World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will take on the talented Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta for a spot in the U.S. Open quarterfinals.
Novak Djokovic isn’t just the favorite to win the U.S. Open, he’s the prohibitive favorite. The Serb hasn’t lost a match yet in the abbreviated 2020 season, with the Australian Open crown and his second Cincinnati Masters title just a week ago. He has only dropped a single set en route to the round of 16 this week, snagged by Kyle Edmund in the second round.
His fourth round opponent is a familiar foe. Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta has faced Djokovic 3 other times, and lost every set so far but one. The matchup has not been kind. Carreno Busta is no slouch on hard courts. The Spaniard was a 2017 semifinalist in Indian Wells and New York, and a 2018 semifinalist in Miami.
The Spaniard had a poor first tournament back in Cincinnati last week. He was picked off in the second round by the Russian Karen Khachanov, where he ate a second set breadstick. He survived a first round scare at the U.S. Open, where he went 5 sets with Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama. Since then though, he seems to have righted the ship.
Given Djokovic’s form and the fact that he does everything PCB can do, but more consistently, it would take a pretty bad day at the office for the Serb to find himself out of the tournament at this stage. Carreno Busta is a fighter, so it wouldn’t be a complete surprise if the Spaniard grabbed a set, but there is little doubt which player will be saluting the non-existent crowd.
Cheryl pick – Djokovic in 3
Djokovic:
“She doesn’t have to go to hospital for this,” Djokovic argued. “You have a game penalty, set penalty, many options. You’re going to choose a default in this situation? My career, [at a] grand slam, [on the] centre stage.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/spor … -v7b59r3c8
Players are guilty of ball and racquet abuse all the time and don’t even get a warning ,when injury could easily have been caused . Maybe time they clamped down on this .
Agree. The commentators love it when that happens. Nothing like a few instant replays of player tantrums to get their viewers’ attention.
djokernole
Verified
This whole situation has left me really sad and empty. I checked on the lines person and the tournament told me that thank God she is feeling ok. I‘m extremely sorry to have caused her such stress. So unintended. So wrong. I’m not disclosing her name to respect her privacy. As for the disqualification, I need to go back within and work on my disappointment and turn this all into a lesson for my growth and evolution as a player and human being. I apologize to the @usopen tournament and everyone associated for my behavior. I’m very grateful to my team and family for being my rock support, and my fans for always being there with me. Thank you and I’m so sorry.
That’s pretty gracious all things considered. He looked very sorry to have hurt her.
It was arrogant of him to leave the court without attending the press conference to say sorry in person rather than put out a statement.
Djokovic has to climb down from his pedestal. His opponents are not there for decoration; they are there to compete so it’s no use getting irate because they win a point or break his serve. He is credited with being the most gracious in defeat but that doesn’t sit well with his behaviour during the match i.e smashing his racquet or smashing court furniture like the Perrier bench at Roland Garros, screaming, etc then when he actually loses the match he is all sweetness and light hugging his opponent at the net?
I have no doubt that it was not intentional but the way he has tantrums on court, I’m a default Was a long time I’m coming! It’s quite intimidating when a player get las all upset on court when they r frustrated! It’s just so unnecessary at times!
I agree that he should have showed up for the presser, maybe it was shame, but as no.1 he should have just vocalised his statement at the presser.
As for the lines person she will only know if she’s ok when she wakes up tomorrow morning!l!!!
Now come on Goffin, send Shapo packing!! ASAP!!!
Goffin really disappointed me there! Thought he was better player, sigh!!!!
Meh, it’s always all about him. It’s a decent apology but he should have done it at the press conference instead of skipping out in a snit. And it wasn’t stress he caused the lineswoman! That was PAIN, hello?
What a huge change missed for Djokovic. He had one hand on the trophy. Now with RG coming up, if Rafa wins #20, it’s hard to see Novak overtaking Fedal. A huge moment in tennis history.
I honestly don’t mind if Theim or Daniil wins! However I do think Novak is in for a chance to surpass Rafa and Roger but it’s only going to get more difficult bcos the other guys r playing very very very well! The big 3 have the light behind them now!
I actually think Rafa has the best shot at retiring with most slams if he wins RG 2020
This is Olly btw, typed Rafa by accident in the name section ^^^
I tend to agree with you, if Rafa can win FO2020 ( if FO2020 is on), then it’s very likely that he will be the one having the most slams when he retires.
I do hope Rafa can at least win one year end championship before he retires.
Careno Busta was on fire, Djokovic was in trouble but feel sorry for him. USTA gains some credibility for not putting money ahead of principles but they had no option really, it’s clearly stated in the rules and is very black and white.
I guess this is a bit of Karma for Novak (inc. his recent bout with COVID) when you’ve gained so much during your career by pushing the boundaries. He’s won half a dozen grand slams at least by playing the injury timeout and other forms of gamesmanship.
Actually half a dozen is probably a bit conservative, he’s won at least a dozen that could’ve gone either way but he somehow managed to disrupt his opponent’s rhythm with unsportsmanlike conduct and bending the rules.
I think many people would be upset for Novak because there’s a side to him that is clearly “good” but there would also be plenty that would be glad to see him experience some retribution for his prior misdemeanours.
Exactly. Like insisting he wanted to complete the Wimbledon SF under the roof in bright sunshine against Rafa because he thought it favoured him and the stupid Wimbledon committee going along with it.
This was unfair to N. Djokovic it was a mistake.
Too many karens and simps in 2020 now in sports.
Some dumb rules need to be changed.
Don’t worry. The PTPA will sort it. 😉
Nope. This isn’t new to 2020, Stanley. Tim Henman was defaulted from a doubles match at Wimbledon in 1995. He accidentally hit a ball girl after a point. It’s a long-standing rule and the only latitude the chair umpire has is to decide whether the ball was hit as part of play (such as when Nadal accidentally hit the ballkid at the AO during a point) or if the player smacked a ball in frustration/temper AFTER a point. If it’s after the point and you accidentally hit someone, you get the default. Every time.
tennis.
Let’s not take anything away from Carreno Busta, he was probably going to win anyway and has to be a chance for the title.
Exactly!! But u know certain fans would love to attach an asterisk next to his win, sigh!
Hahahaha…
At this uso, the winner will thank the linespersons in his winner’s speech and actually mean it…
DJokovic fans saying officials were biased against him due to the ongoing off-court drama coz they didn’t disqualify Bedine in Cincy:
https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/1298301260471336960
Lol, let’s not turn sporst into politics, please. You can argue about the rule not being flexible enough but it was absolutely correct to make that call given the rule. Surprised Novak didn’t get ball abuse warning in the earlier game when he WHACKED the side board after losing break points.
Twitter Fans, pffftttt! The internet is toxic and anyone with anything stupid, nasty and just plain dumb is gonna sound off. Thinking that the USO wanted the #1 men’s player out of the tournament is pretty paranoid even for the internet though.
I hope whoever wins is, gets credit for it. And it’s not going to be perceived as a lucky guy due to Djoko’s default.
He won so many slams on edge, it’s part of the mathematical distribution here, considering his impulsiveness.
Anyway I’m sorry for Djokovic and for Busta. The Spaniard was the favourite to win after leading 6-5 and serving for the first set. Plus, Djoko hit hit left arm and had shoulder discomfort and he was already very irritated that his game was not the best.
Well played Carreño Busta
Djokovic should have called for hawk eye, it wasn’t so clear where that ball landed
Lol…….that’s funny!
Glad you liked it.
🙂