Goran Ivanisevic on Djokovic dropout: "You shouldn't have disqualified him"
Even days after that, the disqualification of Novak Djokovic is probably the most discussed topic in the tennis circus. Now Djokovic coach Goran Ivanisevic also commented on this incident.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Sep 12, 2020, 08:47 pm
These are pictures that every tennis fan has seen countless times: After a break against Pablo Carreno Busta, Novak Djokovic shoots a ball in the direction of the boards and hits a linesman. This first goes to the ground, but can then leave the place itself - but Djokovic already knows what threatens him after this dropout.
After minutes of discussion, the world number one is disqualified, and the dream of an 18th Grand Slam victory is over. There is agreement that the hit was by no means intentional - but in the tennis circus there is also agreement about the correctness of the penalty. "There was no other option than this disqualification," said referee Sören Friemel .
"You should have just pulled a game off him"
The Djokovic camp apparently has a slightly different opinion. "The rules are as they are - either there is a warning or a disqualification. I know a lot of people will disagree and I am not objective, but I think they should have just pulled a game off of him. We would have with the second Set should start - and done, " said Djokovic coach Goran Ivanisevic to sportklub.rs .
"Of course there are rules, but if you take into account that Novak did not do it on purpose and there is also Corona and everything, they shouldn't have disqualified him," continued Ivanisevic, who basically spoke out against disqualification. "It was a total accident. I saw the video 3,877 times and his biggest mistake was that he didn't look in their direction," said the 2001 Wimbledon winner.
Ivansevic optimistic for Paris
Nevertheless, Ivanisevic already knew shortly after the incident that the US Open would come to an abrupt end for his protégé: "I knew that was it. The tragic thing is that he wasn't angry at all." Even hours after the disqualification, the mood was still "terrible": "It's not easy for him. It was a big shock that nobody expected."
Ivanisevic is not afraid that the world number one will not digest this shock: "Novak is a born champion and that will make him even stronger. It is good that he will be playing matches again soon to leave all this behind. He has to try to act like it happened 5 years ago. I think he can win Roland Garros. " First, the Serbs have to go to the tournament in Rome - in the Italian capital, Djokovic starts with Salvatore Caruso or a qualifier .