Novak Djokovic is his own worst enemy - 2020 proves that
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Updated 07/09/2020 at 11:30 GMT
Novak Djokovic's disbelief as he was defaulted at the US Open shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone who had watched tennis so far this year.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia walks off the court after being defaulted due to inadvertently striking a lineswoman with a ball hit in frustration during his Men's Singles fourth round match against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain on Day Seven of the 2020 US Open
Image credit: Getty Images
The only person in the tennis world who thought that Novak Djokovic shouldn't have been disqualified for hitting a line judge in the throat seemed to be Novak Djokovic himself.
As opponent Pablo Carreno Busta sat in his chair quietly, with a towel wrapped round him after breaking the Serbian's serve, and the line judge received medical treatment, Djokovic seemed to spend much of his conversation at the net with tournament supervisor Andreas Egli attempting to plead his case.
Yet there was no case to plead.
Hitting anyone in the arena in a fit of pique is an automatic default.
The tournament confirmed in a statement afterwards:
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. 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.
Tim Henman, on media duties, knew that very well, reminiscing about the time he struck a ball in anger during a doubles match at Wimbledon in 1995, with a teenage ballgirl taking the impact. He and partner Jeremy Bates were disqualified then.
"That's just the immediate default," said the Brit of Djokovic's incident.
And that was the consensus.
"The USTA made the right decision," said former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski. "You can't have a rule for one player and another player on the tour."
"He didn’t just roll the ball back to the ball kid, that’s the bottom line," said Eurosport expert Mats Wilander.
He hit it harder than he intended to, obviously a complete accident. It was a sign of frustration, yes. A little bit. But it doesn’t matter, you are not allowed to do it."
Eurosport expert Alex Corretja agreed.
With the rule as it is, you need to disqualify him. It’s obvious they had no other choice, it’s a pity.
"First of all, I hope the lady isn’t hurt, but they had no other choice to make. It’s absolutely a shame that this match finished like that. He had a great opportunity but you need to know how to handle your emotions on court. It’s a big lesson for kids growing up and for everyone on the Tour. You need to be very careful what you do on court because you can hurt someone badly."
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Novak Djokovic (r.) wird für seinen Aussetzer hart bestraft
Image credit: Getty Images
On Twitter, two-time US Open champion Tracy Austin described it as the "right call", with five-time New York doubles champion Pam Shriver concurring.
The woman - Billie Jean King - whose name the National Tennis Center bears was clear, tweeting: "The rule is the rule. It is unfortunate for everyone involved, but in this specific situation the default was the right call."
Yet Djokovic himself seemed bewildered - almost amused - that these clear rules, understood by everyone, would be applied to him. He had already hit a ball angrily into the ground earlier in the set, before the horrible incident that left the linesperson on the ground. He left the National Tennis Center immediately after his default, turning down the opportunity of a press conference to hold his hands up and apologise. (Many recalled the rather more dignified behaviour of the then-teenage Denis Shapovalov, who spoke to the world immediately following his Davis Cup default in 2017, when the Canadian hit an umpire in the eye with a stray ball after dropping serve to Kyle Edmund.)
Carreno Busta hit on a very real truth in his own press conference, saying: "The referee and the supervisor do the right thing, but is not easy to do it, no?"
Quite.
One couldn't help but be reminded of the cavalier events of the Adria Tour this summer, an exhibition event in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Djokovic and the rest of the tournament players were proudly out and about, dancing in nightclubs, happily hugging - and then seemed absolutely gobsmacked when the majority of the group were struck down with coronavirus.
Djokovic's response then was that he had organised the event "with a pure heart and sincere intentions".
And there is no question that he hit the linesperson on Arthur Ashe Stadium in a completely unfortunate and accidental incident, and that his immediate apologies to her were genuine.
But the intent here is irrelevant. Actions have consequences. As Djokovic looks to break the records that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have laid down (and continue to lay down) before him, 2020 is reminding him that as good as he is on a tennis court, he can be defeated.
And perhaps he himself is his biggest rival of all.
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