U.S. Open: Novak Djokovic Disqualified After Hitting Ball At Line Judge

Novak Djokovic has been disqualified from his U.S. Open fourth-round match following the accidental hit of a ball at a line judge during a live match on Sunday.

Djokovic, 33, publicly displayed his frustration after he loose to serve a trail 6-5 against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain.

The world number one who is from Serbia took a ball from his pocket was seen hitting it behind him and then striking at the female line judge in her throat.

He was immediately defaulted by tournament officials after a lengthy discussion.

“According to the Grand Slam rulebook, in regards to his action on the female line judge, by intentionally hitting a ball recklessly or dangerously while ignoring upward consequences, the U.S. Open tournament referee disqualified Novak Djokovic from the U.S. Open 2020.

“Due to being defaulted, Djokovic will automatically lose all his ranking points earned during the U.S. Open and will also be fined with the prize money won during the tournament and will be fined in respect to the incident,” a United States Tennis Association statement said.

Djokovic happens to be the most valued player to win the men’s singles at the U.S. Open which is played behind closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, also it is the first Grand Slam played since the coronavirus pandemic began.

The encounter with 20th seed Carreno Busta, saw Djokovic winning all his singles match in 2020.

His 18th Grand Slam triumph was what he was aiming for in order to move closer to rival Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer who are absent in New York in a race to finish with the all time of most men’s major titles.

His exit simply shows that there will be a new male Grand Slam champion which last time was in New York in 2014 when Marin Cilic won.