• In a stunning turn of events world No. 1 star Novak Djokovic was ousted from U.S open 2020 after he accidently hit the lineswoman in the throat with tennis ball during his match at Arthur Ashe Stadium against Pablo Carreno- Busta. However Novak imminently apologized to the lineswoman and had a lengthy discussion with officials at the court before he was disqualified.  

As he walked to the stadium’s sideline for a changeover trailing Pablo 6-5 in the first set, Djokovic- seeded and ranked No.1, angrily smacked a ball behind him that overturned and flew right at the line judge who dropped to her knees at the back of the court and reached for her neck. According to Novak he didn’t hit the line umpire intentionally, he stated ‘yes I was angry, I hit the ball. I hit the line umpire. The facts are very clear. But it wasn’t my intent I didn’t do it on purpose’.  Tournament referee Soeren Friemel stated ‘we all agree he didn’t do it on purpose, but the facts are still that he hit the line umpire and the umpire was clearly hurt’. Friemel didn’t saw what happened and told that he was not allowed to check the video display but was given rundown by other referee Egil and Tourte. Pablo Carreno- Busta stated in a news conference held via video call that “I was a bit shocked, no?  

Heres what he did. #Djokovic pic.twitter.com/iVjP5UG7ER

— Greg Brady (@gregbradyTO) September 6, 2020

The first grand tournament was staged amid the coronavirus pandemic in New York City. Novak after series of unfortunate events being defaulted left the tournament without speaking to reports, posting an apology on social media hours later. ‘’As for the disqualification, I need to go back within and work on my disappointment and turn this all into a lesson for my growth and evaluation as a player and human being’’ he stated in his post.

 

 

 

 

 

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This whole situation has left me really sad and empty. I checked on the lines person and the tournament told me that thank God she is feeling ok. Im extremely sorry to have caused her such stress. So unintended. So wrong. Im not disclosing her name to respect her privacy. As for the disqualification, I need to go back within and work on my disappointment and turn this all into a lesson for my growth and evolution as a player and human being. I apologize to the @usopen tournament and everyone associated for my behavior. Im very grateful to my team and family for being my rock support, and my fans for always being there with me. Thank you and Im so sorry. Cela ova situacija me ini zaista tunim i praznim. Proverio sam kako se osea linijski sudija, i prema informacijama koje sam dobio, osea se dobro, hvala Bogu. Njeno ime ne mogu da otkrijem zbog ouvanja njene privatnosti. Jako mi je ao to sam joj naneo takav stres. Nije bilo namerno. Bilo je pogreno. elim da ovo neprijatno iskustvo, diskvalifikaciju sa turnira, pretvorim u vanu ivotnu lekciju, kako bih nastavio da rastem i razvijam se kao ovek, ali i teniser. Izvinjavam se organizatorima US Opena. Veoma sam zahvalan svom timu i porodici to mi pruaju snanu podrku, kao i mojim navijaima jer su uvek uz mene. Hvala vam i ao mi je. Bio je ovo teak dan za sve.

A post shared by Novak Djokovic (@djokernole) on Sep 6, 2020 at 3:58pm PDT

On the contrary Australian Tennis star Nick Kyrgios took social media and trolled the Serbian star stating that he would have faced harsher punishment had he done something similar. In his social media post he asked his followers to choose between the intensity of punishment had he done something similar stating ‘’Swap me for jokers incident. ‘Accidently hitting ball kid in the court’ how may years would I be banned for’’? Kyrgios wrote, while giving options.

Swap me for jokers incident. Accidentally hitting the ball kid in the throat how many years would I be banned for?

— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) September 6, 2020

Meanwhile Tennis great Martina Navratilova also shared her views over social media in this haphazard that took place at the U.S open stating ‘’unbelievable what just happened in the court. Novak Djokovic defaulted for inadvertently but stupidly hitting a lineswoman in the throat with a ball and officials and no choice but to default”.

Djokovic will lose all the ranking points and prize money worth $250000 for fourth round appearances earned at the US open in addition to any fines levied on the incident