Novak Djokovic, the world number 1, has been disqualified after inadvertently hitting a linesman in the throat in the match against Pablo Carreño in the round of 16 of the US Open. The score at that time was 6-5 for the Asturian, after a break that caused the Serbian’s frustrated reaction. Djokovic did not want to hit the woman at any time, but had the misfortune to hit her directly in the head causing her to fall to the ground. As soon as the ball hit the ball, Djokovic made a gesture asking for forgiveness and went to worry about his condition, a gesture that did not pity the match supervisor, who had already seen how after wasting three break balls in that game, the Balkan had given a pitch against the side fence. The rule of tennis in that is inflexible: if someone is hit with the ball out of play, it leads to disqualification.Novak had a conversation with the supervisor for a few minutes who explained the rules of tennis and that he was disqualified. It is not the first time that it happens in tennis according to the regulations. Tim Henman, playing doubles with Jeremy Bates, was disqualified at Wimbledon in 1995 for the same reason when he hit a ball boy on the ear. It had never happened to a number 1. The Austrian Koubek was also succeeded at Roland Garros 2000.The decision, historical, separates the Serbian tennis player from the dream of the eighteenth Grand Slam with which he was going to approach Rafael Nadal. It is also the first game that Djokovic loses all year in a scoring tournament for the ATP (25-0 was the streak). Carreño will face the winner of the match between Shapovalov and Goffin, for a place in the semifinals. Four years after Wawrinka’s victory at the 2016 US Open, world tennis will have a champion outside the ‘Big Three’: Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. More compelling is another fact: it will be the first tournament since Roland Garros in 2004 in which none of the three appear in the semifinals.