Johannesburg: World No. 2 Novak Djokovic, who unintentionally hit a ball into the crowd during the Qatar Open final against Andy Murray, has said he needs to be more careful in the future. The incident, which threatened to take the gloss off Djokovic’s victory on Saturday in Doha, occurred in the sixth game of the first set when the Serb, upset at losing a point, fired a ball into the stands which then flew into the crowd, apparently striking a female spectator.
The World No. 2 received a warning for the incident and was given a further warning for smashing his racket in the second set that saw him deducted a point.
“It was not intentional at all,” Sport24 quoted Djokovic as saying. “Of course people get hit, especially in the first rows, from big serves and so forth.” When asked if it was an acceptable behaviour, the Serb said no, adding, “I definitely didn’t want to hit the ball at anybody.”
