'It's important to have self-control' - How tennis stars are dealing with the Djokovic fall-out
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Updated 15/09/2020 at 22:18 GMT
Tennis' top stars are focusing on the clay-court swing now as they head to Rome and then Paris for the French Open. But there's still just one question being asked in their press conferences - what was your reaction to Novak Djokovic's disqualification from the US Open?
Novak Djokovic of Serbia walks off the court after being defaulted due to inadvertently striking a lineswoman with a ball hit in frustration during his Men's Singles fourth round match against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain on Day Seven of the 2020 US Open
Image credit: Getty Images
What happened?
You know what happened by now. Novak Djokovic hit a ball in a fit of temper during his US Open quarter-final match against Pablo Carreno Busta, it hit a line judge in the throat, and by the rules of the sport he was defaulted from the match.
What did Djokovic say?
Djokovic didn't say anything immediately afterwards, but issued a statement later.
After apologising to the line judge, he added: "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. I apologise to the US Open tournament and everyone associated for my behaviour...I’m so sorry."
He has also since gone into a press conference before the start of the Rome Masters - the clay-court warm-up to the French Open.
It was totally unexpected and very unintended, as well, of course to hit her. But as I said, when you hit the ball like that, as I hit it, you know, you have a chance to hit somebody that is on the court. The rules are clear when it comes to that. So I accepted it, and I had to move on. That's what I did. Of course I did not forget about it. I don't think I will ever forget about it, because it's one of these things that stays in your memory for the rest of your life."
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'Novak Djokovic has to do some soul-searching' - Boris Becker
How have the other players on tour reacted?
Unsurprisingly, Djokovic's disqualification from the US Open has been a hot topic during everyone's interviews - particularly for those players who might come up against him over the course of the next few weeks, or for those who have had fits of pique on the court before.
Karolina Pliskova, who was the top seed in New York, had some suggestions as to how one might find an outlet for one's rage without hurting anyone else.
"It's everybody's choice I think what you want to do and how you want to behave on the court. But I always thought that's better to throw racquet than to throw balls, because then it can be dangerous.
My feeling is that I don't really control where I hit the ball, so I would better destroy my racquet than to throw a ball."
Rafael Nadal pointed out that although Djokovic was unlucky to hurt the line judge, the rules had to be applied.
"[I'm] sorry for him. He had an opportunity there [in New York to win the title]. But in some way you should not be doing this.
It is important to have the right self-control on the court, because if not, you can be unlucky as he was...for sure he doesn't want to hit anyone at all, but, yeah, is unfortunate. Sorry for that."
Kiki Bertens hoped it would be a lesson learnt for Djokovic - and for other players.
"Sometimes I think in the heat of the moment you're not really thinking clear anymore and it's just happening. Of course it's not a good thing at all, but, yeah, it happens. Once it happens, you just have to deal with the consequences, I think."
And former French Open champion Simona Halep made a call for care - and perspective.
"We have to really be careful because people are around us. We don't have to react that bad during the matches, because it's just a tennis match."
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