Former tennis pro Philip Bester has questioned the ATP for not defaulting Jenson Brooksby and Jordan Thompson after both players nearly put ball boys and girls in danger. Bester has insisted that the duo deserve the same punishment that saw Novak Djokovic incredibly disqualified from the US Open in 2020.
Djokovic became the first world No.1 to be defaulted at a Grand Slam when he was kicked out of the US Open two years ago. The Serb, frustrated following a poor shot, hit a ball back to the baseline but accidentally hit a lineswoman in the neck.
After a lengthy discussion with the tournament referee, the 20-times Grand Slam champion was eliminated. His opponent, Pablo Carreno Busto, was given a bye to the next round.
The ATP said: “In accordance with the Grand Slam rulebook, following his actions of intentionally hitting a ball dangerously or recklessly within the court or hitting a ball with negligent disregard of the consequences, the US Open tournament referee defaulted Novak Djokovic from the 2020 US Open.”
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But Bester, a former world No. 225, feels those same rules are not being applied following incidents involving Brooksby and Thompson. Brooksby nearly struck a ball girl with his racket at the Miami Open, while Thompson nearly hit a young girl with a ball that he intended to hit out of the ground.
Buster tweeted: “@atptour I’m confused. @DjokerNole gets defaulted at the U.S. Open in 2020 for hitting a lines women with a ball. How are Brooksby’s actions today any different? And @jordanthommmo2 almost nailing a ball girl while firing it out of the stadium? No Default? No action?”
In a further tweet with a video of the Brooksby incident, the 33-year-old added: “Again asking for a friend … nothing is going to be done about this? I guess until a ball kid loses an eye or gets seriously injured – this is ok?”
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