Novak Djokovic apologised for his US Open disqualification on Sunday (local time), declaring himself “extremely sorry” for the moment of madness which saw him defaulted from the tournament. In a statement on Instagram just hours after his sensational exit in New York, the Serbian world number one said he had been left “really sad and empty” by the controversy. The 33-year-old was tossed from the tournament after accidentally hitting a tennis ball into the throat of a line official during his fourth round match with Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta.

“This whole situation has left me really sad and empty,” Djokovic said in a statement on Instagram. “I checked on the lines person and the tournament told me that thank God she is feeling ok.

“I’m extremely sorry to have caused her such stress. So unintended. So wrong.”

This whole situation has left me really sad and empty. I checked on the lines person and the tournament told me that thank God she is feeling ok. I’m extremely sorry to have caused her such stress. So unintended. So wrong. I’m not disclosing her name to respect her privacy. As for the disqualification, I need to go back within and work on my disappointment and turn this all into a lesson for my growth and evolution as a player and human being. I apologize to the @usopen tournament and everyone associated for my behavior. I’m very grateful to my team and family for being my rock support, and my fans for always being there with me. Thank you and I’m so sorry. Cela ova situacija me cini zaista tunim i praznim. Proverio sam kako se osea linijski sudija, i prema inform acijama koje sam dobio, oseca se dobro, hvala Bogu. Njeno ime ne mogu da otkrijem zbog ocuvanja njene pivatnosti. Jako mi je ao to sam joj naneo takav stres. Nije bilo namerno. Bilo je pogresno. Zelim da ovo neprijatno iskustvo, diskvalifikaciju sa turnira, pretvorim u vaznu zivotnu lekciju, kako bih nastavio da rastem i razvijam se kao xovek, ali i teniser. Izvinjavam se organizatorima US Opena. Veoma sam zahvalan svom timu i porodici sto mi pruzaju snaznu podrsku, kao i mojim navijacima jer su uvek uz mene. Hvala vam i zao mi je. Bio je ovo tezak dan za sve.

A post shared by Novak Djokovic (@djokernole) on Sep 6, 2020 at 3:58pm PDT

Djokovic, who left Flushing Meadows without speaking to reporters following his exit, said he would try to learn from the incident.

“As for the disqualification, I need to go back within and work on my disappointment and turn this all into a lesson for my growth and evolution as a player and human being,” he said.

“I apologize to the @usopen tournament and everyone associated for my behavior. I’m very grateful to my team and family for being my rock support, and my fans for always being there with me.

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“Thank you and I’m so sorry.”

Djokovic is one of only a handful of players to be defaulted from a Grand Slam tournament ever since John McEnroe was infamously booted out of the 1990 Australian Open.