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Novak Djokovic spoke to media representatives for the first time about his disqualification from the US Open in the run-up to the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome.
by Nikolaus Fink
Last edit: September 14, 2020, 8:36 pm
© Getty Images
“I accepted and will move on.” Novak Djokovic has apparently assimilated his disqualification at the US Open and now wants to fully focus on his tennis game again. In an interview with media representatives at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome, the world number one admitted that the incident in New York would likely stick with him longer.
“I will never forget it because it is one of those memories that you will keep for the rest of your life,” Djokovic said in the Italian capital. But the Serb is not afraid that this abandonment could inhibit him in the future: “I understand that this will accompany me for many years. But I’m fine because I know it was not intentional. I didn’t want to hurt her.”
Djokovic understands the decision
Unlike his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, who thinks the disqualification is excessive, Djokovic understands the penalty perfectly: “If you hit the ball the way I hit it, there is a possibility of hitting a person on the field. So the rules are perfectly clear. ”
Djokovic had already been noticed with similar retirements in the past: In the 2016 French Open quarter-finals against Tomas Berdych, a thrown stick from the Serbian missed a linesman by just inches and the 33-year-old also had in the preliminary round game against Dominic Thiem in the 2016 ATP Finals Lucky when a ball hit by anger narrowly missed his box.
“The greatest possible lesson” for Djokovic
Four years ago Djokovic saw no ’cause for concern’ in his post-match behavior, now the 17-time Grand Slam winner was refined: ‘It could have happened a few times earlier in my career. I will definitely do everything I can to make sure that this will never happen again. “
At the same time, the industry leader also emphasized that he could not guarantee that such an incident would happen again. “Sometimes I have retirements, that’s how I have always been as a personality and as a player,” Djokovic said. Of course, he still hopes to learn from the disqualification: “I will take it as the best possible lesson.”
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