NEW YORK (USA): Seventeen-time Grand Slam Champion Novak Djokovic was disqualified from the US Open on Sunday after hitting official with ball.
The No. 1 seed defaulted from his Round of 16 match after hitting a linesperson while competing against 2017 semifinalist and No. 20 seed Pablo Carreno Busta at 5-6 in the first set.
In the one set played, Busta tried to play more aggressively, and he had little trouble holding his serve, as Djokovic made some uncharacteristic unforced errors.
The Spaniard even showed off some impressive speed and variety, chasing down and capably returning two drop shots within one point in the second game.
The problem for Busta was that his opponent was also holding easily—through nine games, he won just three points on Djokovic’s serve.
At 5-4 with Busta serving, Djokovic dug in and raced out to a 0-40 lead to grab three set points.
The Spaniard won the next five points—one that was overturned by a challenge—to even the match. Djokovic then went down 0-30 on the next game and fell over after a Busta ball forced him to change directions.
He received a medical timeout for his shoulder, then came back out and ended up losing the game. In anger, he smacked a ball, which hit a linesperson. Officials decided he would be defaulted from the match.
For the first time since 2014, the US Open is guaranteed to have a first-time Grand Slam champion in men’s singles.
Busta next faces the winner of the match between David Goffin and Denis Shapovalov. The Spaniard has split his four matches with Goffin and holds a 3-1 head-to-head record over the young Canadian. (Source: USOpen)
