As he walked to the Arthur Ashe Stadium sideline for a change, behind Pablo Carreño Busta 6-5 in the first set, Djokovic, who was seeded and ranked No. 1 and a big favorite for the championship, struck angrily. a ball behind him. The ball flew straight towards the linesman, who fell to his knees at the back of the court and stretched towards his neck.
During a discussion of about 10 minutes close to the net involving tournament referee Soeren Friemel, Grand Slam supervisor Andreas Egli and chair umpire Aurelie Tourte, Djokovic defended his case.
“His point is that he didn’t hit the linesman on purpose. He said, ‘Yes, I was angry. I hit the ball. I hit the linesman. The facts are very clear. But it was not my intention. I didn’t do it on purpose. ‘ Then he said it should not be breached, “said Friemel, who made the decision to end the match.” And we all agree that he didn’t do it on purpose, but the facts remain that he got to the line. “The referee and the linesman were clearly hurt.”
Friemel did not see what happened and said that he was not allowed to see a video replay, but that Egli and Tourte gave him a summary. Friemel said that even if Djokovic did not intend to hurt the linesman, she was hurt and that was enough to deserve the ruling.
Finally, Djokovic stepped up to shake Carreño Busta’s hand. Tourte then announced that Djokovic was in default, the tennis equivalent of an expulsion.
“I was a bit shocked, right?” Carreño Busta said later in a press conference held by video conference due to the social distancing rules at the US Open, the first Grand Slam tournament to take place in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
Djokovic quickly left the tournament grounds without speaking to reporters and posted an apology on social media hours later.
“This whole situation has left me really sad and empty. I checked the person on the lines and the tournament told me that thank God she was feeling fine. I’m so sorry that I caused you so much stress. So involuntary. Too bad, “Djokovic wrote.
“Regarding the disqualification, I need to go back inside myself and work on my disappointment and turn all this into a lesson for my growth and evolution as a player and a human being,” he wrote. “I apologize to the @usopen tournament and all associated for me behavior “.
When asked if he thought Djokovic should have been allowed to continue playing, Carreño Busta shrugged and replied: “Well, the rules are the rules. … The referee and the supervisor (did) the right thing, but it’s not easy to do it. “
In fact, the US Tennis Association issued a statement saying that Friemel breached Djokovic “in accordance with the Grand Slam regulations, following his actions of intentionally striking a ball in a dangerous or reckless manner on the court or hitting a ball regardless of the consequences. “
The USTA went on to say that Djokovic loses the qualifying points and $ 250,000 in prize money he won in the tournament, “in addition to any or all of the fines imposed in connection with the criminal incident.”
Novak was angry. He hit the ball recklessly, angry. And taking everything into consideration, there was no discretion involved, “Friemel said.” Failing a player in a Grand Slam is a very important, very difficult decision. And for that reason, it doesn’t matter if it’s in Ashe, if it’s No. 1, or any other player on any other court, you need to get it right. “
This was the latest example of Djokovic finding himself at the center of the tennis world for a reason other than his better returns in the game, unmissable groundstrokes and body-twisting defensive prowess.
Djokovic tested positive for the coronavirus, as did his wife, one of his coaches and other players, after participating in a series of zero-social distancing exhibition matches he staged in Serbia and Croatia in June.
Then, on the eve of the US Open, he helped establish a new association that he says will represent male tennis players.
And, of course, he has had his dominance on the court.
Djokovic started the day 26-0 this season and with an undefeated streak that extended to his last three matches of 2019. He had won five of the last seven Grand Slam tournaments to bring his total to 17, closing in on rivals Roger Federer, who has a male record of 20, and Rafael Nadal, who has 19.
With reigning US Open champion Nadal citing concerns about traveling amid the pandemic, and Federer out of the game after two knee operations, not on the field, the 33-year-old Serbian was expected to claim a fourth. trophy in New York and win them.
But it all fell apart so suddenly on Sunday. Djokovic was not looking in the direction of the linesman when his racket made contact with the ball, and there was concern on his face as soon as he realized what had happened.
Players who hit a ball out of anger and make contact with a referee on the court have been breached in the past.
In 2017, Denis Shapovalov, the 21-year-old Canadian scheduled to play his fourth-round match on Sunday night, was suspended from a Davis Cup match against Great Britain when he accidentally hit the chair umpire in the face with a ball. At Wimbledon in 1995, Tim Henman hit a ball on the head of a ball and was sent off from a doubles match.
“Very bad luck for Novak,” said No. 5 seed Alexander Zverev, who reached the quarterfinals. “If it had landed anywhere else, we’re talking a few inches, it would have been fine.”
Among the many oddities of the 2020 US Open, which has no spectators, is that only the two largest arenas, Ashe and Louis Armstrong Stadium, have full line judge complements. In other places, the chair umpires are assisted by an electronic line call system.
Djokovic’s mood had soured during the previous minutes on Sunday. In the previous game, he blew three consecutive break points, then hit a ball against a billboard on the court.
On the second point of what would become Djokovic’s last game at this year’s US Open, he tripped and fell, clutching his left shoulder.
The game was delayed for a few minutes while a coach reviewed it.
In the second point after they resumed, Carreño Busta hit a winning pass to break Djokovic’s serve. That’s when Djokovic got into trouble.
His departure means there are no men left on the field who have won a Grand Slam singles title. Whoever emerges as champion will be the first major trophy winner in men’s tennis since 2014, when Marin Cilic won the US Open.
Furthermore, each of the last 13 Grand Slam trophies had been won by a member of Federer’s Big Three, Nadal and Djokovic.
“Being a new Grand Slam champion, (that’s) all I know. There are no Grand Slam champions left in the draw. Now it gets interesting, “said Zverev, who beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-2, 6-2, 6-1.” I think now is the time that it gets really interesting. “
.
