A few hours after being expelled from his round of 16 match against Pablo Carreño and consequently from the US Open, Novak Djokovic, who immediately left the Billie Jean King Center in New York without going through the press room, published a brief message of regret and “apologies” in social networks where he showed his regret for what happened, which he describes as “involuntary” and his purpose of making it serve as a “lesson” for his “growth and evolution as a player and a human being”.
The Serbian, who will not be able to close the gap in the American Grand Slam in terms of Grand Slams titles with Federer and Nadal, said he was “very sorry” for causing so much stress on the runway attendant, whose name he did not want to reveal.
See this post on Instagram
This whole situation has left me really sad and empty. I checked on the lines person and the tournament told me that thank God she is feeling ok. I'm extremely sorry to have caused her such stress. So unintended. So wrong. I’m not disclosing her name to respect her privacy. As for the disqualification, I need to go back within and work on my disappointment and turn this all into a lesson for my growth and evolution as a player and human being. I apologize to the @usopen tournament and everyone associated for my behavior. I’m very grateful to my team and family for being my rock support, and my fans for always being there with me. Thank you and I’m so sorry. Cela ova situcija me čini zaista tužnim i praznim. Proverio sam kako se oseća linijski sudija, i prema informacijama koje sam dobio, oseća se dobro, hvala Bogu. Njeno ime ne mogu da otkrijem zbog očuvanja njene privatnosti. Jako mi je žao što sam joj naneo takav stres. Nije bilo namerno. Bilo je pogrešno. Želim da ovo neprijatno iskustvo, diskvalifikaciju sa turnira, pretvorim u važnu životnu lekciju, kako bih nastavio da rastem i razvijam se kao čovek, ali i teniser. Izvinjavam organized US Opena. Veoma sam zahvalan svom timu i porodici što mi pružaju snažnu Podšku, kao i mojim navijačima jer su uvek uz mene. Hvala vam i žao mi heh. Bio je ovo težak dan za sve.
This is the full translation of his message, published in English and Serbo-Croatian: “This whole situation has left me really sad and empty. I asked about the person on the line and the tournament told me that thank God she felt fine. I am very sorry I caused her so much stress. So involuntary. So wrong. I will not reveal her name. to respect your privacy. Regarding the disqualification, I need to look inside myself and work on my disappointment, to turn all this into a lesson for my growth and evolution as a player and a human being. I apologize to the @usopen tournament and all those involved in him for my behavior. I am very grateful to my team and my family for being my great support, and to my fans for always being with me. Thank you and I'm very sorry. “