Novak Djokovic hit a line judge and was disqualified from the US Open. Is he guilty or innocent? His body language tells the truth in this Body Language quick shot. In the opening set against Pablo Carreño Busta, and trailing 6-5 he had just lost a service and hit the ball back in frustration, hitting the line judge. When you watch the video from another angle, we can confirm two things: he wasn't looking in the direction of the judge right as he hit the ball. Also, he follows the ball with his eyes and then you can see his expression of actual surprise when he saw he had just hit the line judge accidentally.
Now, some have claimed that this was no accident, remembering the 2016 French open when a flung racket almost hit a line person. and his attitude later that year over an exchange with a journalist: 'Does it concern you that one day that is going to cost you, hit someone in the head? You guys are unbelievable. What's unbelievable? Yeah, because you're always picking these kinds of things, it's incredible.' In this case he showed arrogance, as in nothing wrong could happen. But when he hit the line judge in the neck, he was actually concerned about it. He tried to convince the judges that he didn't mean it and that he was really sorry but he committed three body language mistakes that made his apology look fake.
For instance, he used the classic gesture of two hands over the chest to show that he was sorry and I strongly advise against this gesture because it always looks fake. Another mistake is that he was smiling, almost playful, when he was talking to the other judges. Maybe he was trying to downplay the facts and this is wrong. When you have made a mistake, don't try to downplay what you did, not with words or with your facial expressions. Understand that the situation is serious and keep your facial expressions neutral. Never say things like "it was nothing", or "I didn't mean it".
The only affirmation that you should say is "I'm really sorry"; Besides that, if someone says something in the lines of "You're being disqualified", ask a question that reframes what happened. For example: "Are players disqualified for accidents?" And the third body language mistake is trying to look for empathy touching the other person. I've talked before of how important is a subtle touch of the arm to build empathy. But if you do it like this, with your body stiff, it will look fake and have the opposite effect. Do you think DJokovic could have talked himself out of this?
Before that, Novak Djokovic has made history after winning the 2020 Cincinnati Open, becoming the first player to win all 9 masters twice, tying Nadal with the most overall at 35. Ironically enough, Djokovic made headlines night after he, Vasek Pospisil, and John Isner resigned from the ATP council, breaking away from the tour as a whole to form the Professional Tennis Players Association. The New York Times broke this story and their source is three anonymous figures familiar with their decisions. These sources are very likely to hold valid info as Vasek announced his resignation on Twitter. Here it is. ''After two years on the ATP Tour player council, I am resigning from my position as the player representative for the 51-100 ranking positions. It has become clear that, as a player council member within the current structure of the ATP, it is very difficult. If not impossible, to have any significant impact on any major decisions made by our tour. I am proud to say I have always fought for what I believed to be right and in doing so, never compromised my integrity. My sole mission on the council was to represent peers well, and I'm extremely proud to have done that to the best of my abilities. I leave holding my head high.''
Speaking straight from the times article: "Many details about the new group remain vague beyond its name, the Professional Tennis Players Association, and its intention to represent men's singles players in the top 500 and doubles players in the top 200." Djokovic and Pospisil detailed their plans in a document they distributed to other players, which was obtained by The New York Times. In it, they argue that an autonomous body for player interests is necessary. The ATP, founded 30 years ago, represents players and tournaments jointly, with both sides having seats on the governing board for decisions. "The goal of the PTPA is not to replace ATP but to provide players with a self-governance structure that is independent from the ATP and is directly responsive to player-members' needs and concerns," the players said in the document soliciting sign-ups. from other top players on the tour.
