Novak Djokovic on his disqualification at the US Open: "I'll never forget that" "
In the run-up to the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome, Novak Djokovic first spoke to media representatives about his disqualification at the US Open.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Sep 14, 2020, 08:19 pm
"I accepted and will move on." Novak Djokovic has apparently digested his disqualification at the US Open and now wants to concentrate fully on his tennis game again. In an interview with media representatives, however, the world number one admitted that the incident in New York would probably stay with him for longer.
"I will never forget that because it is one of those memories that you will keep for the rest of your life," Djokovic said in the Italian capital. However, the Serb is not afraid that this dropout could inhibit him in the future: "I understand that this will be with me for many years. But I'm fine with it because I know that it was unintentional. I didn't want to hurt her . "
Djokovic understands the decision
Unlike his coach Goran Ivanisevic, who thinks the disqualification is excessive , Djokovic fully understands the penalty: "If you hit the ball the way I hit it, there is a chance of hitting someone on the pitch. Then the rules are perfectly clear. "
Djokovic had already been noticed with similar dropouts in the past: In the French Open quarter-finals 2016 against Tomas Berdych, a thrown club of the Serb missed a line judge by only centimeters and the 33-year-old also had in the preliminary round game against Dominic Thiem at the 2016 ATP Finals Lucky when a ball struck out of anger narrowly missed its box.
"Biggest possible lesson" for Djokovic
Four years ago, Djokovic saw "no cause for concern" in his behavior following the game, now the 17-time Grand Slam winner was refined: "It might have happened a few times before in my career. I will definitely try my best to make sure that this never happens again. "
At the same time, the industry leader also emphasized that he could not guarantee that such an incident will occur again. "I sometimes have dropouts - that's how I've always been as a personality and a player," said Djokovic. Of course, he still hopes to learn from the disqualification: "I'll take that as the greatest possible lesson."