“No Discretion Involved”: US Open 2020 Referee Defends Decision to Disqualify Novak Djokovic

Tennis fans and other players are still trying to wrap their heads around Novak Djokovic’s disqualification from the US Open 2020. It was a confusing and chaotic moment on the court. The man behind the final decision has now opened up on the rationale behind the call and the lengthy conversation with Novak Djokovic, despite the rules in place.

US Open 2020 Tournament referee, Soeren Friemel, admitted that despite Djokovic’s unintentional actions, there was no debate over the disqualification that followed. He just needed to know all the facts first, leading to a long discussion.

“In the end, any code violation there is a part of discretion to it but in this instance, I don’t think there was any chance of any opportunity of any other decision other than defaulting Novak,” said Friemel.

“Because the facts were so clear, so obvious, that the line umpire was clearly hurt and Novak was angry. He hit the ball recklessly, angrily back and taking everything into consideration, there was no discretion involved,” he added.

Tournament referee reveals details of the incident

Friemel said that he was in the referee’s office when it all happened. He needed to know exactly how the entire incident took place, before taking a final call. At the same time, he said it was only fair to give Djokovic a chance to defend himself. These were the reasons behind the discussion being long, despite an obvious outcome.

“The facts were discussed or explained by the chair umpire and the grand slam supervisor. In this situation, it’s especially important that we are 100 percent sure of exactly what happened. Especially since I was in the referee’s office,” Friemel continued.

“But the facts were established and then I had to talk to Novak Djokovic, gave him the chance also to state his point of view,” he added.

What Novak Djokovic said in his defense

Friemel revealed that Djokovic maintained throughout the discussion that he should not be disqualified. However, he admitted that he hit the ball in anger.

“His point was that he didn’t hit the line umpire intentionally. He said yes, I was angry, I hit the ball, I hit the line umpire, the facts are very clear. But it wasn’t my intent, I didn’t do it on purpose. So I shouldn’t be defaulted for that. We all agreed that he didn’t do it on purpose. But the facts are still that he hit the line umpire and that the line umpire was clearly hurt,” Friemel further said.

The world number one‘s disqualification changes the scenario of the tournament completely as the men’s draw now opens up.