World No.1 Novak Djokovic was ousted from the 2020 US Open after he hit the line judge in frustration with a spare ball.
Djokovic was playing his 4th round match against Pablo Carreno Busta. The Serbian had shown his frustration when he lost 3 consecutive set points at 5-4. Later he slipped on his serve injuring his left shoulder and then was broken in the same game giving Carreno Busta a chance to serve for the set. Djokovic after losing his service took the spare ball from his pocket and hit it in anger which went on to hit the line judge.
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Patrick Mouratoglou on Novak Djokovic misbalance with US Open 2020 and PTPA
Tennis Coach Patrick Mouratoglou tweeted on this matter. He felt that Djokovic was stressed out and was juggling around with a lot of things on and off the court.
“I feel that Novak had too much on his plate: trying to win this US Open was already a huge goal. Starting this player’s association and a campaign in order to convince players to be part of it is a full time job & a lot of extra stress. Nobody can afford to lose focus during a GS.” Mouratoglou tweeted
In addition to playing the US Open, Djokovic had set up a new players only association named Professional Tennis Players Association(PTPA). It is a breakaway from the ATP player council and aims to push forward players’ interests in decisions involving the ATP and the tournaments. For days now Djokovic has been trying to lure more players into signing for the association and also replying to the critics of the association. So Mouratoglou’s opinion of Djokovic being overwhelmed with so much work is a strong point.
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Djokovic has apologized to the US Open for his actions. Rather than sitting for a press conference, Djokovic had posted on his Instagram handle and pledged to learn from this incident and further evolve as a player and a human being.
Read More: “Correct Decision”: Tennis Legend Approves Decision to Disqualify Novak Djokovic From US Open 2020