08 September,2020 06:11 AM IST | Mumbai | The Editorial
Novak Djokovic of Serbia tends to a line judge who Djokovic hit in the throat with his racket during his Men's Singles fourth round match against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain on Day Seven of the 2020 US Open at the USTA Billie. Pic/AFP
Novak Djokovic erred and has aptly paid the price for it. It's a bit harsh, some might feel, to be defaulted from a Grand Slam for unintentionally hitting the ball at a line judge. But the fact remains that Djokovic had no business swatting the ball away like that in the first place.
And it's not the first time in that US Open fourth-round match against Pablo Carreno Busta that he has done so. Just that this time it struck an official on the throat.
The rules of the Grand Slam clearly state, "Players shall not at any time physically abuse any official, opponent, spectator or other person within the precincts of the tournament site," and tournament referee Soeren Friemel was justified in serving the World No. 1 player his marching orders.
Critics will quickly use this opportunity to compare Djokovic to his legendary rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, both of whom have exemplary on- and off-court conducts, and bring him down. But that's equally unfair. Djoko has been a people's champion. There are umpteen examples of his on-court camaraderie with ball-boys and -girls. He also remains one of the most charitable professionals during these testing COVID-19 times. And one probable brain fade moment cannot nullify any of that. However, conversely, his actions cannot be justified by his charities either.
A further debate on the issue is inevitable, but for now, Djokovic's wrongdoing has ended his 26-0 winning streak this year and more so, an attempt to win his 18th Grand Slam title.
The player has apologised for his mistake and must also be hurting a lot, probably even more than that poor line judge who had to contend with a not-so-powerful Djokovic forehand after all. Yet world tennis has sent out a powerful message with this punitive action.
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