Tennis star Novak Djokovic has offered a video apology to a ball boy and his family for an ugly outburst during his Miami Open win over Andy Murray, saying “as a father I wouldn't wish that something like this happens to my son”.
The world number one player from Serbia posted a video in his Facebook page, saying he had no intention to hurt the ball boy, who was caught in the middle of the unfortunate incident.
Djokovic, known as the ‘Djoker’ for his antics on court and off it, earned a hard-fought win over the Briton to bag his fifth Miami Masters title on Sunday.
While Djokovic picked up a towel offered by one of the volunteers, he aggressively yelled in frustration towards his supporters’ box after losing the second set to Murray.
The Serbian was given a violation by the chair umpire and subsequently argued that the official would not have been able to understand what was said. However, the umpire told Djokovic, “It didn’t look good”.
In the video he said that he wanted to “reflect on a bad moment” that happened in the final…I yelled to my camp and my box in frustration.”
In the video he said that he wanted to “reflect on a bad moment” that happened in the final…I yelled to my camp and my box in frustration.”
“I saw the replay. Unfortunately, a ball boy was in the middle of it and I really, really feel sorry and regret that he was there. There was absolutely no intention whatsoever to hurt him or scare him in any kind of way. I sincerely hope he forgives me. I really apologise," Djokovic said.
The 27-year-old tennis ace, who became a father recently, also said that, “I do care about children a lot right now and I look at it in a much different way. So I want to apologise to his parents for this situation as well. As a father I wouldn’t wish that something like this happens to my son.”