NEW YORK: Seventeen-time Grand Slam Champion and No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic was defaulted from his Round of 16 match at the US Open against 2017 semifinalist and No. 20 seed Pablo Carreno Busta at 5-6 in the first set after hitting a line umpire with a ball.
The all time great’s disqualification from the tournament means that the COVID-19 ravaged Grand Slam has lost all three of the sport’s legendary triumvirate after World No. 2 Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer had earlier announced they would be sitting out the event.
The rules behind Djokovic’s default
WHAT IT MEANS: “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,” the USTA said in an official statement. “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.”
The World No. 1 released a statement on his Instagram page, apologizing to the line umpire and saying, in part: “This whole situation has left me really sad and empty. I checked on the lines person and the tournament told me thank God she is feeling ok.”
After the match, Carreno Busta told reporters what he witnessed on-court as the decision was being made. “I didn’t watch the moment when he [hit] the ball—I was looking to my coach, celebrating the break,” he said. “I asked the Colombian guys who were in the crowd if the ball hit the line [umpire]. I was in shock…I hope the best for her. I hope that she will be okay as soon as possible.”
Djokovic’s dishonourable exit also means that for the first time since 2014, the US Open is guaranteed to have a first-time Grand Slam champion in men’s singles.
