Novak Djokovic Feels Sad and Empty After U.S. Open Disqualification

Novak Djokovic said that he is feeling sad and empty following his disqualification from the 2020 U.S. Open on Sunday, September 6, for hitting a line judge with a ball.

The Serbian tennis player was playing in the fourth round of the men's singles tournament against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain when the incident happened.

Busta had broken Novak Djokovic's serve to go up 6-5 in the first set that prompted the world no. 1 ranked player to hit a ball behind him.

Although unintentional, the ball hit a female line judge in the neck. As she fell to the ground, Djokovic immediately went to her aid and was joined by chair umpire Aurelie Tourte, tournament supervisor Andreas Egli and referee Soeren Friemel.

Afterwards, Novak Djokovic was officially defaulted from the match after having a talk with Friemel, said a report on CNN.

As spectators were not allowed in the stadium due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Djokovic, a 17-time grand slam champion, walked off the court in near silence.

He also left the stadium without talking to the media.

Novak Djokovic later posted an apology on social media for his behavior. He apologized to the tournament and everyone else involved.

He also stated that he had followed up on the welfare of the lines judge that got hit with the ball and was relieved when he was told that she is feeling fine.

The Serbian netter said he is sorry for causing her stress and that he had not intended for things to happen.

Djokovic also addressed his disqualification saying that he needed to go back within and work on his disappointment.

He added that he would turn all that had happened into a lesson for his growth and evolution not only as a player but also as a human being.

It was not the first time that Novak Djokovic's on-court behavior has caused an incident.

Back in 2016 while playing in the quarterfinal against Tomas Berdych during the French Open, Djokovic had thrown his racket towards a line judge who was fast enough to dodge it and avoid getting injured, according to a report on Eurosport.

A report on The New York Times stated that Djokovic's act falls under the definition of "physical abuse" in the Grand Slam rule book, hence the disqualification.

Djokovic was also fined $250,000 and will lose all the ranking points that he got from the 2020 U.S. Open.

With defending champion Rafael Nadal of Spain opting not to play due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Roger Federer of Switzerland recovering from a knee injury, Novak Djokovic was the heavy favorite to win the title.

He had also not yet lost a match in 2020.

Djokovic would have had a chance to close his grand slam title count with Nadal and Federer as he was chasing an 18th major title in the U.S. Open.

A victory would have placed Novak Djokovic two grand slam titles behind Federer and one behind Nadal.

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