Novak Djokovic has urged his fans to be ‘supporting and caring‘ towards the match official who he accidentally hit at the US Open after she was subjected to online trolling.
Djokovic was disqualified from the US Open on Sunday after accidentally hitting a ball at the neck of the lines judge during his fourth round match against Pablo Carreno Busta. Ending his bid to win an 18th major title to close in on Roger Federer’s all-time record of 20. Later in the day he released a statement apologizing for the incident.
In the aftermath, the name of the lineswoman was made public by some media outlets and she received abusive comments on her Instagram account. In one post which was dedicated to the death of her son, somebody wrote ‘don’t worry you’ll join him soon.’ In another comment a user wrote ‘You can be assured that one day karma will come for you. You were the reason the US Open disqualified the best tennis player.” Some critics have accused the official of exaggerating her injury.
In a Twitter post on Monday Djokovic has defended the official by saying ‘she did nothing wrong.’ It is not the first time a player has been defaulted from a match after accidentally hitting an official with a ball. Previous incidents include Tim Henman at the 1995 Wimbledon Championships and Denis Shapovalov during a 2017 Davis Cup tie.
“Please also remember the linesperson that was hit by the ball last night needs our community’s support too,” he wrote
“She’s done nothing wrong at all. I ask you to stay especially supportive and caring to her during this time.”
Djokovic was the heavy favourite for this year’s US Open title and hadn’t lost a match this season. As a result of his elimination, there will be a brand new Grand Slam champion on the men’s tour. Out of the remaining quarter-finalists, only Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev have previously played in a major final.
The world No.1 has lost all of his ranking points and prize money earned in the tournament following the rule violation. He has also been fined $10,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct.
