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Tennis firebrand drags Nick Kyrgios into Novak Djokovic DQ drama

riley morgan
Sports Reporter
·2-min read
Italian Fabio Fognini (pictured left) taking off his sweatband and Nick Kyrgios (pictured right) during training.
Italian Fabio Fognini (pictured left) has taken a dig at Nick Kyrgios (pictured right) claiming he was at risk of being disqualified like Novak Djokovic at future tournaments. (Getty Images)

Italian firebrand Fabio Fognini has taken a savage dig at Nick Kyrgios in the aftermath of Novak Djokovic’s stunning default at the US Open.

Djokovic was defaulted from the US Open when he accidentally hit a tennis ball in frustration into a line judge.

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The incident eight days ago marked a stunning end to Djokovic's 29-match winning streak and his bid for an 18th Grand Slam title.

On Monday, he broke his silence in an interview and claimed it was as “profound as possible for me as a big lesson.”

Many players have weighed in on the debate, but now Italian Fognini has defended Djokovic and taken a swipe at Aussie Kyrgios in the process.

"It could happen to everybody. ... It was unlucky, a shame. Could happen to everybody,” he said, according to leading tennis reporter Ben Rothenberg.

“Never to me. Maybe to Kyrgios."

While Fognini removed himself as a chance of getting disqualified, both players are not strangers to controversy.

Kyrgios was disqualified from the Italian Open in 2019 when he threw a water bottle at the chair umpire’s chair.

But Fognini also has thrown some tantrums on the court, which included being docked points at this year’s Australian Open for his bizarre antics.

He also had a fiery run in with Andy Murray when he denied shouting as the three-time Grand Slam champ was taking a volley.

This prompted Murray to tell him to “shut up” in an on-court spat.

Djokovic’s return to tennis after US Open default

The disqualification came during world No.1 Djokovic's fourth-round match against Pablo Carreno Busta.

Djokovic - the top seed and an overwhelming favourite for the championship - struck the ball in annoyance and it struck the line judge, who collapsed to the ground and could be heard gasping for breath when the incident occurred.

While the incident was the talk of the sports world, Djokovic is confident he can bounce back.

"Of course I did not forget about it. I don't think I'll ever forget about it, because it's one of those things that stays in your memory for the rest of your life.

"But I don't think I'll have any major issues coming back to the tour and being able to perform well and hit the tennis ball."