Djokovic lucky to avoid disqualification as racquet nearly hits line judge

Novak Djokovic had his way with Tomas Berdych on Thursday, beating him 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 in clinical fashion to reach his sixth consecutive French Open semifinal.

The world No. 1 was in complete control for the majority of the match, but at one point in the quarterfinal he lost his cool—and it almost cost him.

In the second game of the third set, the Serb angrily threw his racquet in frustration. It violently jolted backwards, and it just missed hitting—and severely injuring—a line judge. Thankfully the judge was able to get out of the way and avoid the flying object.

Djokovic, seeking his fourth consecutive major title and a career Grand Slam, could have been disqualified from the match and the tournament had his racquet hit a line judge.

Following his straight-sets victory, the 11-time Grand Slam champion admitted that he’s lucky no one got hurt—and he still has an opportunity to win his first French Open.

“I threw a racquet on the ground and it slipped and almost hit the line umpire,” a clearly bothered Djokovic explained in his post-match press conference. “I was lucky there. That’s all.”

This isn’t the first time that Djokovic’s anger has gotten the best of him and put him on thin ice. In the final in Rome last month, Djokovic accidently flung his racquet into the stands.

Embed from Getty Images

“I’m just not thinking about those kind of situations,” Djokovic said. “I’m trying not [to] worry about it at all. I am aware that I have been lucky, and I apologized to, you know, to people that have been in this particular situation with me and that could have been hurt by my racquet. But, you know, it was never the intention. It was just some unfortunate bounce, but [there was a] fortunate ending.”

As far as action on the court is concerned, the French Open favorite will take on 13th-seeded Dominic Thiem in the semifinals. Thiem defeated David Goffin, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-1, in the other men’s quarterfinal on Thursday.

The other men’s semifinal pits world No. 2 Andy Murray against defending champion Stan Wawrinka.