After being disqualified from the Men’s singles US Open 2020 tournament for hitting a ball in the direction of a line judge on Sunday, top seed Novak Djokovic wrote on Instagram, “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,” expressing his remorse and apologising for the incident.
ATP rank number one Djokovic expressed remorse on Instagram after being disqualified from the competition. Djokovic wrote, “This whole situation has left me really sad and empty.”
He added, “I apologize to the @US Open tournament and everyone associated for my behaviour.”
The ATP rank number one further wrote, “I checked on the linesperson and the tournament told me that thank God she is feeling okay.”
The 17-time Grand Slam winner expressed guilt at having caused such a situation. “I am extremely sorry to have caused her such stress. So unintended. So wrong,” said the tennis player.
The Serb added that he was refraining from disclosing the identity of the individual in order to respect her privacy.
The favourite to win the US Open, Djokovic, also thanked his team and fans for the support he had received during the tournament. He ended his statement by apologising for a second time.
The United States Tennis organisation also released a statement, saying Djokovic had defaulted under the Grand Slam rules for “intentionally hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly within the court or hitting a ball with negligent disregard of the consequences.”
Also read: Novak Djokovic disqualified: United States Tennis Association’s statement on the incident
The organisation also stated that Djokovic would lose all ranking points and prize money from the tournament as a consequence.
Djokovic became the third player in Grand Slam history to be disqualified from a men’s singles tournament. John McEnroe was disqualified at the Australian Open in 1990 and Stefan Koubek at the French Open in 2000.
