Novak Djokovic has shockingly been disqualified from the US Open.The serial Grand Slam winner was defaulted during his fourth round match against Pablo Carreño Busta after hitting one of the line judges with the ball.Djokovic exiting the competition against his Spanish opponent would have been a shock alone, though he did lose the opening set 6-5, but nobody could have predicted a full disqualification.

Djokovic defaulted in US Open

During a break in play, Djokovic removed a ball from his pocket and casually hit it towards the line judge with an underhand swing, sending the woman to the ground after it struck her throat.

Other officials quickly came to their aid on the court and replays showed Djokovic looking instantly apologetic, raising questions over whether the incident was an accident or not.

It appears for all intents and purposes that the Serbian did not intend to hit the line judge, though many of his detractors on social media have branded him as 'petulant' for the episode.

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What the rules say

Regardless of his motives, though, the rules are the rules and Djokovic's unbeaten record in 2020 has come to an ignominious end at his own hands as opposed to those of a rival player.

The Grand Slam regulations explain: "Players shall not at any time physically abuse any official, opponent, spectator or other person within the precincts of the tournament site.

"The referee, in consultation with the Grand Slam chief of supervisors may declare a default for either a single violation of this code."

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Footage of the incident

That being said, we'll let you decide whether disqualification was the right course of action, so check out the shocking moment down below:

According to the BBC, Tim Henman said of the incident: "It happened to me in 1995. We were up two sets in the doubles. I hit a ball-girl in the ear.

"Djokovic was not aiming for the line judge, but you have to be responsible for your actions. There is no other result but to be defaulted."

The incident means that we will have a new Grand Slam champion at Flushing Meadows with the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal absent from the tournament.

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It's the first time in 16 years that neither Djokovic, Federer or Nadal will have been present in a Grand Slam semi-final, dating all the way back to Roland Garros 2004.