Novak Djokovic Issued an Apology After Getting Disqualified From the US Open for Hitting a Line Judge With a Ball

Novak Djokovic's time at the US Open came to an early end on Sunday after he hit a line judge in the throat with a ball.  The line judge fell to the ground after being hit and had to be taken for medical attention.

Djokovic argued his case for not being disqualified, but it fell on deaf ears.  The No. 1 player was sent packing anyway.  He wasn't happy at all about it.

Novak Djokovic gets disqualified from US Open after accidentally hitting line judge pic.twitter.com/vlZertf2fj

— The Sun (@TheSun) September 7, 2020

Djokovic later issued an apology to the line judge and the US Open for his mistake.  In the apology he said he hoped to turn it into a lesson.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

This whole situation has left me really sad and empty. 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. I apologize to the @usopen tournament and everyone associated for my behavior. I’m very grateful to my team and family for being my rock support, and my fans for always being there with me. Thank you and I’m so sorry. Cela ova situacija me čini zaista tužnim i praznim. Proverio sam kako se oseća linijski sudija, i prema informacijama koje sam dobio, oseća se dobro, hvala Bogu. Njeno ime ne mogu da otkrijem zbog očuvanja njene privatnosti. Jako mi je žao što sam joj naneo takav stres. Nije bilo namerno. Bilo je pogrešno. Želim da ovo neprijatno iskustvo, diskvalifikaciju sa turnira, pretvorim u važnu životnu lekciju, kako bih nastavio da rastem i razvijam se kao čovek, ali i teniser. Izvinjavam se organizatorima US Opena. Veoma sam zahvalan svom timu i porodici što mi pružaju snažnu podršku, kao i mojim navijačima jer su uvek uz mene. Hvala vam i žao mi je. Bio je ovo težak dan za sve.

A post shared by Novak Djokovic (@djokernole) on Sep 6, 2020 at 3:58pm PDT

There's no way Djokovic should have been disqualified.  It was by far the most entertaining moment of the US Open up to this point.

If anything tennis could use more line judges getting smoked with balls.