THE United States (US) Open was supposed to serve as validation of Novak Djokovic’s ascendancy in tennis. With rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal out of the competition, he certainly had impetus to dominate the major tournament much in the same way he had in every stop so far in 2020. True, the season has been unlike any other in his lifetime; with the novel coronavirus pandemic restricting mobility and changing terms of engagement, he faced unique challenges en route to his projected Grand Slam championship. Yet, there was no question he stood head and shoulders above the rest of the field. It wasn’t simply that he headed into his fourth-round match as World Number One armed with a pristine slate in 26 starts since the turn of the year. It was that he stood as only player still in the draw with any title in the sport’s holy grails — and he had not one, not two, not three, but 17.
Djokovic being Djokovic, however, he wound up hurting his cause — and, as things turned out, fatally. That he was already parrying intense criticism for a bevy of off-court travails couldn’t have been easy for him in the runup. To be sure, they were eminently avoidable. He could have chosen to shut up instead of insisting that the chemical structure of polluted water could be changed by positive thoughts. He could have stayed in the sidelines instead of hosting a tournament where social distancing rules didn’t apply, and where participants, including he himself, then wound up testing positive for COVID-19. He could have picked a better time to resign from the ATP Player Council — over which he had just exerted influence to affect a changing of the guard — in order to lead a breakaway union. And, most crucially, he could have held his temper in check instead of giving in to it and smack the ball late in the first set of his set-to the other day, to disastrous results.
Granted, a burst of anger is not uncommon in high-stakes contests; sometimes, it can even prove beneficial by way of releasing pent-up emotions. In Djokovic’s case, however, it was the main ingredient for disaster. He smacked the ball with his racket to the side without regard after having been broken by Pablo Carreño Busta. Unfortunately, it hit a lineswoman on the throat, with the fit of negligence prompting his disqualification from the tournament. It didn’t matter that he meant no harm, or that the aforesaid lineswoman recovered without needing to be hospitalized. Rules are rules, and a default was inevitable; under the circumstances, chair umpire Aurelie Tourte, tournament referee Soeren Friemel, and Grand Slam supervisor Andreas Egli didn’t even need to listen to his protestations for close to 10 minutes.
Djokovic was rightly repentant in the aftermath. In an Instagram post, he apologized to the line judge and to US Open officials, and pledged to “work on my disappointment and turn this all into a lesson for my growth.” And it will be an extremely costly lesson — certainly way beyond the $250,00 prize money he forfeited, the $10,000 fine he incurred for unsportsmanlike conduct, and the additional $7,500 he was docked for skipping the post-match presser. He began the fortnight expecting a coronation. It ended abruptly by his own hand. And with his reputation in tatters, it’s fair to wonder how fast he can recover from the self-inflicted wound, assuming he recovers at all.
Therein lies the rub. Djokovic is an extraordinary player, and arguably the best of all time. He also happens to be a complex individual, holding beliefs that are best described as unconventional; for example, he refuses to accept the efficacy of vaccines. Against this dichotomy is his desire to be respected, if not loved. The way things stand, he may yet end up amassing a resume that makes him the best of the best; he’s just too good not to overcome his latest trial. That said, universal acknowledgment of his accomplishment will likely prove elusive, with any public acceptance coming grudgingly. And, in the final analysis, he will have no one else but himself to blame.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
