Novak Djokovic was disqualified in bizzare fashion from the US Open on Sunday after striking a female lines official in the throat with a ball. The world number one went 5-6 down in the first set to Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta when he pulled a ball out of his pocket and hit it in disgust in the direction of the official. Djokovic rushed to towards the official inquiring about her well-being. Following that incident, the tournament official spoke with the chair umpire and then held a lengthy discussion with Djokovic about the infringement of rules. The former US Open winner seemed to be pleading with the tournament referee Soeren Friemel about his action being unintentional. Eventually, Carreno Busta was adjudged to have won by default after he was leading 6-5 at Flushing Meadows.
Djokovic then had an extended conversation with Friemel before being officially defaulted. The 17-time Grand Slam champion walked off court in near silence since no fans were in the stadium due to the coronavirus pandemic and left the tournament site without speaking to the media. Later in an Instagram post, Djokovic apologized to the tournament and everyone associated for his behavior. "This whole situation has left me really sad and empty," he wrote. "I checked on the lines person and the tournament told me that thank God she is feeling ok. I'm extremely sorry to have caused her such stress. So unintended. So wrong. I'm not disclosing her name to respect her privacy. As for the disqualification, 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 and human being."This will be the first time since 2004 that a Grand Slam semi-finals will be without one of the Big 3 - Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. While Federer ended his 2020 season early after surgery, Nadal pulled out of US Open due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.