KEY POINTS

  • Kyrgios takes a dig at Djokovic on social media after the line judge-episode
  • Djokovic hit a line judge with a ball during his US Open match
  • The World No. 1 is handed a default for the incident

Nick Kyrgios, one of the most controversial tennis players of recent times, ran a cheeky Twitter poll on Monday as he took a dig at Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic suffered a sensational disqualification at the US Open 2020 for striking a line judge with a ball during his Round of 16 match against Spain's Carreno Busta. The World No. 1 was frustrated when he was trailing 5-6 in the first set. As soon as he lost another point and Busta served for the set at 0-40, an angry Djokovic smashed the ball behind him, which ended up hitting the line judge on the neck following which she fell to the ground.

With the line judge screaming out in pain, an alarmed Djokovic ran to check on her and apologized. The tournament referee had a long chat with chair umpire Aurelie Tourte and Andreas Egli, the Grand Slam supervisor, before speaking to the Serbian, who reportedly said, "she doesn't have to go to a hospital for this". Even though the actions were not intentional, Djokovic was disqualified from the US Open 2020 as the ball was hit recklessly that it went straight at the line umpire's throat.

Novak Djokovic At The 2020 U.S. Open
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 06: Novak Djokovic of Serbia tends to a line judge who was hit with the ball during his Men's Singles fourth round match against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain on Day Seven of the 2020 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 6, 2020 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

While Djokovic has not been fined or banned for the incident that took place at Flushing Meadows, Kyrgios took to Twitter to have his fun. Last year, he was slapped with a 16-week ban for his series of on-court outbursts. The World No. 30 ran a poll on Twitter to ask his followers what would have happened if he had hit the line judge.

"Swap me for jokers incident," he wrote, using Djokovic's nickname.

"'Accidentally hitting the ball kid in the throat.' How many years would I be banned for?" asked the Australian. His poll, which had the options of five, 10 and 20 years, attracted more than two lakh responses so far, with the majority voting for 20 years.

US' 23-year-old tennis player Tommy Paul gave a sassy reply to Kyrgios's tweet. "We’d be bailing you outta jail right now," wrote Paul, who was knocked out of the US Open 2020 after suffering a straight-sets loss in the first round.

With the absence of defending champion Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, it was a great opportunity for Djokovic to clinch his 17th Grand Slam title. Djokovic trails Federer by three major titles and Nadal by two.

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