Novak Djokovic’s bid to win his 18th Grand Slam title ended in a bizarre fashion. Djokovic exited the 2020 US Open via default after accidentally hitting a line judge with a tennis ball.
The incident happened in the first set of Djokovic’s fourth-round match on Sunday against Pablo Carreno Busta. After losing a point and falling behind 6-5, the 33-year-old Serbian slammed the ball behind him without looking where he was aiming.
The ball, unfortunately, hit the line judge in the throat, causing the woman to collapse.
After discussing the incident with Djokovic for around 10 minutes, the decision was made to default the current No.1 male tennis player in the world from the tournament. He then shook hands with his opponent and left the court without speaking with journalists.
Djokovic later addressed the event on social media, saying he was sorry for his behavior.
“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,” Djokovic wrote on Instagram. “I apologize to the US Open tournament and everyone associated for my behavior.”
Novak Djokovic was the overwhelming favorite to win this year’s US Open, entering the tournament with a 26-0 record in 2020. Djokovic was also the only one of the tennis’ “Big 3” present at the tournament, considering Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal decided not to take part in the event.
Djokovic previously won five out of seven Grand Slam Tournaments and needs only two to tie Federer’s record 20 titles.
With Djokovic out, the US Open will now get a first-time tournament winner, considering none of the remaining players have previously gone all the way at Flushing Meadows. The last time this happened was in 2014 when Marin Cilic won the tournament.
