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At first glance, it seems like a harmless blow that Novak Djokovic fired at linesman Laura Clark in frustration on Monday night. Unfortunately this hits his neck, he immediately falls to the ground and gasps for breath. The scandal is perfect, the world number 1 is disqualified and excluded from the tournament.
Nole fans can’t believe: can this punch really cause so much pain?
10.9 meters in 0.3 seconds?
Well, there is still a hot discussion on social media. And also calculated! Djokovic is 10.9 meters from the linesman, the flight of the ball takes 0.3 seconds. It makes a ball speed of 130 km / h, according to the calculation. However, it should be noted that the 0.3 seconds are stopped manually.
But even if the flight takes longer: the speed of the ball is still extremely high, so an impact on the larynx should not be underestimated. The accusations against Clark that she was a simulator, actress or simply a fan of Federer and Nadal are unfounded.
An incident from 37 years ago shows that such scenes can be extremely dangerous. Back then, on September 10, 1983, tennis legend Stefan Edberg (now 54 years old) was just 17 when linesman Dick Wertheim (61) was hit by Edberg’s serve against John McEnroe in the tournament. youth of the US Open. . The linesman was unhappy with his head on the hard surface and was injured so badly that he lost his life five days later in hospital. It is one of the greatest dramas in tennis history.
The strength of a tennis ball was evident again in 2002 when Frenchman Michael Llodra struck a bird with a forehand at the Australian Open doubles tournament. It falls dead from the air immediately.
Regulations leave no room for maneuver
In these accidents, of course, the player is not to blame. However, the US Open regulations are very clear. Under the paragraph «Q. Physical abuse »states:« Players must not physically injure a referee, opponent, spectator or any other person in the tournament site area at any time. Violation of this rule is said to result in a fine of up to $ 20,000 per violation. Furthermore, if the offense occurs during the match (including warm-up), the player must be penalized according to the catalog of penalty points ”.
The rules also say: “In circumstances that are obvious and clearly detrimental to the success of a tournament or that are exceptionally scandalous, a single violation of this rule should also affect the so-called ‘principal offense of aggressive conduct’ and be punished with additional penalties. . For the purposes of this rule, unauthorized touching of an official, opponent, spectator or other person is considered physical abuse. “
