Should Djokovic Been Ejected?

[bednobs]

Nust admit I have never heard of this rule - what happens if your shot goes awry and you hit them? https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/54052345

[Neveracrossword]

Cloverjo, I think Djokovic's transgression came under 'hitting a ball with negligent disregard..' rather than 'hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly within the court'.

[Cloverjo]

I’m glad he’s gone anyway. I don’t want him to catch up with Federer’s record of slams. This prolongs the gap for a while longer.

[-SharonA-]

And apparently Djokovic during a match with Tomas Berdych, he nearly hurt someone doing the same thing.
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/french-open-novak-djokovic-survives-racket-scare-edge-past-tomas-berdych-semi-finals-a7062116.html

[jim360]

In future, elite sportspeople should take a stress-relieving squeezy toy with them on court.

[Ken4155]

All know how much i admire the Djokoman but what he did was wrong and he had to go.
Having said that, i've seen the clip and he hardly 'smashed the ball behind him." More of a little backhand tap. The fact it hit the lady in the throat is what made it headline news.

[tamborine]

Childish behaviour from a world class player. Eject him as an example to young seeds.

https://youtu.be/4MF46cTBL8s

[BAKERS DOZEN]

No. He did not hit the ball back with any temper or anger. He just knocked it back as 99% of players do during a match. If you watch it there was no real speed involved. Will wait for the compensation claim being made.

[ummmm]

If I heard correctly this morning it was the 2nd time he done it in the match. The first ball hitting the billboards.

[tamborine]

The ball struck the lines throat. Djoko hits with precision in play but he was dangerously neglectful when discarding his surplus balls.

[iluvmargie]

Yes, he should have been ejected in my opinion. A show of bad temper caused someone to be hit in the throat by a fast tennis ball.

[Peter Pedant]

he wasnt ejected
nor deetonated, explicated or exonerated

he was disqualified and then miffed off by himself under his own steam

yes he shouldve

I was the one in the class to get sand, footballs and xcricket balls all of which I didnt see - thrown at me and then effusive apologies
( coz it is so funny for the onlooker)

[Ken4155]

Th experience will only serve to make him more determined than ever to surpass the Fed's total. Long may he continue to make me money :-)

[diddlydo]

It was definitely time for Djokovic to get his come-uppance as he regularly gets away with things that wouldn't be tolerated from a lesser player e.g. often over-running the shot clock when bouncing the ball umpteen times before each serve. He is also the master of gamesmanship - in this very match he managed to wangle a medical time-out in the middle of a game after an innocuous-looking fall. He had earlier hit a ball in anger at a hoarding round the court for which he should have been given a warning - but wasn't. The most unlikeable non-sportsman ever.

[gollob]

yes the rules are rules and everybody knows that. I wonder how much longer he would have gone with his shoulder injury. Certainly not enough to win the tournament as there are now too many young guns coming through like Andy Murray's conquerer

[douglas9401]

Yes, he deserved disqualification.
Who does he think he is? The Ferrari F1 team?

[jno]

next up: can the England rugby captain be suspended just for trying to decapitate an opponent?

[HansUrbancka]

@bednobs.....You have said (quite rightly)..."but they bat the balls they aren't using behind them all the time, and surely it's just luck they don't hit anyone? "

Yes, but it is Not done in temper, whereas Djokovic was definitely angry.

Hans.

[Ken4155]

gollob; it is inevitable that old Father Time will catch up with Djoko, eventually, as it does us all. However, these young guns have been coming up for the last few years. Yet still, there he is, the World Number One. Still the one to beat.

[ichkeria]

Jno: Farrell got the same treatment as Djokovic more or less. A red card.
But rugby is not tennis

[jno]

a disciplinary panel still to come, ichkeria. There's a big match coming and his club will be cross if he's banned from it. He's another one who's got away with undisciplined behaviour in the past and not learnt from it.