The men’s world number one was eliminated from the Grand Slam after inadvertently hitting a ball in the throat of a linesman during his fourth-round match at the Arthur Ashe Stadium Cut.
Winner of two Grand Slam Naomi osaka she dropped her racket in frustration after losing a second-set tiebreaker against Marta Kostyuk in her third-round match on Friday.
When asked in her on-court interview on Sunday if Djokovic’s fate would serve as a reminder, the former Japanese world number one said: “I guess so. To me, it’s definitely like a warning never to do that.” .
“I wasn’t watching the game live because I was sleeping, but knowing that, of course, I think it puts a little bit of – what’s it called – you’re more aware of it, of course,” said the former US Open champion. he told reporters later.
“For me, I try not to hit my racket anyway. Of course I’ll probably do it a couple of times. But I definitely think it’s making people a little more aware.”
Canadian Denis Shapovalov He had suffered the same fate as Djokovic during a 2017 Davis Cup tie when, following an unforced error, he broke a frustrated ball with his racket and hit chair umpire Arnaud Gabas in the face.
Shapovalov called the Djokovic incident unfortunate, as did Germany’s Alexander Zverev, who has taken out his frustration several times in the past by breaking his rackets.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been breached in my career or in my life,” Zverev said after his victory on Sunday. “No, I have not been in a situation like that.”
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