Novak Djokovic disqualified from US Open after hitting line judge with ball

Novak Djokovic disqualified from US Open after hitting line judge with ball
The tennis star has lost his chance to win a Grand Slam title at the US Open.

Tennis star Novak Djokovic has been kicked out of the US Open after he struck a line judge with a tennis ball.

The top-seeded Djokovic was on track towards his 18th Grand Slam title in his fourth match at the competition.

After losing a game to opponent Pablo Carreno Busta, Djokovic was making his way to the sideline when he hit a ball behind him. The ball struck a line judge, who fell to the ground holding her neck.

Djokovic ran to the line judge to check on her, showing he had clearly not intended to hit the official.

After several minutes of deliberation, the referee chose to default Djokovic who shook hands his opponent Pablo Carreno Busta before walking off the court and leaving the match.

According to Grand Slam rules, players are barred from any “physical abuse” towards any official, opponent, spectator or other person within the tournament arena, giving the referee the right to default a player should an incident occur.

Tournament referee Soeren Friemel says the decision to disqualify Djokovic was based on “action” despite there being no intent to injure the line judge.

“The action – while there was no intent – the result of hitting a line umpire and [her] clearly being hurt is the essential factor in the decision-making process here,” said Friemel.

In a statement Djokovic apologised for the incident, saying it left him “sad and empty.”

He wrote, “I’m extremely sorry to have caused her such stress. So unintended. So wrong. I’m not disclosing her name to respect her privacy.”

Djokovic’s default has cleared the way for a first-time trophy winner to take the Grand Slam title, the first time since 2014.

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