Novak Djokovic was declared to be Defaulter in US Open 2020 tournament after he accidentally hit a line judge with the ball. According to the US Open Rules, he was ousted from the tournament following his reckless behaviour on the court.
The gamblers who has placed bets on winning chances of Djokovic at the US Open are expecting their wagers refunded. Reportedly, sports betting companies such as DraftKings, FanDuel and PointsBet will have select wagers refunded as the player’s shocking default exit from the tournament was accidental.
United States Tennis Association (USTA) issued a statement on Sunday explaining Djokovic’s default ousting. The statement read, “In accordance with the Grand Slam rulebook, following his actions of intentionally hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly within the court or hitting a ball with negligent disregard of the consequences, the US Open tournament referee defaulted Novak Djokovic from the 2020 US Open”.
According to few reports, the 33-year old Serbian star was trailing Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta 6-5 in the first set when he smashed the ball in frustration in the direction of a line judge. The video footage reflects that Djokovic was not aware of the presence of line judge in that direction and did not intend to harm her.
It was only when the player noticed other Open staffers rushing to help the judge; he became aware of his actions and rushed to aide her. The judge, reportedly, fell to the ground.
Djokovic, who has been the winner of this year’s Australian Open, would not only forfeit his prize money and ranking points that he won in earlier matches but would also incur additional fines.
With his Swiss (Roger Federer) and Spanish (Rafael Nadal) rivals opting out of US Open 2020, heavy bets were placed in favour of Djokovic winning the tournament.
However, after this stunning incident, PointsBet tweeted that, “Novak Djokovic was defaulted from the US Open for striking a line judge with a ball…Just more 2020 craziness. BUT, we are refunding ALL Outright Tourney Bets and today’s pre-match result bets on Djoker IN FULL”.
FanDuel, the largest online sports-book in United States and a unit of Flutter Entertainment said, “We’re refunding all straight futures and odds boosts wagers on Djokovic to win the tournament”.