Novak Djokovic was shocked when he was disqualified from the US Open on Sunday for hitting a line judge with a ball, but fellow tennis star Nick Kyrgios things the world’s top player is going to receive special treatment.
Djokovic, who was looking to win his 18th grand slam, defaulted after he became frustrated and smacked a ball toward a line judge. The ball hit the linesperson in the neck area, and Djokovic immediately went over to apologize. Whether intentional or not, striking a line judge with a ball in frustration is an automatic default and disqualification.
Kyrgios, one of the most confrontational players in tennis, thinks people are letting Djokovic off easy by calling the stunt unintentional. Kyrgios took to Twitter to poll his followers about how many years he would be banned for if he pulled the same move.
Swap me for jokers incident. ‘Accidentally hitting the ball kid in the throat’ how many years would I be banned for?
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) September 6, 2020
Kyrgios has been disciplined numerous times for on-court outbursts. While Djokovic has had some embarrassing moments where he acted out in anger, his list of violations isn’t quite as long. Kyrgios may be right that the incident would be viewed differently if it involved him, but he hasn’t exactly earned the benefit of the doubt.
