Novak Djokovic Accepts Hapless US Open Stint But Admits Blunder Could Happen Again

KEY POINTS

Novak Djokovic has accepted his disqualification from the last U.S. Open, saying the rules of the tournament are clear
Djokovic does not guarantee that the blunder that happened in the tourney won't happen again
Djokovic says the disqualification serves as a big lesson for him as he now vows to make himself better in handling his outbursts

Novak Djokovic holds no hard feelings on his ill-fated run in the last U.S. Open, admitting that he deserved the disqualification as it was clear on the tournament rules.

However, the world No. 1 tennis player does not guarantee that the same instance will not happen again.

"The rules are clear," said Djokovic, who spoke to the press in Rome ahead of the Italian Open. "I accepted it and had to move on. That's what I did.”

The 33-year-old was slapped with an immediate ejection from the tournament after hitting a line judge with a ball in the neck in what seemed to be a display of frustration as he was trailing Pablo Carreño Busta, 6-5, in the first set of the fourth-round match.

"I cannot promise or cannot guarantee that I will never ever do anything similar to that in my life," Djokovic said, per USA Today.

"I'm going to try my best, obviously, but anything is possible in life."

The loss was a huge blow to Djokovic as it snapped his 29-match winning streak while also denying him his 18^th Grand Slam trophy that would have placed him closer to Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in the rundown of players with the greatest number of titles in the majors.

The disqualification also cost Djokovic $250,000, which he had earned for reaching the said round of the tourney.

About a week after the unfortunate incident, the Serb superstar was man enough to own up to his mistake as he treats it as a “big lesson” moving forward.

"It's not completely out of the blue,” he said, lamenting that his meltdown was completely unnecessary.

"I'm working mentally and emotionally as hard as I am working physically," he continued. "I'm trying to be the best version of myself on the court and off the court and I understand that I have outbursts, and this is kind of the personality and the player that I have always been.

"I'm going to take this in as profound as possible for me as a big lesson. I've been thinking about it. I've been comprehending. I've been talking to my team. It's just one of these things that is just unfortunate and happens. You have to move on."

Djokovic will hit the court anew this week to face either Italian wild-card entry Salvatore Caruso or a qualifier in his first match in Rome where he has an opening-round bye.