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Novak Djokovic out of US Open after hitting line judge with tennis ball

Hari Seldon said:
How hard would he have had to hit it before it would not be idiotic to disqualify him?

Interesting story form High School. We were at practice and some one hit a ball high in the air just goofing around. He said look up and like a moron I did. Hit me right in the glasses which pushed the lens into my eye. No real permanent damage but the eye doesn't quite dilate fully and is a bit sensitive to bright sun light. The real funny (or not) thing is the father of the guy who hit it was an Ophthalmologist. They took me right over and he took care of it. Point being it doesn't have to be hard hit to do damage. On my honor that is a true story.
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Senator Rob Portman's older brother William (goes by "Wym") was playing tennis as a teenager. Looked up in the sun for a lob. Hit him in the eye. he lost about 20% of the vision in that eye. Happened over 50 years ago -today might have been a different story. The fact is, ND was not trying to hit the person
 
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TurtleDude said:
she seemed to be overly dramatic.I have seen linesmen catch a Roddick Serve in the crotch, or a Pete Sampras overhead in the face, who seemed less upset
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FYI - Lou Brock thread, if he means anything to you: DP
 
Chomsky said:
FYI - Lou Brock thread, if he means anything to you: DP
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I am not much of a BB fan-I saw Tom Seaver died recently -he pitched in Cincinnati back when I would attend games with my late father.
 
TurtleDude said:
I am not much of a BB fan-I saw Tom Seaver died recently -he pitched in Cincinnati back when I would attend games with my late father.
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Yeah, saw the Seaver news. When those sports figures of our childhoods check-out, they take a little part of us with - especially if we watched/attended with our pops. Me & the old man loved going to ballgames, football, and hockey. Oh, and Notre Dame! Those were always the hardest tickets. Some of my favorite memories!

As to Brock, there's just something about base stealing that a lot of kids find exciting & can relater to. Especially, considering Brock would seemingly steal for the sake of it - whether advantageous or not! He was exciting to watch!
 
TurtleDude said:
she seemed to be overly dramatic.I have seen linesmen catch a Roddick Serve in the crotch, or a Pete Sampras overhead in the face, who seemed less upset
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That may be. Read the rules posted above. One does not need to hit anyone to be in violation of the rule. As other said the penalty may have been over the top. The judge could have had him forfeit the game or set and let the match continue. The decision was for him to loose the match.
 
Chomsky said:
Yeah, saw the Seaver news. When those sports figures of our childhoods check-out, they take a little part of us with - especially if we watched/attended with our pops. Me & the old man loved going to ballgames, football, and hockey. Oh, and Notre Dame! Those were always the hardest tickets. Some of my favorite memories!

As to Brock, there's just something about base stealing that a lot of kids find exciting & can relater to. Especially, considering Brock would seemingly steal for the sake of it - whether advantageous or not! He was exciting to watch!
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the big debate was who was better-Joe Morgan or Lou Brock when it came to baseball since they both were prolific base stealers: Brock had more years of 40+ stolen bases and have several hundred more over his career but Morgan has those back to back MVPs
 
mike2810 said:
That may be. Read the rules posted above. One does not need to hit anyone to be in violation of the rule. As other said the penalty may have been over the top. The judge could have had him forfeit the game or set and let the match continue. The decision was for him to loose the match.
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I believe default was way too severe
 
TurtleDude said:
I believe default was way too severe
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So do I, though our opinion means nothing. We were not the chair umpire.
There are calls in most every sports that at some point in time I do not agree with the official's call. That is part of the sport.
 
mike2810 said:
So do I, though our opinion means nothing. We were not the chair umpire.
There are calls in most every sports that at some point in time I do not agree with the official's call. That is part of the sport.
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no kidding-but this was particularly egregious
 
mike2810 said:
So do I, though our opinion means nothing. We were not the chair umpire.
There are calls in most every sports that at some point in time I do not agree with the official's call. That is part of the sport.
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Well said, in the bolded.
 
mike2810 said:
So do I, though our opinion means nothing. We were not the chair umpire.
There are calls in most every sports that at some point in time I do not agree with the official's call. That is part of the sport.
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It was egregious. Superstars deserve preferential treatment. We see it in the Nfl and nba.

This man was chasing greatness. It could ruin his great career.
 
Meh, it was clearly an accident but it was contact with a judge nonetheless. Good call.
 
Bucky said:
It was egregious. Superstars deserve preferential treatment. We see it in the Nfl and nba.

This man was chasing greatness. It could ruin his great career.
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His great career is assured, but it clearly deprives him of a very good opportunity for him to get closer to Rafa and Roger.
 
He has a history of this... No different than in other sports, when a football player has a history of 'late/'dirty' hits he will be suspended for more games than someone without a history.. Same in baseball when dealing with pitchers with a history of throwing at batters.

It was a good call.
 
Bucky said:


Purely accidental imo. It didn't look like he was angry at all.

I am not a big Djokovic fan at all but the judge's reaction was bizarre.

It looked very exaggerated. People do not actually say 'Ouch!' when they're in pain.
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The rules were followed, all know the rules in advance but that is not the point. You attacked the women who got smashed in the throat. That is just inexcusable. You did not approve of her reaction. Only an arrogant slob dictates how another reacts to an injury as you are now doing. Sorry, you stance on this is deplorable. Your words worse.
 
TurtleDude said:
I believe default was way too severe
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Agreed. Don’t much like Djokovic but that just looked like an accident. He seemed pretty horrified that he’d hurt someone.
 
Decypher said:
Agreed. Don’t much like Djokovic but that just looked like an accident. He seemed pretty horrified that he’d hurt someone.
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I agree with everything you stated. I don't much like ND but it was an accident and a cheapened tournament is not helped by further denigrating its fan appeal
 
bongsaway said:
The joker is a whiner. He sorta' reminds me of trump. He has this deep seated desire to be worshipped. He thinks he is underappreciated. Sound familiar?
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People make mistakes, it is what makes us human.

Novak was a professional compared to John McEnroe.
 
Bucky said:
People make mistakes, it is what makes us human.

Novak was a professional compared to John McEnroe.
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Were we comparing him to mac? Yes, people do make mistakes, I've made more than my fair share. However I still find him arrogant. The guy is fantastic but needs a bit more class like a federer.
 
I was watching some today. They had James Blake commenting on the incident. Apparently Novak slammed a ball earlier into a fence in anger. Interesting.
 
calamity said:
Meh, it was clearly an accident but it was contact with a judge nonetheless. Good call.
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Didn't Serena Williams do something similar last year and verbally assaulted a line judge? The reaction seems completely different.
 
At the 1995 Wimbledon, Tim Henman struck a ball girl in frustration with a ball in a doubles match. Henman and his partner Jeremy Bates became the first players in the Open Era to be defaulted from Wimbledon.

Frustrated? Kick the backstop or destroy a racket. But don't send tennis ball missiles whizzing about the court.

To his credit, Djokovic did apologize afterwards....

“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 apologise to the @usopen tournament and everyone associated for my behaviour. 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.”
 
Fully deserved. He broke the rules.

What is a shame is his fans sending death threats to the umpire in question.

Sent from my JSN-L21 using Tapatalk
 
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