'Novak Djokovic didn't control his emotions' - Alex Corretja

Novak Djokovic lost control of himself when he hit a ball that struck a line judge and deserved to be eliminated from the US Open, according to Eurosport expert Alex Corretja.

The lineswoman seemed to be having trouble breathing and was bent double. After a lengthy consultation with the tournament referee, Djokovic, the top seed and overwhelming favourite in New York, was eliminated.

Corretja believes the rules were correctly applied and that Djokovic can only blame himself for his elimination.

"I am absolutely frozen like everyone else, absolutely unexpected. It’s amazing how one centimetre can change not only the match, but the future of our sport, the history of our sport," said Corretja.

"After losing some important points, Novak clearly lost his focus, he’d already hit one ball into the side which was very dangerous if people were there. He didn’t control his emotions in that instance. After being broken, he couldn’t control his emotions and unfortunately he was unlucky to hit the lineswoman.

"With the rule as it is, you need to disqualify him. It’s obvious they had no other choice, it’s a pity.

"First of all, I hope the lady isn’t hurt, but they had no other choice to make. It’s absolutely a shame that this match finished like that. He had a great opportunity but you need to know how to handle your emotions on court.

"It’s a big lesson for kids growing up and for everyone on the tour. You need to be very careful what you do on court because you can hurt someone badly."

Djokovic's disqualification sent his opponent, Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta, into the last eight.

"For Pablo, this is life, this is sport. You need to focus on yourself and this is what he was doing. He was doing great. He is now in the quarters," said Corretja.

"Of course, we will talk about this incident with Djokovic for ages, but now he needs to focus on his next opponent. He will have an unbelievable chance to get into the semi-finals, but he will have a difficult opponent so it won’t be easy.

"But he had a very difficult match against Djokovic and got through in a way that nobody wanted."