Down 6-5 in the first set of his Fourth Round match, Djokovic was clearly frustrated having already missed three set points, and also needed some treatment on his shoulder following a pretty heavy fall in the eleventh game. A perfect storm came together...
It was clearly not an intentional act to hit the lines judge at the back of the court, but ultimately Novak Djokovic has to take responsibility for where he hits the ball at an irritating time. I do think the line judge overplayed the incident, but again I have to accept that it doesn't really matter and perhaps it was the surprise of the situation that caught her unaware.
The World Number 1 is going to feel absolutely horrible when he wakes up on Monday morning as he was the clear favourite to win the US Open in the easier half of the draw. A moment has cost him when he could have effectively hit that ball anywhere he liked, but where he did, and he would not have suffered the biggest consequence he has.
The referees had no choice but to default Djokovic with the way their rules stand and it would have perhaps been even more controversial if it had not happened that way, but it is a situation that the World Number 1 will have to live with and use to motivate him for the remainder of his career at the top of his game.
It does mean a third of four Outright selections have exited the tournament, although one having to retire mid-match with an injury and the other being Defaulted is nothing but poor fortune. They might not have gone on to win, but that really wasn't the way I expected them to lose either.
I did not have any Tennis Picks on Day 7 and that was because it was an emotional day for me personally and I simply was not going to look into the matches on the day.
Sunday was difficult, but life moves forward and that means we are onto Day 8 at the US Open with the remainder of the Quarter Final matches being put together.
I will have a fuller thread for Day 9 at the US Open, but for now I will place the selections for the remaining Fourth Round matches below:
MY PICKS: Vasek Pospisil-Alex De Minaur Over 39.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
Felix Auger-Aliassime-Dominic Thiem Over 38.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)
Matteo Berrettini @ 1.72 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Daniil Medvedev - 6.5 Games @ 1.66 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Maria Sakkari-Serena Williams Over 21.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Victoria Azarenka - 4.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Fred (2 Units)
Elise Mertens-Sofia Kenin Over 21.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Fred (2 Units)
US Open Update: 33-28, + 1.56 Units (122 Units Staked, + 1.28% Yield)
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