Novak Djokovic Out of U.S. Open After Accidental Hit of Line Judge

The incident was reminiscent of one involving Denis Shapovalov, who was defaulted in a Davis Cup match in 2017 after inadvertently hitting chair umpire Arnaud Gabas in his left eye after smacking a ball in anger, fracturing Gabas’s orbital bone. In 1995, British star Tim Henman became the first player in the Open era to be disqualified from Wimbledon after inadvertently hitting a ball girl, Caroline Hall, in the head from close range. Henman, playing with Jeremy Bates, was defaulted during a doubles match for unsportsmanlike conduct.

In 2012, David Nalbandian, an Argentine star, was defaulted from the singles final at Queen’s Club after kicking a wooden advertising board and injuring linesman Andrew McDougall’s left leg.

But until Sunday, no world No. 1 had been defaulted in the midst of a Grand Slam tournament. The closest equivalent for shock value at the U.S. Open was in 2009 when Serena Williams, seeded No. 2, received a point penalty for threatening a line judge who had called a foot fault in her semifinal against Kim Clijsters. The penalty was assessed on match point, handing Clijsters a 6-4, 7-5 victory.

Ilie Nastase, a combustible Romanian, was defaulted in the second round of the 1979 U.S. Open after a series of tirades and then reinstated in a match against John McEnroe, who was later disqualified himself for misbehavior in the fourth round of the 1990 Australian Open. But both Nastase and McEnroe were past their primes.

The modern men’s superstars have been genteel by comparison, in part because of a stricter code of conduct.

Djokovic had never been defaulted on tour until Sunday.

Matt Futterman contributed reporting.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/06/sports/tennis/us-open-novak-djokovic.html