will be a ‘stain’ that Novak Djokovic will never be able to erase.
“He gave in to the pressure. A lot was happening off the field. It’s obvious that it affected him and now, like it or not, he will be a bad guy for the rest of his career,” McInroe said.
This malicious comment was expected from McInroe because something similar happened to him. The American, however, was well known for his bad temper and poor behavior as a sportsman contrary to two times Sportsmen of the Year Djokovic, who is known for his extraordinary manners and altruism.
The legendary American, who was disqualified from the Australian Open in 1990 for inappropriate behavior towards the judge and supervisors, believes that the Serb tennis player will cope with this situation.
This unprecedented incident has brought into the spotlight Novak’s new tennis association (PTPA) that compromises the almighty ATP. Together with some of the best tennis players in the world, Djokovic shone a light on the fact that contemporary tennis is more like a business that influences the rankings of players.
More players join Djokovic to believe it is necessary for tennis to become more about sport and less about business.
Serena Williams continues her march to the 24th Grand Slam title. After the turnaround in the third round of the US Open, the American was better than her compatriot Sloane Stevens. After the match, Serena again answered questions related to the new tennis association (PTPA), headed by Novak Djokovic.
At the insistence of journalists to comment whether she will join the new association, Serena said: “As I said, I keep my mouth shut and just think about the tournament. Novak and I know what we talked about.”
Serena previously stated that she was not familiar with all the details, but that she knew Djokovic and that she knew “that she has strong beliefs about some things, it often turns out that he is right.”