Novak Djokovic made headlines on Sunday after the prohibitive favorite to win the U.S. Open title was defaulted for hitting a careless ball and striking a lineswoman in the throat.
Novak Djokovic was on the hunt for his 18th Grand Slam title. Without Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the draw, the Serb was about as close to a sure thing as tennis gets (Nadal at the French Open notwithstanding). But instead of prepping for week two in New York City, the world No. 1 makes his way back to Europe with his name on the entire world’s lips. And not in a good way.
He lost his temper, you see. Because he was getting outplayed by Pablo Carreno Busta. Because he fell and hurt his shoulder. Because he’s accustomed to throwing on-court tantrums which usually result in a small and harmless fine. Except this time, it wasn’t harmless – he hurt someone. And it wasn’t just a fine – he ruined his entire tournament.
As soon as it happened, social media lit up. Of course, nobody is surprised anymore by the potential for widespread ignorance and stupidity on Twitter, but the number of fools attempting to blame the unfortunate situation on the poor, startled lineswoman is so ridiculous, I will only say this: she was hit directly in the larynx. If you don’t know how tender that spot is, go ahead and just press on yours lightly with your fingertips. Uncomfortable yet? Now imagine it’s a tennis ball swatted by Novak Djokovic. He hurt her. Period.
But there were legitimate questions, as well. I personally received messages from connections with reasonable concerns either questioning the fairness or the correctness of the decision to default him from the tournament, since he clearly didn’t hit her intentionally, and he was obviously remorseful. The short answer is yes to both. It was the fair AND correct decision to kick him out of the tournament.
Here’s why:
Fairness can accurately be defined as the application of rules to uphold standards in an equitable way…which is just a fancy way to say that the rules are the rules and they apply to everyone–even to the world No. 1 who happens to be the tournament favorite. As you might imagine, this is not the first time a player has inadvertently hurt an official or a ballkid.
Consider Denis Shapovalov from 2017:
It was an accident, and he was clearly remorseful. He was also defaulted. Back in 1995, Tim Henman struck a ball in anger during a doubles match at Wimbledon and accidentally hit a ballkid. He was defaulted, too.
The USTA, which runs the U.S. Open said the following: “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.”
They didn’t chuck him because of a purposeful assault on an official; they chucked him because somebody got hurt by his carelessness.
Incidentally, every player knows about this rule. It’s not a secret and it’s certainly not a surprise. If you throw your racket or hit a ball and somebody gets hurt because of it, you’re out. When you indulge your temper by throwing things or slamming balls, you assume a certain amount of risk. Or as I like to say, when you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. Djokovic came awfully close to winning the same Stupid Prize a few years ago at the French Open. He only avoided default because the linesman was on his toes and moved out of the way.
So, fair? You bet it was fair. But how about correct? Well, yes. It was that, too.
I understand why this makes tennis seem a little….delicate, but when you consider that there are kids standing directly on court fetching errant balls and handling sweaty towels, it starts to make more sense. Flying rackets and balls hit out of rage could do some serious damage. It is a good and correct rule with an equally good and correct consequence.
With all of that said, I feel bad for Novak. He isn’t a bad person, he wasn’t acting with any malicious intentm and it’s a regrettably high price to pay because he got unlucky. But at the end of the day, he has nobody to blame but himself.
Stupid games, stupid prizes.
Great reflection, and loved that closing paragraph about Novak not being a bad person….he’s NOT!….but he made a stupid mistake, and he got the appropriate consequence….default.
Great piece Cheryl! Thanks for that.
I don’t know how others feel but this slam definitely has a load of asterisks attached to it for me.
True amy.. the winner will always be known as the covid slam winner or the guy who won the slam in which djoko was defaulted . For djoko’s deed a default seems too harsh while anything else seems too lenient hence they had to go with the harsher option to set a precedence. Unfortunately djoko’s mind which has won him a bunch of slams let him down in this caseš
First time in a long time a slam would not have been won by a big 4 or by a player who beat the big 4
But, maybe even more important than the achievement of winning a Slam, we’ve been entertained by some great tennis and drama at a time when its really needed.
Circumstances and luck are always a factor with every slam result and all the top players know you take the good with the bad and hope the chips fall your way. Theim has made the final of the 2018/2019 French and 2020 Australian Open and has beaten Djokovic on several occasions. Medvedev made the 2019 US Open final and only just lost to Nadal. He also proved a difficult matchup for Djokovic in prior matches so this grand slam certainly wasn’t on Djokovic’s racquet
Fed not being here isn’t a big factor IMO because he lost to Dimitrov last year and I wouldn’t have expected him to win it and Nadal gets a lot of leverage from a large crowd so nothing was guaranteed for him either especially with a interrupted season on a non-clay surface.
I don’t think they will attach an asterisk to the result or they will be remembered as the “COVID winner” especially with the new gen coming back stronger and growing in confidence. this will likely be a catalyst for the new gen winning more major titles.
Jim Courier
“Nadal gets a lot of leverage from a large crowd so nothing was guaranteed for him either especially with a interrupted season on a non-clay surface.”
You may not be aware that Nadal is the most successful male player at the USO in the last decade. He’s won 4 titles and he was been absent from 2 (2012 & 2014)through injury. He retired injured in the 2018 SF, otherwise he could have won the last 3 consecutively.
Hard to believe that he would win the 2018 US Open if he hadn’t retired, considering who was waiting in the final.
You should be more realistic…
It’s the most bizarre thing in an already bizarre year. I’m still processing it.
The problem is with the rule. It is a stupid rule that leads to judgement based on outcome. ‘You get reprimanded only when someone gets physically hurt’. Now thats a stupid rule because it relies on judgement on whether someone got hurt. Instead the rule should be: ‘You threw your racquet you suffer X’, ‘you hit the ball when not in play you suffer y’.
The consequence should be based on actions not on outcome. Just as an example Bedene very recently hit a cameraman similar to how Djokovic did during the Western and Southern open. But he didnt get DQd because the Cameraman said he was ok. And the referee judged it was fine.
Maybe Bedene should have been DQd by the rules also. But the point is the rule is awful which judges punishment based on outcome (did the non-player get hurt) which leads to discretion.
AVN, I totally agree with you. What’s the point of waiting until someone got hurt before taking action.
Djokovic hit a ball in anger in the same way in the previous game when he lost his three break points at 5:4 to win the set and there was no warning or anything. Had the umpire warned him, he may not have done it the 2nd time.
Djokovic has put out a tweet to his “Nolefam” saying the line judge did nothing wrong, apparently in an attempt to pacify some of his more rabid fan types who have been attacking her online. Tennis stans, what can I say? Even nuttier than their faves!
Nice to read you here – and I mean it: very specifically you this time,
Ramara š
Well-said, Cheryl.
At first, I was angry. I agree with the default rule, though. But it’s hard enough for me to be a Nole fan and tolerate how he is treated by the commentators in the US. It is hard for me to hear and watch tennis when they continually disrespect Nole. The media got all excited the minute Nole got tossed out. They were celebrating the luck of having no Novak Djokovic.
Very sorry for Novak – he was obviously appalled by what happened and did not do it intentionally. It’s a harsh rule in such cases, but I get it. But the disrespect for Nole by the ESPN crew makes me sick and embarrassed. It is embarrassing enough to be an American at this time.
I feel for you, Ratcliff. Terrible thing to have happened. Most players lose their cool at some point and Djokovic has been under a lot of stress, some of it brought on by poor decisions (imo), but there it is. I kind of expected some kind of crash in the not too far future – injuries or just losing his edge – but not this!
Thanks, Ramara. He won’t do that again. It’s a big loss. Really not very excited about US Open this year. 2020 all around sucks. Can’t believe they are going through with Roland Garros – in France, they are having hot spots of COVID lately. It’s too much of a risk. There are many young people that suffer fatigue long after their other symptoms are gone. It reminds me of the way mononucleosis hits some. They end up having chronic fatigue syndrome.
Elizabeth/Ratcliff, you are one of the nicest Novak-fans I’ve come across, and it must be hard to be his fan atm š
I have harshly criticized Novak lately for many things: like publicly endorsing anti-vaxxer slogans* and spouting other unscientific nonsense. He may be a mental giant oncourt – but even Novak cannot turn dirty water into wine! Then there was his abysmally reckless behavior in connection with his quite literally ill-fated Adria Tour. Novak was really on a roll in 2020. Oncourt he still hasn’t been beaten by anyone else than himself, but offcourt he made more double faults than Sasha Zverev during his 2019 season!
That said, I really cannot get too much morally worked up about the ill-fated shot, which unfortunately hit and clearly hurt the lineswoman. But Novak didn’t intend to hit anyone. It wasn’t even a hard smash fuellded with a lot of anger. He has done that, too, quite often, and he had been lucky in the past that no one got hurt. But I really don’t think, his lob backwards even belongs into that category . His big mistake was, that he was careless – maybe, because he was mentally preoccupied and angry about the unnecessary loss of the last few games and the shape of his left shoulder – and he didn’t make sure that no one behind him could get hit! But I also think that the rules are there for a very good reason. The disqualification was absolutely the right decision! It was harsh, but there was simply no viable alternative. However, it’s very unfortunate that this once-in-life-time shot will certainly become a low point of his overall brilliant career.
I don’t think that this unlucky shot turns Novak into a villain. And I don’t believe in bad or good karma. But after all his missteps during this sad tennis season it would’ve felt totally wrong for me if Novak would’ve added this year’s US Open trophy to his large slam collection. I”m glad that there will be a brand new slam winner. And if the eventual winner will not remain a one-slam wonder, the asterisk may fade away quickly.
*Unfortunately Djokovic’s anti-vaccine slogans aren’t just aimed at the still elusive Corona-vaccine. I can understand that many people will be doubtful if a product which has been developed in a short time and under such great presssure will be safe. It’s not impossible that undesired long term health consequences may not be apparent right away. But Novak seems to have a full membership card of the world wide anti-vaccine club!
Oh, snap, littlefoot, did not realize Nole was an anti-vaxxer. What a shame.
Agree that I would not get a COVid vaccine if it was rushed through and released early without going through proper trials. But vaccines, like tried and true Smallpox, MMR, Tetanus, Polio, ect. are lifesavers!
Thank you for your kind words, little foot. I know Nole is not perfect. I have not been following tennis at all since January. Have not been contemplating whether or not there should be an asterisk on any tournament. Offhand, I don’t think so. I see this as a great opportunity for whoever wins. I support the way the tournament has been set up for safety but also understand the decisions of players not to play. For myself, I would pass and follow Dr. Fauci’s recommendations and wait for the proper vaccine if it’s even possible.
Elizabeth, thanks for your nice answerāŗļø Please stay healthyššš
Yes, I have a problem with anti-vaxxers because I feel that vaccines in general have done us a whole lot of good, and that anti-vaxxers are sort of free-loading since they only stay healthy because everybody else gets the shots! I have had dogs for 25 years now – right now I have an adorable 11 months old puppy who is the best antidote against covid-19 bluesāŗļø But I hate the discussions with dog owners who don’t vaccinate their dogs! It drives me crazy that people simply forget about these horrible diseases which would still plague us without vaccines!
I think you’re underestimating the intelligence of the media and the general public here. The media is very aware of the unfairness and injustices that occur in sport and there have been plenty at the hands of Novak Djokovic.
I have nothing against Djoko personally and would have a beer or chat with him any day because ultimately I don’t think he’s a bad person but lets be real, he has done anything and everything regardless of ethics to achieve success in this game and includes blatantly robbing his opponent of victory when his opponent was the better player on the day and deserving of victory.
For you to ignore that fact makes you part of the problem IMO.
“Jim Courier”, I agree with most of your thoughts! There is a reason why Djokovic hasn’t been embraced by the majority of the world wide tennis community – and while many fans of Roger and Rafa may have seen Novak as a pesky intruder, I think it’s too easy to just blame the fans! He may well be a perfectly decent and nice guy – but there’s something about Novak which seems to alienate many tennis fans as well some sports journalists. And this season definitely hasn’t helped to prop up his image.
But I disagree with you that Novak has blatantantly robbed opponents. It’s true that he has often used a certain degree of gamesmanship in order to turn around matches which seemed to be lost! And too many officials have allowed him to get away with it, when it came down to scheduling or if a certain roof should be closed, although there wasn’t even one drop of rain. However, Novak still needed to win these matches oncourt. He may have rattled his opponents with his antics – but Novak still needed to come up with oncourt solutions,and he had to execute the last winning shot. And he became an expert in doing just that! Therefore I would not say that he outright robbed the win from his opponents. In the end his superb tennis ein. But you are probably right, that this didn’t exactly endear him to the majority of the tennis community!
I disagree with that completely and don’t have time to get drawn into a long debate on the issue. I’ve made my statement and you’re entitled to disagree with it as well.
Jim Courier, too bad that you don’t have time to discuss this. We might not be able to convince each other. But I would be genuinely interested to know which matches you consider to have been stolen by Novak.
Forget about him, littlefoot. That poster is a complete snob or knob, if youlike, lol. No one is as great as himself.
Elizabeth āŗļøāŗļøāŗļø
I normally disagree with “Jim Courier” on a regular basis, while I am very fond of the real Jim Courierš
There are always fans who feel that their favorite was maliciously robbed of a deserved win! But while most players do indeed engage now and then in a certain amount of gamesmanship, the cases where a player has been truly robbed, are fortunately very rare. And normally it wasn’t the opponent but the umpire or the linespeople who made a wrong decision. In the times of Hawkeye this doesn’t happen very often anymore. I do remember a few clay court matches where one player pointed out deliberately a wrong imprint or even erased the true imprint in order to gain an advantage.
Many Rafa fans claim that in the semi final of Wimby 2017 Rafa should’ve won against Novak, and that the roof should have remained open because it wasn’t even raining. The scheduling has also been questioned. I agree with the notion that the roof should have remained open since Wimby is an outdoor event. The scheduling wasn’t great, either. And if the roof would’ve remained open, Rafa may have indeed won the match. But we don’t know that for sure, and after the roof was closed, both players had to deal with the same conditions. Novak still needed to win the match against a very difficult opponent by playing good tennis – which he did! As a Rafa fan I wasn’t happy at all about certain decisions re: the roof and the scheduling. But I really don’t think that Rafa was robbed!
I would’ve been genuinely interested which matches have been actively robbed by Novak according to our”Jim Courier”.
Jim I completely agree with you. This is another good report and analysis by Cheryl. As for the situation with djokovic, the punishment is more than justified. You cannot hit somebody on the throat and not expect severe consequences. Rules are there for a reason, intentional or not, accidental or not. Period.
Itās unfortunate that it happened to him but I donāt feel sorry for him at all especially considering his blunders this year. Heās not the first to be disqualified and wonāt be the last and this will teach him and other tennis players to control their emotions. Donāt lose your emotions to the point you hurt someone intentionally or not, itās just a game, nobody died. If you want to lose it to that extent that you start breaking and hitting stuff, leave it for the locker room in private because there are consequences.
I for one am excited about this US open simply because we will have a new slam champion. So I expect a blockbuster semifinal and finals. I hope thiem, medvedev and Shapovalov bring it. I hope we have a 5 set final like last year and this time I can sit and enjoy it and not have a stroke because I am a fan of one player in the final. The same for the womenās side, I hope serena, azarenka and Osaka bring it. Itās going to be a mouth-watering blockbuster semifinal and finals from the ladies and I hope itās 3 sets each.
Thereās no asterisk in this US open, whoever wins on both the menās and womenās side fully deserve it and is a worthy grand slam champion regardless of who was disqualified and who are not playing. Case closed.
Thiem could conceivably win two slams this year.
Hoping for a thiem medvedev semi and Azarenka serena semi. These matches can be cracker n really hard fought
The other half is too weak on both men’s n women’s . Anyone to stop Osaka ?
Serena could stop any of them, or not. I expect she will make the final. But is she steady enough to get her 24th?
I love Naomi Osaka – hope she can make the final. She needs to beat Shelby Rogers first! Go, Naomi…
Or out of curiosity, I would like Rogers vs Brady – like to see which one is better. Obviously they both used this 2020 COVID downtime to get strong and in shape. Never really thought of either as a GS Finalist or semi-finalist until now!
Like to see Vika advance but I am uncertain. She is strong and playing well. But I lack the trust in her emotional consistency quite yet.
Hoping for Medvedev in the final,
I also think that the women’s competion is very interesting. IMO it’s now or never for Serena to get the so far elusive 24th slam trophy since six of the top-ten ranked women didn’t show up because of Corona-related considerations! The women’s competion was far more impacted by Corona than the men’s field. But the remaining women are all great players. Serena, Azarenka and Osaka have all won slams already. Apparently their overall experience helped them. I guess, we will not see a new slam winner amongst the women. I really don’t think, though, that Azarenka will win.
On the men’s side my favorite is definitely Medvedev! I think that the title may go either to Medvedev or to Thiem, who have both already been in a slam final. For some reason I cannot get very excited about Zverev, although he is German! There’s something about him which constantly rubs me the wrong way! He is actually not very well liked in Germany! Here most people think that he is an arrogant and self-entitled brat – even before his well documented Corona blunders! This is unfortunate because he doesn’t really generate more public attention for tennis here in Germany š But in his semis he is of course the favorite.