Location: Flushing Meadows, New York Dates: August 31 – Sept 13
Coating: Selected live radio and text commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, BBC Sounds, the BBC Sport website and app.
The disqualification of world number one Novak Djokovic at the US Open was “without a doubt the right decision,” says former British number one Tim Henman.
The 33-year-old Serb was defeated after being hit by a lineman’s ball in Sunday’s fourth round match against Pablo Carreno Bust in New York.
After a lengthy discussion, tournament officials declared it a default.
Henman told Amazon Prime, “He’s not targeting an official, but you are responsible for your actions.”
He added: “There were no other consequences.
“We’ve seen a couple of glasses before when he hit the billboards with the ball. He was upset”.
Henman was 20 years old when he was disqualified from Wimbledon in 1995 for a similar incident when he accidentally hit a girl with a ball during a men’s doubles match.
Djokovic showed his disappointment after losing the serve 6-5 against Spain’s 20th seed Carreno Bust, taking the ball out of his pocket and hitting it behind him, hitting the women’s line judge in the throat.
Henman added: “It’s amazing for me to talk about it. It was a moment of disappointment for me too – I hit the ball when I was not looking and hit the girl with the ball. “
More recently, there was another incident when in 2017 Canadian Denis Shapovalov was unable to play a decisive role in the Davis Cup with Briton Kyle Edmund for hitting the ball in anger and hitting the referee in the face.
Djokovic’s former coach Boris Becker supported the Serb to quickly recover from the incident and return to victory at the French Open, which starts at Roland Garros later this month.
“You made a mistake and paid the highest price for a tennis player,” wrote the six-time Grand Slam champion from Germany on Instagram.
Take your time and learn from the hardest lesson.
Fifth seed of Germany Alexander Zverev, who ranks among the favorites for the title with Djokovic unrivaled, believes the Serb was “out of luck,” but the established officials had no choice but to disqualify him.
“It’s a shame that he hit the linesman, especially where he hit her,” he said. “Yes, there is a rule for that. I think the leaders and they all just do their job.”
“Very unlucky for Novak. I think he will be a little upset about this. If he hit him somewhere else, if he landed somewhere else, we’re talking about a few inches, he would be fine.
“I do not know what to say. I’m a little shocked now. “
Multiple Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova felt that Djokovic had been given the right punishment, twitter: “Djokovic defaulted due to an unintentional but stupid ball hitting a linear lady in the throat, and the referees had no choice but to declare a default. I am glad that everything is in order with the woman – we must do better. “
British Davis Cup captain Leon Smith said that “the whole world of Djokovic was shocked.”
“You saw on the footage that he immediately turned around,” Smith told BBC Radio Five Live Sports Extra.
“It was panic. He knew he was wrong, but of course his mind went spinning. He will try to defend his cause. “
Meanwhile, number 40 in the world Nick Kirgios, who chose not to play at the U.S. Open due to concerns about the coronavirus, suggested he may have received a more severe punishment. The 25-year-old Australian was reprimanded and fined several times for his actions in court.
He tweeted: “Replace me with jokers (Djokovic). Case “Accidental hit of the ball in the throat of a child” – for how many years will I be banned? “
Then the Australian invited people to vote for 5, 10 or 20.
How did you react to #bbctennis
Kenny Koala: I absolutely agree that the rules must be followed and no one can be harmed on the site. I am an elementary school teacher, and we would not have allowed that in PE class!
Philip West: Denis Shapovalov, who was much younger and more inexperienced, came forward and apologized back in 2017 after hitting the judge. Djokovic, on the other hand, rushed off without saying a word. If this is not a sign of a man, I do not know what it is.
Liz Curran: I don’t care if it was by accident or not. He shouldn’t have done this. There is no excuse for this behavior.
Paul Christie: Mountain from an elephant fly. Tennis doesn’t really do itself any favors. She is accidentally hit by a ball and immediately stands up. Just hand the set to his opponent, continue the match and then penalize him.
Rifat Jawid: Djokovic’s totally unacceptable behavior. He deserves a disqualification. It doesn’t matter if his action was intentional or deliberate. If you are number one in the world, you must act like one.
