Djokovic Out Of U.S. Open After Line Judge Gets Hit With Ball
Novak Djokovic, the top-ranked player and the overwhelming favorite, was defaulted from his fourth-round match Sunday, after he accidentally hit a line judge with a tennis ball.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The U.S. Open is still going ahead without fans and without the top-ranked men's tennis player.
NOEL KING, HOST:
Yeah. Novak Djokovic got himself thrown out of the tournament. Here's the U.S. Open commentator.
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UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR: What a dramatic conclusion to what has already been a peculiar and dramatic Grand Slam tournament.
KING: He lost a critical game in the first set and then angrily whacked a ball without looking. And that ball hit a judge in the throat.
INSKEEP: AP sports writer Howard Fendrich saw it happen.
HOWARD FENDRICH: One of the most shocking things, I think, anyone's seen in high-level tennis in many, many years.
INSKEEP: Djokovic apologized in person and on Instagram and says he believes the judge is OK.
KING: But he's out, which means none of the men left in the U.S. Open has ever won a major title.
FENDRICH: So now we're going to have a new Grand Slam champion. One of these young guys who's never won a Grand Slam title is going to leave here as a champion.
INSKEEP: Meaning the ejection of Djokovic set up another unprecedented event for 2020.
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