Novak Djokovic is a controversial figure in tennis, and that was highlighted once again in the US Open last night. The Serb was defaulted from the US Open for inadvertently striking a line umpire in the throat by hitting a ball in her direction after losing the serve to his Spanish opponent Pablo Carreno Busta.
Djokovic was serving 5-5 in the opening set , and he was broken at a crucial set – thus causing Busta to serve the next set. This frustrated him, and as Djokovic walked to the baseline, he took the ball from his pocket and hit it fairly hard towards the left corner. However, the ball unfortunately hit the line umpire square on the neck, who immediately tumbled clutching her neck.
The Serbian immediately rushed to the umpire, followed by the chair umpire Aurélie Tourte followed,tournament referee Soeren Friemel and Grand Slam Supervisor Andreas Egli. After a prolonged discussion, Friemel decided to default Djokovic. Helater clarified : “Based on the facts that the ball was hit angrily, recklessly; that it went straight at the line umpire’s throat; that the line umpire was clearly hurt and in pain, the decision was made that Novak had to be defaulted.”
Also read | A summary of Serbinator’s career journey
The rules are clear…
The USTA – organisers of the US Open – issued a statement: “In accordance with the Grand Slam rulebook, following his actions of intentionally hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly within the court or hitting a ball with negligent disregard of the consequences, the US Open tournament referee defaulted Novak Djokovic from the 2020 US Open.
“Because he was defaulted, Djokovic will lose all ranking points earned at the US Open and will be fined the prize money won at the tournament in addition to any or all fines levied with respect to the offending incident.”
It is a rare punishment, but it has happened a number of times before.
Have other players been defaulted in the past?
Yes. There have been a few.
* Tim Henman was defaulted during the 1995 Wimbledon Championships after he hit a ball towards the net in anger after losing a point, and inadvertently struck a ball girl who had been running to the spot in the process.
* Current World No. 17 Denis Shapovalov defaulted a Davis Cup rubber against Great Britain in January 2017 after intending to hit a ball into the stands, but accidentally hitting it straight at the chair umpire, who was struck on the eye.
* In the final of the 2016 Istanbul ATP, Grigor Dimitrov defaulted his match after breaking all his racquets, handing the title to Diego Schwartzman of Argentina.
Some fans say Djokovic had it coming, while others argue it was too harsh. Either way, the Serbian will have to face the music now.
Watch Video
