First of all, with the exception of fist fighting, it’s the only reasonably popular sport that’s 1 on 1, one player vs another, tennis against tennis, may the best tennis win. Second, the shoes. And last and most important, it is the sport least molested by its referees. Yes, there are the famous line call disputes, but with the introduction of the Hawk-Eye System in 2006, those have all but disappeared and you could go whole years without seeing a match decided by a bad call. Challenges and replays take 10 seconds and there’s no need for a former umpire or line judge on the broadcast team to debate their veracity. All that said, when the authorities do need to step in, they step in. Hard.
On Sunday, top seeded men’s tennis player Novak Djokovic, frustrated after losing a service game, swatted a ball towards the back wall. The ball struck a line judge in the neck, and after a brief, one-sided debate with the umpire, Djokovic was disqualified from the tournament because THOSE ARE THE RULES.
As an American sports fan, I am so inured to the idea of one rule for the famous and a one for everyone else, I still can’t believe they actually removed the 1 seed even though it was the right thing to do. Can you even imagine Patrick Mahomes throwing a ball at a ref and the NFL kicking the Chiefs completely out of the playoffs? Even if that was the rule, the league would find some way to weasel out of it. “Uhhh the rule says ‘with malice’ and we believe, based on the way the ball was thrown, that it was actually ‘enmity.'” This is why tennis is a sport and the NFL is an “entertainment product,” there are rules.
Keep in mind 33 year old Djokovic is competing to be the GOAT. He’s four major titles away from most all time, and was the top seed in a major tournament Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal both skipped! They didn’t need to even play this one. They could have just brought some cameras and reporters to Arthur Ashe stadium and handed Novak the trophy and 3 million in prize money. Others have been booted from matches for throwing tantrums, most notably John McEnroe at the 1990 Australian Open who was penalized for smashing his racket and then disqualified for the manner in which he tried to explain himself to the chair umpire, but McEnroe was the 4 seed in a far more competitive era, and in no danger of being considered the greatest player who ever lived.
The silver lining to all this is that by removing Djokovic from the tournament, the US Open guaranteed itself a first time major winner. And that’s great! Great for tennis, great for fans, and certainly great for whoever wins. Not great for Novak, but he’s gonna get another shot in two weeks when the French Open starts. And, yes, in the last 15 years only three people have beaten Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros, but one of those people? Novak Djokovic. Tennis is the best.
criticalmush.com 