US Open: ‘This Left Me Sad And Empty’, Novak Djokovic Speaks Over His Disqualification
World number one tennis player, Novak Djokovic has apologised for hitting a line judge with a ball at the US Open.
The act led to Djokovic’s disqualification while playing against Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta in the fourth round of the tournament.
The 33-year-old Serb had just had his serve broken. To show his frustration, he took a ball out of his pocket and hit it behind him, striking the woman in her throat.
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Djokovic was therefore defaulted by tournament officials at Flushing Meadows after a lengthy discussion.
Apart from the disqualification, he will lose all ranking points earned at the US Open and will forfeit the prize money he had won at the tournament. He could also be fined for the incident.
No 18th Grand Slam for Djokovic for now
The exit of the Serbian means that he won’t be winning an 18th Grand Slam title for now. This would have narrowed the gap on Rafael Nadal (19) and Roger Federer (20) in the race to finish with the most men’s major wins.
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“This whole situation has left me really sad and empty. I checked on the linesperson and the tournament told me that thank God she is feeling ok.
“I‘m extremely sorry to have caused her such stress. So unintended. So wrong. I’m not disclosing her name to respect her privacy.
“As for the disqualification, I need to go back within and work on my disappointment and turn this all into a lesson for my growth and evolution as a player and human being.
“I apologize to the @usopentournament and everyone associated for my behaviour. I’m very grateful to my team and family for being my rock support, and my fans for always being there with me. Thank you and I’m so sorry,” he wrote on his Instagram page.
