The moment you think 2020 has shown you the most bizarre string of events in history, it does one better. The latest victim to the abomination is none other than the world’s number one tennis player right now, Novak Djokovic.
The Serbian faced off against Pablo Carreño Busta in the fourth round of the US Open and lost a point against the Spaniard to give him a lead of 6-5.
Out of frustration, he discarded a ball and it caught a female line judge square in the throat. A video to the incident is available below:
On watching the video it becomes very clear that the Serb did not intend on hitting the lines judge and only acted out of disappointment at his performance.
Though his actions were not intentional, the US Open officials were forced to disqualify Djokovic due to the rules of the competition. The rules do not make an exception, even for the world’s number one tennis player.
Djokovic took to Twitter and Instagram to apologize and condemn his actions on the court, acknowledging his errors and accepting the power of the rules like a true sportsman.
Pablo Carreno Busta has also come to Djokovic’s defense, stating that it was clear that his opponent did not intend on hitting the lines judge. His back was turned to the court as he was celebrating the point he had just won while looking to his coach. When he turned back, the lines judge was down and confusion took over the Spaniard.
As surprising as it may seem, this is not the first time the Serbian Superstar has been violent on the court in a frustrated mood.
The lines judge who got hit by the ball appears to be fine, as reported by Djokovic and the US Open. While it is a sad incident, it is also a lesson to be learnt for Djokovic and for budding sportspersons to control their emotions in the game.
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