Not again! Novak Djokovic hits judge with tennis ball
Not long after his US Open disqualification, Novak Djokovic bruised another line judge’s face after a stray forehand at Roland Garros.
The tennis star admitted he had an “awkward moment of deja vu” after unintentionally hitting a ball which smashed into the head of a line judge at Roland Garros this morning.
World No. 1 Djokovic for his 35th win of 2020 and a place in the Paris quarter-finals for the 14th time with a 6-4 6-3 6-3 win over Russia’s Karen Khachanov.
However, while stretching the star threw the ball out of the frame off of his racquet and into the baseline judge sitting near him.
The Serb went immediately to the official to check if he was okay.
The incident follows not long after he was defaulted at the US Open in New York for swiping angrily at a ball which hit a female line judge, who was standing just behind him, in the throat.
That disqualification is the only defeat Djokovic has suffered all year.
“My gosh, it was very awkward deja vu. I’m actually trying to find the linesperson and see if he’s OK because I saw he had a little bit of a bruise, like redness, in that place in the head where the ball hit him,” said Djokovic.
He has now reached the French Open quarter-finals for an 11th straight year.
“I hope he’s fine. I mean, he definitely dealt with it in a very strong and brave way. But it was a hit because I was very close.
“Obviously because of what happened in New York, people I guess are going to make the story out of this. It has happened to me and to many other players in the last 15 years that I’ve been on the tour.
“I’ve seen it a lot when the ball ricochets from the racquet and the frame, hits someone in the stands, or someone that is close to you or a line umpire. Yeah, it was a very awkward situation.”