Stunning news Sunday in the round of 16 at the US Open in New York. Top seed Novak Djokovic hit as lineswoman with a tennis ball while hitting to the back of the court after losing a point.
Oh my god, Djokovic got disqualified from the US Open.pic.twitter.com/yCo3Lqw0tg
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 6, 2020
Djokovic was defaulted when trailing 5-6 in the first set in the fourth round against Pablo Carreño Busta. He had just lost his serve after being treated for pain in his left shoulder earlier in the game.
After losing the final point of the game, he pulled a ball from his pocket and smacked it with his racket toward the back of the court. It hit the lineswoman, who was standing, in the throat. She dropped to the ground. Djokovic rushed to see if the lineswoman was okay.
However, he was defaulted from the match for the incident.
Stunner. @DjokerNole defaulted from @usopen as he whacks ball in anger (without looking) and it strikes a lineswoman in the throat hard. She was injured and it’s an automatic DQ. After a very long conversation, rule was finally enforced. Wow. Tournament changes course like that
— Chris Fowler (@cbfowler) September 6, 2020
Djokovic was undefeated in 2020 to this point.