Australian Open: Novak Djokovic apologizes after nearly hitting ball girl with ball

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Novak Djokovic came a few inches from repeating some unfortunate Grand Slam history at the Australian Open.

Facing the unseeded Botic van de Zandschulp on Saturday, Djokovic won a point in the second set when his opponent left the ball long in a rally. The 10-time Australian Open champion was still frustrated enough to smash the ball to the side.

Replay showed he came with in inches of striking a ball girl crouching by the net.

Djokovic apologized for the incident while speaking with reporters after the match, which he won 6-3, 6-4, 7-6: 

“I apologize for that. That was not necessary, in the heat of the moment. Yeah, I was lucky there and I’m sorry for causing any distress to the ball kid or anybody.”

The matter is reminiscent of what happened with Djokovic in the 2020 US Open. In that case, a frustrated Djokovic hit the ball in anger and struck a line judge in the throat. He was quickly defaulted from the tournament, ending a 26-match winning streak to open the 2020 season.

Had Djokovic struck the ball girl, the code of conduct section of the 2026 Grand Slam rulebook would have given tournament referee Wayne McKewen the power to default him again:

"Players shall not violently, dangerously or with anger hit, kick or throw a tennis ball within the precincts of the tournament site except in the reasonable pursuit of a point during a match (including warm-up). Violation of this Section shall subject a player to fine up to $50,000 for each violation. In addition, if such violation occurs during a match (including the warm-up) the player shall be penalised in accordance with the Point Penalty Schedule (where a player receives a warning, then a point penalty, then a game penalty).

"The Referee in consultation with the Grand Slam Supervisor may declare a default for either a single violation of this Code or pursuant to the Point Penalty Schedule.

Because he avoided a default, Djokovic was able to keep playing and notch an unprecedented 400th career win in a Grand Slam. Roger Federer has the next-most at 369 and only eight men (Djokovic, Federer, Rafael Nadal, Jimmy Connors, Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl, Pete Sampras, Andy Murry) have notched even 200.

Djokovic advanced to face No. 16 seed Jakub Menšík in the fourth round. Should he win there, he will face either No. 5 Lorenzo Musetti or No. 9 Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinal, with No. 2 seed and BetMGM tournament favorite Jannik Sinner on track for his side of the semifinals.