The ball hit the neck, unpleasant and painful. But there is no need to be distracted while the players are on the court. Moreover, every referee knows that you can get hit by the ball.
But the most disgusting thing is that many news channels (more precisely, journalists) immediately began to recall all similar episodes that happened to Djokovic before that.
But the most disgusting thing is that many news channels (more precisely, journalists) immediately began to recall all similar episodes that happened to Djokovic before that.
He was really, really unlucky.
That line judge could have just said something like: no big deal, I'll be fine or whatever as soon as he saw he could have been disqualified because of that. This disqualification makes sense if you hit the line judge on purpose, but in this case is extreme.
That line judge could have just said something like: no big deal, I'll be fine or whatever as soon as he saw he could have been disqualified because of that. This disqualification makes sense if you hit the line judge on purpose, but in this case is extreme.
I believe that the decision they made with Novak is the correct one, let's think that a high-performance and prestigious athlete in the world of tennis cannot set an example for the youngest who one day want to be like him, throwing balls because he loses or sometimes he has smashed rackets on the ground.
The decision to disqualify him from the Us Open and have to pay a financial fine seems perfect.
The decision to disqualify him from the Us Open and have to pay a financial fine seems perfect.
I believe it was unlucky but rules are rules the disqualification was correct in my opinion cause he threw that ball hard cause of losing the game you have to know that if you're not looking you could hit someone obviously it is a shame there was not intention but just don't throw the ball like that you could be unlucky and hit someone
It was an accident but a foolish one for sure. It would be the same as a golfer tossing a club into the air and hurting someone. The punishment was correct. Learn from this mistake and don't show your anger by risking injury to others.
chinito2410 said:
I can't recall the exact wording, but there is a specific rule for these situations. I remember when Ostapenko let go of, or kind of tossed, her racket towards a ball that she was unable to get to. It was a silly childish attempt to reach an unreachable ball, but her racket hit the ball boy after hitting the backstop. She was given the benefit of the doubt when she said it had slipped from her hand, so she wasn't disqualified. But there was a lot of talk about the rules at the time. That's why I immediately knew Djokovic's fate. He intentionally hit the ball, although he didn't intend for it to hit the line judge. But that's the rule. I don't want to be a dick, but I don't think the outcome would have been the same if the judge hadn't sold it the way she did. I watched the replay several times and it didn't seem to me that he hit the ball that hard. The umpire has quite a bit of discretion in these situations, but if someone is injured, he pretty much has no choice. I think the major difference between the Ostapenko incident and this one is that the ball boy shook it off and said he was okay, where the line judge reacted as if she had just been throat punched by the Rock. If she had taken a second and regained her composure, the official may have made a different ruling.
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Regardless of the force of the blow and the actions of the referee, the player is punished by disqualification. This is written in the rules and there is nothing about the force of the blow. There are two points, unintentional and intentional action. The second punishment is much stricter, up to a year's disqualification.
This was the very case when there was no one to blame but himself.
But in youth tournaments, Novak was unrestrained but only now it hurt him. I have not seen him at children's tournaments and therefore I can not say anything about the early period.
This is neither the first nor the last such incident in tennis. It's a sport.👌
But in youth tournaments, Novak was unrestrained but only now it hurt him. I have not seen him at children's tournaments and therefore I can not say anything about the early period.
This is neither the first nor the last such incident in tennis. It's a sport.👌
PokStorm said:
Totally agree. The rules are the rules.
gallora said:
Absolutely agree. He could have hit her on the big toe and it would have been a violation of the rules. But the umpire still has a certain amount of discretion as to the punishment. If she shakes her foot out and gives a thumbs up that she is okay, Novak might get away with being given a code violation, or have been penalized a game. But if the linesperson breaks down sobbing and limps off the court like her foot is broken, it kind of ties the umpires hands.
And I'm not saying Djokovic wasn't wrong. I personally believe he should have been defaulted even if the linesperson hadn't reacted the way she did. That's my opinion. But it didn't seem as though the umpire really wanted to default him. He seemed a little hesitant to make that call. But what I think is that the linesperson may have had her own opinion as to the appropriateness of Novak's behavior and may have believed that he deserved to defaulted. And perhaps her performance was less about an actual injury and more about seeing that Djokovic got what he deserved for his behavior.
gallora said:
Again, I agree. There was reference made to the ball that Djoko had whacked earlier in the tournament that he had hit much harder, but that didn't come close to hitting anyone. I believe that too should have been a code violation. Of course it wasn't serious enough for him to be defaulted. Maybe he should have received a stern warning and been put on notice. Perhaps then the incident with the line judge wouldn't have happened.
I completely agree. Not all top athletes act like Roger Federer in sports arenas. Many referees are wary of giving warnings to top players so as not to have negative consequences for themselves in the future. But it will be difficult to radically change something, the tournament organizers depend on the top players. Only the tennis association can somehow influence this process.IntenseHeat said:
Good morning.Unfortunately,Novak was wrong and the decision taken was the correct one.It is a pity since he had a good opportunity to win one more Grand Slam title.It is fine that Djokovic said he was really sorry for the incident.