Novak Djokovic sat in silence, disbelieving what had happened to him following his shock disqualification from the US Open, his coach Goran Ivanisevic has revealed.

Ivanisevic said the situation was “awful” and that Djokovic said nothing for a while before the pair talked.

“It is not easy for him, it was a huge shock that nobody expected,” Ivanisevic said yesterday.

He was the favourite, he played great, and the tournament before that.

“I had all the scenarios in my head – that someone on the team might get infected (with Covid-19), so they kicked him out of the tournament, that he might get hurt and even lose.

“But I didn’t have this, even in my wildest dreams, in my head.”

Djokovic quickly left the Billie Jean King Tennis Center after there incident which saw him accidentally strike a line-judge with a ball.

Since that night the tennis world has been busy either criticising or supporting the world. No.1 – and social media has been full of angry keyboard warriors calling their own versions of the incident.

Ivanisevic has watched that unfold but believes Djokovic will overcome it all and the only way to stop people talking, is to “come our even stronger”.

“Novak is a born winner and he will come out of this even stronger and better,” he said.

“If he wins Roland Garros, which I think he can, this will be forgotten as if it never happened.”

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