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Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, Tennis News

‘It was the peak of bad luck’ – Rafael Nadal expresses sympathy for Novak Djokovic


Rafael Nadal says Novak Djokovic suffered the ‘peak of bad luck’ when he was disqualified from this year’s US Open.

Djokovic was defaulted in the fourth round when he accidentally hit a line-judge with a spare ball after being broken.

Nadal, though, who decided to skip the tournament, said he had sympathy for his rival.

“I was watching golf at home when Djokovic was disqualified from the US Open,” Nadal told La Resistencia, as per tennisbuzz.net. “People started sending me messages.

“[They said ‘my gosh, have you seen what’s happening?!’ I started watching when they were [disqualifying him].

“I don’t think they were deciding anything. It was clear. It had to be done.

“When I saw the moment, I thought he was out. The rule is clear. It was the peak of bad luck and it’s a shame, but the referee, the supervisor, had no options.

“The fact is, it’s a complicated decision but if he doesn’t take it he’s not applying the rules.


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Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.