[ad_1]
(CNN) – Novak Djokovic hitting a linesman with a ball has become one of the enduring images of an already bizarre tennis season.
The 18-time Grand Slam winner was disqualified from the US Open, a tournament he was a favorite to win to close the gap with Rafael Nadal’s total of 19 Grand Slam victories and Roger Federer’s 20.
With the French Open scheduled to begin at the end of the month, the world number one still has a chance to increase his all-time tally during this reduced season, but has the Serb tarnished his reputation?
Seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe, famous for his outbursts on the court, believes the incident will have an impact.
“I think the pressure just took its toll,” McEnroe told ESPN. He himself was disqualified from the 1990 Australian Open for misconduct.
“… Now, like it or not, he’ll be the bad guy for the rest of his career. It will be interesting to see how he handles it.
“If he takes that role, I think he could bounce back,” added McEnroe. “He has many things going for him, but this is obviously a stain that he will not be able to erase.”
Djokovic left Flushing Meadows without speaking to the media, but wrote an apology on his Instagram account, saying he was “very sorry to have caused her so much stress.”
McEnroe knows very well how difficult it is to shed a reputation as a “bad boy” in tennis and was surprised that someone with such experience as Djokovic made such a mistake.
LOOK: Novak Djokovic, eliminated from the US Open by hitting the linesman
Just when you think something crazier couldn’t happen [en 2020]It happens, ”he said. “We spoke before the event that the only way Novak could lose is if he beat himself.”
«I did not anticipate in my wildest dreams that this would happen. So it’s terrible for everyone, it was a rookie mistake.
The disqualification is the latest incident during what has been a difficult summer for Djokovic. First, he organized a tournament in Croatia that did not comply with physical distancing regulations and resulted in him and several of the best players testing positive for COVID-19.
He then headed a new separatist players’ association, the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), which drew criticism from Federer and Nadal.
Kyrgios starts survey on Twitter
Nick Kyrgios, often dubbed the “bad boy” of today’s tennis generation, wryly posted a poll on Twitter asking what his punishment would have been in the same situation.
Trade me for the Joker incident [de Djokovic]. ‘Accidentally hitting the ball boy in the throat’, how many years will I be suspended for? He asked.
5, 10 and 20 years were the options, with 20 winning by a considerable margin at the time of this writing.
“We would get you out of jail right now,” replied American player Tommy Paul.
LOOK: Novak Djokovic “shakes the skeleton” before playing at the US Open
Former British tennis player Tim Henman, who was disqualified in similar circumstances when he hit a ball at Wimbledon in 1995, believes Djokovic made a mistake by not facing the media after the incident.
“Unfortunately, you are compounding the error,” he told Prime. You need to face it, apologize, and accept that you made a mistake. In essence, by fleeing, it will last longer.
Billie Jean King, a 12-time Grand Slam winner, said officials made the right decision.
“First I hope the linesman is okay,” he tweeted. The rule is the rule. It is unfortunate for everyone involved, but in this specific situation, the default decision was the correct one.
Djokovic was undefeated so far in 2020, with a 26-0 record in Sunday’s game against Pablo Carreño Busta. Former tennis player Steve Darcis jokingly gave credit to the only person who could break Djokovic’s winning run: the linesman.
