Novak Djokovic apologizes for behavior at US Open

Novak Djokovic issued an apology on Sunday for his behavior at the U.S. Open that led to his default.

Djokovic apologized to the tournament and to the linesperson he accidentally struck with a ball during Sunday’s match. In response to his actions, he added that he needs to “go back within and work on my disappointment” and grow from the incident.

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This whole situation has left me really sad and empty. I checked on the lines person and the tournament told me that thank God she is feeling ok. I‘m extremely sorry to have caused her such stress. So unintended. So wrong. I’m not disclosing her name to respect her privacy. As for the disqualification, I need to go back within and work on my disappointment and turn this all into a lesson for my growth and evolution as a player and human being. I apologize to the @usopen tournament and everyone associated for my behavior. I’m very grateful to my team and family for being my rock support, and my fans for always being there with me. Thank you and I’m so sorry. Cela ova situacija me čini zaista tužnim i praznim. Proverio sam kako se oseća linijski sudija, i prema informacijama koje sam dobio, oseća se dobro, hvala Bogu. Njeno ime ne mogu da otkrijem zbog očuvanja njene privatnosti. Jako mi je žao što sam joj naneo takav stres. Nije bilo namerno. Bilo je pogrešno. Želim da ovo neprijatno iskustvo, diskvalifikaciju sa turnira, pretvorim u važnu životnu lekciju, kako bih nastavio da rastem i razvijam se kao čovek, ali i teniser. Izvinjavam se organizatorima US Opena. Veoma sam zahvalan svom timu i porodici što mi pružaju snažnu podršku, kao i mojim navijačima jer su uvek uz mene. Hvala vam i žao mi je. Bio je ovo težak dan za sve.

A post shared by Novak Djokovic (@djokernole) on Sep 6, 2020 at 3:58pm PDT

You can see what happened to lead to Djokovic’s default and apology here. These are his first public comments about the incident, as he did not speak to the press after the default.

There have been concerns about how Djokovic vents his frustration on the court during matches. He was dismissive of those concerns before, but it sounds like he might take a second look in the wake of being disqualified at a Grand Slam.