Novak Djokovic, the U.S. Open men's champion, trod delicately when asked about the Serena Williams controversy that erupted Saturday evening, overshadowing his 14th Grand Slam title.
Williams was fined $17,000 by the U.S. Tennis Association for cascading code violations after being issued a warning for receiving coaching, a point penalty for breaking her racket and a game penalty when the chair umpire deemed her comments to be abusive. It helped contribute to the loss to Naomi Osaka and eclipsed Osaka's performance and post-match ceremony. The ugliness dominated talk Sunday and Djokovic gave a thoughtful answer when asked about the situation.
"Look, I love Serena, first of all," Djokovic told reporters Sunday after beating Juan Martin del Potro, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. "I really felt for her [Saturday]. Tough thing for a chair umpire to deal with, as well. We have to empathize with him. Everyone was in a very awkward situation yesterday. A lot of emotions. Serena was crying. Naomi was crying. It was really, really tough."
But it was made exponentially more difficult by umpire Carlos Ramos. Williams may well have lost the match to Osaka, but taking away a game at a critical point in Osaka's 6-2, 6-4 victory was a needless intrusion on the match. Plenty of people pointed out that male stars such as Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors, to name two, have not been penalized for worse comments than Serena demanding an apology and calling Ramos a thief.
Djokovic drew the line at Ramos' involvement, though. The last thing any athlete wants or any sport needs is for an official to intrude on the outcome, particularly when a championship is on the line.