In what was more a matter of when than if, Novak Djokovic stands suspended from the US Open for accidentally hitting a lineswoman with the ball.
The incident happened during the first set of his fourth round match against P. Carreño Busta.
Novak Djokovic (-125), the #1 seed in the tournament just got defaulted from the US Open after hitting the line judge in the neck pic.twitter.com/dvJQgLPFfA
— Barstool Bets (@barstoolbets) September 6, 2020
After conceding a point, an angry Djokovic threw the ball towards the back of the court and ended up hitting the elderly lineswoman directly on the throat.
The match, 6-5 in Busta’s favour at that point, was ended right then and Djokovic was shown the way out of the tournament.
Novak Djokovic, the No. 1 seed in the men’s draw, was disqualified from the U.S. Open after accidentally striking a lineswoman with a ball hit in frustration. https://t.co/ecmAMI2Gmd
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 6, 2020
The world number 1 tried hard to convince the ground umpire and said that he didn’t intend to hurt anyone.
He also apparently said that she doesn’t have to ‘go to the hospital’.
None of those arguments worked, because ‘intention’ is only one of the parameters considered before handing suspension to a player. And rightfully so.
USTA statement on default of Novak Djokovic: pic.twitter.com/dqlt0mokg9
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 6, 2020
Here’s the thing, express intent *does not* matter.
— Ash Marshall (@AMarshallSport) September 6, 2020
The rules are clear. There is
1) intent OR
2) recklessness OR
3) negligence.
This was a case of negligent disregard and, as such, doesn’t need explicit intent, as you might normally define it. https://t.co/F0OTv81eob pic.twitter.com/eb2h1uzfLF
Obviously, this is as controversial as things can get, and the news has been trending all over the world since last night. Here are some of the reactions:
This clip certainly isn’t helping Novak Djokovic today. It’s from 2016. pic.twitter.com/7bNBw3G9pe
— Jenny Brockie (@JenBrockie) September 7, 2020
This was the French Open 2016 incident pic.twitter.com/dIQxEEnyDV
— Nikhila (@kokudum) September 6, 2020
Novak Djokovic has been defaulted from 2020 US Open.
— Awanish Sharan (@AwanishSharan) September 7, 2020
Lesson:
-Staying calm is highly important even if you are already at the top
-Never led your disappointment turn into Anger
-Just a second of reaction has power to change your life for good or bad
Courtesy: SM pic.twitter.com/IQ9WWYasRZ
Who would guessed, the first player to beat Djokovic in 2020 would be…Djokovic
— Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) September 6, 2020
“there’s no way Novak Djokovic can possibly look any worse this year”
— Ritesh Kumar (@AskRiteshTweets) September 7, 2020
Djokovic:#USOpen pic.twitter.com/ymXHP6Xk5Y
I love how people are trying to say the line judge was so theatrical, when @DjokerNole is the most dramatic person ever #USOpen #novakdjokovic pic.twitter.com/y2Kbhq2xQc
— Mimi Cantwell (@mimicandowell) September 7, 2020
The rules are the rules #novakdjokovic
— Aileen Guzmán Coste (@AileensitaG) September 7, 2020
What a Djok of a year. #usopen #novakdjokovic pic.twitter.com/zkUSHyIYBp
— Matt Layton (@mattlaytonradio) September 7, 2020
Now, this was more or less Djokovic’s US Open, considering both Nadal and Federer are not participating. With the Serbian’s disqualification, the other two tennis legends’ names started trending too.
Djokovic disqualified from the #USopen for doing this in his usual fits of anger. Imagine being so stupid to do this in a GS which had no Nadal nor Federer. pic.twitter.com/6cTH2OiXxH
— M•A•J (@Ultra_Suristic) September 6, 2020
#Djokovic has always been a man of contradictions. Desperate to be loved like Federer & Nadal – and capable of acting like tonight #USOpen
— Neil McLeman (@NeilMcLeman) September 6, 2020
The last Grand Slam without any of Djokovic, Federer or Nadal in the semifinals was the 2004 French Open. Those semifinalists:
— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) September 6, 2020
Guillermo Coria
Gaston Gaudio
Tim Henman
David Nalbandian pic.twitter.com/yJ3PrRhYwR
And so the streak of the Big 3 — Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic — comes to an end in a bizarre way. Novak has been defaulted. Roger & Rafa aren’t playing.
— Brit McCandless Farmer (@thebritfarmer) September 6, 2020
No other player has won a major since 2016.
This trio won 56 of the last 67 majors since Wimbledon in 2003. https://t.co/ZWuWLLCmN4
Meanwhile Djokovic has issued an apology on Instagram, stating again that what he did was unintentional.