‘One of those things that stays in your memory for life’World No 1 says it was ‘unexpected and unintended’Novak Djokovic says he has accepted his default from the
US Open but he understands it will stick with him for a long time as he prepares to return to competition this week at the Italian Open.
After losing his serve to trail 5-6 in the first set of his fourth-round match against Pablo Carreño Busta, Djokovic fired a ball and struck a line umpire, Laura Clark, in the neck and led to her falling to the ground. He became the fifth player in the Open era to be defaulted from a grand slam tournament.