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Novak Djokovic out of US Open after hitting line judge with tennis ball

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Novak Djokovic defaulted from his fourth-round match at the US Open after a ball he hit in anger struck a line judge.
NEW YORK — Top-seeded Novak Djokovic was defaulted from his fourth-round match at the US Open after a tennis ball he hit in anger struck a line judge in the neck on Sunday. As he walked to the Arthur Ashe Stadium sideline for a changeover, trailing Pablo Carreno Busta 6-5 in the first set, Djokovic — who was seeded and ranked No.1 and an overwhelming favorite for the championship — angrily smacked a ball behind him. The ball flew right at the line judge, who dropped to her knees at the back of the court and reached for her neck. During a discussion of about 10 minutes near the net involving chair umpire Aurelie Tourte, tournament referee Soeren Friemel and Grand Slam supervisor Andreas Egli, Djokovic appeared to be pleading his case. But eventually, he walked over to shake hands with Carreno Busta. Tourte then announced that Djokovic was defaulted, the tennis equivalent of an ejection. „I was a little bit in shock, no?“ Carreno Busta said later at a news conference done via video conference. Djokovic left the tournament grounds without speaking to the media. Asked whether Djokovic should have been allowed to continue to play, Carreno Busta shrugged and replied: „Well, the rules are the rules…. The referee and the supervisor [did] the right thing, but it’s not easy to do it.“ Indeed, the U. S. Tennis Association issued a statement saying that Friemel defaulted Djokovic „in accordance with the Grand Slam rulebook, following his actions of intentionally hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly within the court or hitting a ball with negligent disregard of the consequences.“ The USTA went on to say Djokovic forfeits the ranking points and $250,000 in prize money he earned in the tournament — „in addition to any or all fines levied with respect to the offending incident.

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