"Yet Van de Zandschulp recovered and was fighting his way back into contention when Djokovic lost his composure. After his opponent missed his shot, Djokovic lashed out and smashed the ball in anger that flew past the ball kid at the net at high speed. If the ball had taken a slightly different path, Djokovic would have almost certainly have been thrown out of a second Grand Slam of his career."
"Djokovic held his hands up, saying: "I apologise for that. That was not necessary and in the heat of the moment. I was lucky there, and I'm sorry for causing any distress to the ball kid or anybody." Djokovic infamously hit a linesperson at the 2020 US Open and it seems that incident has not taught him a lesson and this incident in Melbourne could have been a repeat almost six years later."
Djokovic controlled the match while his opponent, Van de Zandschulp, struggled with a shoulder problem in the second set but later recovered and fought back. Djokovic lost his composure after an opponent's missed shot, smashing a ball in anger that flew past the ball kid at the net at high speed. Had the ball taken a slightly different path, Djokovic would likely have been thrown out of a Grand Slam. Djokovic apologized, calling the act unnecessary and saying he was lucky. Commentators noted the near miss and suggested the incident echoed Djokovic's 2020 US Open linesperson strike. Djokovic still won in straight sets and advances to the fourth round.
Read at Irish Independent
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