Serbia Tennis star, Novak Djokovic was involved in a moment of drama as he accidentally hit a line judge with an errant shot in his fourth round match against Russian, Karen Khachanov.
Djokovic progressed into his 14th Roland Garros quarter-final with a 6-4 6-3 6-3 win on Court Philippe Chatrier but had a scare as he accidentally hit a line judge with an errant shot.
The world number one, defaulted from the US Open for striking a line judge with a ball after dropping serve at Flushing Meadows, was in no danger of disqualification this time around, although the Serbian confessed that the moment left him briefly feeling uneasy.
“My gosh, it was very awkward deja vu,” Djokovic said.
“I’m actually trying to find the lines person and see if he’s okay because I saw he had a little bit of a bruise, like redness, in that place in the head where the ball hit him.
“I hope he’s fine. I mean, he definitely dealt with it in a very strong and brave way. But it was a hit because I was very close.
“Obviously because of what happened in New York, people I guess are going to make the story out of this.
“It has happened to me and to many other players in the last 15 years that I’ve been on the tour. I’ve seen it a lot when the ball ricochets from the racquet and the frame, hits someone in the stands, or someone that is close to you or line umpire.
“It was a very awkward situation obviously.”
Djokovic will now meet Pablo Carreno Busta in a rematch of that US Open clash following the Spaniard’s 6-2 7-5 6-2 win over Daniel Altmaier.
